OT544 The Historical and Poetic Books Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary - Charlotte Instructor and Course Designer: Dr. Timothy Laniak, Professor of Biblical Studies Spring, 2019 Contact Information and Office Hours Email: [email protected] Office hours by appointment Technical Support Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary offers technical support during regular business hours at 978- 646-4198 and [email protected]. Schedule Course Dates: January 22-May 13, 2019 Required Zoom Meetings: Tuesday, January 22 at 8:00 PM ET Two other meetings TBD (Instructor will coordinate with class) Course Description OT544 is an introduction to the content of the Historical and Poetic Books* (“In the Text”), their historical-cultural background (“Behind the Text”), and their theology and implications for the Church (“In Front of the Text”). The course provides an intentional balancing of these three dimensions and offers general and contextually specific guidelines for biblical interpretation throughout the course. This course is part of a three-course Old Testament sequence that covers the same material as OT500 in more detail. Students who take the entire three-course sequence do not need to take OT500. However, students who have already taken a version of OT500 developed/taught by a different professor may take one or more courses from this sequence to gain a different perspective and more detail. Students should not mix courses in this sequence with Dr. Laniak’s OT500 course without prior permission. * “Historical and Poetic Books” in this course refer to the following: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. The designation of Poetry for this course includes the Wisdom books. We study the other historical books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther in the third course of this sequence. Relation to Gordon-Conwell Mission This course satisfies the following institutional learning objectives: “To demonstrate a strong understanding of both the content of the Bible and the overarching redemptive story from Genesis to Revelation.” 1 Relation to Curriculum OT544 is an English based Bible elective course that may serve any student in any program. However, this course is built as the first of a 6-course sequence of English based Bible courses that are more in- depth than OT and NT Survey courses. Course Purpose and Objectives • Gain an established foundation for further study of the Old Testament and the New Testament through learning the main figures, events and themes of the Historical and Poetic Books. • Gain an understanding of the Historical and Poetic Books as Scripture while being able to articulate an understanding of the nature of biblical revelation in the context of ancient genre and literature parallels. • Gain an understanding of the unique themes and features of each book of the Historical and Poetic Books, with a growing sense of how biblical theology is developed. • Explore a variety of connections between the Historical and Poetic Books and the rest of the Old Testament and the New Testament. • Reflect on the usefulness of the Historical and Poetic Books for Christian life and ministry. • Gain awareness of some resources and topics that are often featured in more advanced courses. • Gain new confidence and experience with some tools to teach the Historical and Poetic Books in lay settings. Requirements and point value Course requirements Time commitment Point value Bible reading log (c. 400 pgs) and outlines 35 hours 16 Lecture viewing 15 hours 10 App prompts 20 hours 5 Participation (4 of 6 forum posts/replies; 7 5 hours 3 Zoom meetings) 4 Worksheets 15 hours 12 Guiding Question essays (incl. drafts) 25 hours 25 Multiple choice test (incl. preparation) 20 hours 25 Total 135 hours 100 Notes: Point value varies from time allotments because written assignments provide more complete assessments for certain learning objectives. Reading time varies a great deal from person to person. This is only an average and a gauge for planning. Students who want to excel may spend more than the allotted time in any of these categories. 2 Required Materials Bible: Students are required to read the Historical and Poetic Books in a version they have not used before. To help make this choice, please refer to How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth. Fee, Gordon D. and Strauss, Mark L., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. BibleJourney App (available without cost for students in this course). Download instructions will be made available to students once the roster is in place. The site for download is www.biblejourney.com. All other resources (e.g., articles, audio files, videos, bibliographies, etc.) are either in the app, in Canvas course resources, at biblejourney.com or listed in the GCTS Cooley Center online bibliographies (https://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/InternetResourcesforBiblECStudies-3rded.pdf). There is also a list of recommended Bible surveys on the last page of this syllabus. Two chapter selections (available electronically in Canvas) are taken from books you may want to review for purchase: Richter, Sandra, “Deuteronomistic History” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books. Eds. Arnold, Bill T., Williamson, H. G. Downers Grove & Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2005. Pp. 291-230. (This is in the recommended Essential IVP Reference Collection.) Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1992. Other recommended tools for the Historical and Poetic Books include the following (see also final syllabus page): Arnold, Bill T. and Beyer, Bryan E., eds. Readings from the Ancient Near East. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0801022920 The Essential IVP Reference Collection: The Complete Electronic Bible Study Resource 3.0. Bellingham: Logos, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0830824472 (A collection of eight major Bible dictionaries and other smaller guides. I recommend this as an electronic tools “starter kit” for all seminary students. For this course you will benefit from consulting the New Bible Atlas, New Bible Dictionary, IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings and Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Articles in these volumes have useful bibliographies. If this collection is hard to come by, consider buying an earlier version.) Estes, Daniel J. Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009. ISBN-13: 978- 0801038884 Hamilton, Victor P. Handbook on the Historical Books. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008. ISBN-13: 978- 0801036149 (This is referenced in many in-app exercises.) Long, V. Philips. The Art of Biblical History. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. ISBN-13: 978-0310431800 (A good, short summary of the principles used in their in-depth history (below). A good supplement to Alter’s The Art of Biblical Narrative.) Matthews, Victor H. and Benjamin, Don C. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East, rev. and expanded 4th ed. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist, 2016. E-Book Provan, I., Long, V. Philips and Longman, Tremper, eds. A Biblical History of Israel, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-0664239138 (Detailed history with case studies to demonstrate how the Bible’s historical reliability can best be appreciated. Although this book is technical, it is recommended as the best evangelical history of Israel available.) Note: The app includes well over 50 references to other scholars in the app’s exercises and about 50 onsite videos, many of which involve interviews with specialists (archaeologists Symore Gitten and 3 Gabriel Barkai; Egyptologist Esam Zeid; biblical botanist Ronit Maoz; and Bible professors Carol Myers, Catherine McDowell, Daniel Carroll and Daniel Block). Required Learning Activities During this semester you are expected to read all of the Historical and Poetic Books (Joshua – 2 Kings, Job – Song of Songs) in a translation that is new for you. Read these before engaging the app, creating a fresh 1-page (single spaced) outline of each book. You will also read and do assignments with selections from your textbooks as assigned for each module. You will use the BibleJourney app to watch short lecture videos for each lesson. Most of these videos are from a classroom setting; others are onsite videos. The length of these vides is usually between 1-6 minutes. You are required to watch all of them. You are required to respond to all of the interactive prompts in the app. These can all be answered in- app except the prompt at the end of each book to draft essays for five Guiding Questions (see next). Your Guiding Questions essays will grow throughout the term as you add content from each book. You will turn them in for feedback during the semester. The essays will be synthesized in a set of final, finished essays. 1. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about God? How is God progressively revealed over time? (Include metaphors, characteristics and mission of God.) 2. What does this portion of Scripture reveal about God’s people, their relationship with God and each other, and their role and mission in the world? (Include metaphors, mission, ethics, worship, “living by faith,” etc.) 3. How does this portion of Scripture anticipate the New Testament? (Include typology, promises, predictions, and the overall history of redemption.) 4. Describe the nature of biblical revelation by referring to the similarities and differences this portion of Scripture shares with extrabiblical parallels. This essay should comment on literary genre as well as social, political and economic institutions that are woven into the fabric of the Bible. 5. In what ways has God spoken to you in your journey through this portion of Scripture? The final, take-home, open-book assignment is comprised of five (5) separate 1,000 word essays (hard limit), one essay for each Guiding Question. Although students may use much of their content from their previous reflections, these should be newly crafted essays (not simply edited versions of previous submissions).