As an introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) this unit will offer an overview of the textual, cultural, historical, literary and religious features of the literature of the Old Testament. The unit will begin with an overview to Israel’s sacred story as narrated in the Old Testament. The student will be introduced to such topics as inspiration, sacral institutions in Israel, the Pentateuch, the documentary hypothesis, the prophetic movement in Israel, the Deuteronomistic history, the literature of the wisdom movement, and psalms as forms of praise. An introduction is thus offered to the diversity of literary forms and styles of literature contained in the Old Testament canon. Further, an overview of critical method in Biblical Studies enables the student to appreciate the different interpretations of Old Testament texts.

Prerequisites:
none

Requirements:
3 hours per week, or intensive mode

Assessment:

• one 1,000 word assignment - 20%
• one 1,500 word essay - 40%
• one 1½ hour written examination - 40%

Bibliography:

• Bright, John. A History of Israel. 3rd ed. London: SCM, 1981.
• Brueggemann, Walter. Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2002.
• ———. An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2003.
• Collins,  John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004.
• Frick, Frank. S. A Journey through the Hebrew Scriptures. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/ Wadsworth, 2003.
• Hayes, John H., and Carl. R. Holladay. Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook. 2nd ed. London: SCM, 1988.
• Kee, Howard C. The Cambridge Companion to the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
• Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. 1993.