RELN 202
SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Catalog Entry

RELN 202. Survey of the Old Testament
Three hours lecture (3).

This course provides an introduction to the methods which inform the study of the Old Testament and examines the three segments of the Old Testament, i.e., the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. Students view the major events which shaped the history of ancient Israel and encounter the themes which formed the ideology of Israelite religion. This course has been approved for General Education credit in the Humanities Area of the curriculum.

2. Detailed Description of Content of Course

Given the unique nature of many students' prior involvement with this set of texts, this course must begin by clearly distinguishing the academic study of the Old Testament from the devotional study to which they may be accustomed. The teacher will particularly emphasize the occasional nature of this literature; this collection of books represents the accumulation of documents that were written under differing conditions and with differing perspectives. Care, therefore, must be exercised so that the layers of history, composition, interpretation, expansion, revision, and collection maintain their integrity both individually and collectively.

Part I: The Law or Pentateuch (Torah)

In this section, we will examine the four traditions that many scholars claim coalesce in the Pentateuch, or, the first five books of the Old Testament. These traditions provide the building blocks of an account that stretches from the creation of the world through the Exodus from Egypt by the Israelites to their encampment just before they entered Canaan, to conquer what they called "the promised land." In order to understand the formation of the Pentateuch, its unfolding story, and prepare for the study of the remainder of the Old Testament, the methods employed by contemporary scholarship will be introduced and demonstrated.

Part II: The Prophets (Nevi'im)

This section of the Old Testament falls into two parts: the Former Prophets, labeled the Deuteronomistic History by many scholars, a group of six books which detail the history of the Israelites from the Conquest to the Exile, and the Latter Prophets, a cluster of fifteen books which record the observations and denouncements of a group of inspired individuals as they live amidst some of the history reported in the Former Prophets. The Former prophets, because they are considered to be history, must be carefully studied so that the substance and the interpretation included in these accounts can be uncovered without violence to the texts. Though the books of the Latter Prophets need diligent attention paid to their contexts, additional consideration must be given to the sort of literature or genre represented here.

Part III: The Writings (Kethuvim)

The final section of the Old Testament consists of a variety of types of literature: the literature of worship (Psalms); sapiential literature (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth); the literature of mourning (Lamentations); edifying literature (Ruth and Esther), the literature of love (Song of Songs); and historical literature (I-II Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah or the Chronicler's History). In addition to the issues considered and techniques of critical study employed to this point, special consideration must be given to a comparison of the Deuteronomistic History and the Chronicler's History and to the subject of canonization, i.e., how these books came to be included in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, and other books rejected.

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course

The academic study of the Old Testament, which functions as scripture for several major religions, many times ignites conflict so this course necessarily requires that instructor and students engage in discussion and argument. Lecture will be the primary means of presenting the critical issues and focusing the subjects for discussion. Formal and informal writing assignments will assist preparation for and participation in the class sessions. Whether or not a formal research paper is assigned in the class, students will be expected to employ basic research skills, including the use of computer technology, to investigate and gather information on various topics germane to the study of Old Testament. Among the teaching activities students can expect in this course are the following:

• Lecture and discussion led by instructor
• In-class formal or informal debates
• Informal in-class and out-of-class writing assignments
• Small-group discussion
• Journals
• Written and oral analyses of texts
• Written summaries/evaluations of out-of-class events
• Individual and collaborative research activities involving library and Internet searches
• Individual and group oral presentations
• Attendance and subsequent discussion of artistic presentations which arise from the literature of the Old Testament

4. Goals and Objectives of the Course

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate:

• A basic understanding of the academic study of religion and its role in the study of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible).
• The role that scripture or canonical literature, plays in a community of faith.
• A familiarity with the methods employed in the critical study of the Old Testament, especially the difference between exegesis (letting the meaning arise from the text) and eisegesis (imposing meaning upon the text).
• A knowledge of the content of the three divisions of the Old Testament and the books which make up those divisions.
• An appreciation of the influence of the Old Testament upon culture, especially literature.
• The benefit that the study of the Old Testament bestows upon the life and thought of the students.

Broad General Education Goals

As part of the General Education program, this course is designed to help students achieve a number of broad learning goals in addition to the course-specific goals identified above. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Think critically and creatively about the ideas, issues and problems encountered in the Old Testament texts and treated by the lectures during the course.
• Identify and analyze arguments in the Biblical texts and its critics and construct logical and persuasive arguments appropriate to the subject matter of the course.
• Employ basic research skills, including the use of computer technology, to investigate and gather information on various topics (e.g., apocalyptic) and figures (e.g., Moses) discussed in class.
• Collaborate with others in small group discussions, research projects, and presentations.
• Identify personal and cultural assumptions and values underlying the views presented in the Biblical texts, the classroom context, and in discussions with classmates.

Goals for Area 4--Humanities

In addition to the course-specific goals and the broad General Education learning goals indicated above, this course is intended to help students achieve a number of learning objectives in the Humanities Area of the General Education program. In particular, upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate general knowledge of the nature and various methods of inquiry which assist in the study of the Old Testament and other disciplines in the Humanities.
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the characteristically human quest for meaning, value, and order in life by means of the analysis of the Old Testament.
• Analyze and evaluate historically and culturally diverse conceptions of the meaning and purpose of human life as one views the world behind and shaped by the Old Testament.
• Interpret and critically evaluate the Old Testament and contemporary interpretations of it as diverse expressions of the human condition.
• Discuss in speech and writing the relevance of humanistic inquiry into meaning and value as this relates to the examination of the Old Testament and to their own lives.

5. Assessment Measures

Student progress in achieving the course-specific objectives and the General Education goals established for this course will be measured in a variety of ways.

• Graded and ungraded homework assignments may be used to measure the student's ability to read texts carefully, both the sections from the Old Testament and the supplementary material from the textbook, to identify underlying values and assumptions, to articulate central issues, to analyze and construct reasonable arguments, and to employ thoughtfully basic research methods.
• Journals may be used to measure the development of self-reflection and progress in critical and creative thinking about the ideas, issues, and texts of the course.
• Class discussions, debates, and small group discussion may be used to measure the student's reasoning and oral communication skills as well as the student's ability to work with others in a shared process of inquiry.
• Individual and group oral presentations may be used to measure the student's understanding of particular philosophical positions or issues as well as the student's ability to present reasonable and persuasive arguments.
• Quizzes and objective tests may be used to measure the student's fundamental knowledge of the course material and the student's ability to read carefully and think clearly.
• Essay exams may be used to measure the student's understanding of the nature of the Old Testament and the methods used for its interpretation, knowledge of the course material, ability to enter into the interpretative enterprise, and ability to think and to write clearly.
• Research reports may be used to measure the student's ability to define a problem and to employ appropriate research methods and technologies in order to bring some resolution to the issues involved.
• Term papers may be used to increase and to measure the student's understanding of specific books or interlinked portions of the Old Testament, as well as to measure the student's ability to develop a sustained and reasonable argument, to think and write clearly, and to demonstrate an appreciation of the significance of scripture, notably the Old Testament, to his or her own life and concerns.

6. Other Course Information
7. Approval and Subsequent Reviews

Date Action Reviewed by
January 27, 1997 New course Approved by VPAA
April 17, 1998 Reviewed Kim Kipling, Chair
April 21, 1999 Syllabus revised Kim Kipling, Chair
September 18, 2001 Reviewed Kim Kipling, Chair