The Salvation Army Booth College

This unit will provide you with an overview of the Hebrew Bible. It will introduce you to the major theological themes of the Hebrew Bible and the interpretative approaches taken up by contemporary scholars. You will develop an understanding of critical exegetical tools, and will be introduced to how to interpret selected texts in the Pentateuch, the Deuteronomistic history, the prophetic tradition, and wisdom materials. This unit will provide you with a foundation for further biblical and theological study.

The unit code contains information on the level of study, field, discipline, unit and college. Click here to learn what the unit code for this unit represents.

27 February to 2 June 2023

There will be four Virtual Classrooms (online). Attendance is required.

We will negotiate a day and time that is suitable, but they will be scheduled for during the following weeks in semester:

• Week 1 (commencing 27 February)
• Week 4 (commencing 20 March)
• Week 7 (commencing 24 April)
• Week 10 (commencing 15 May)

We recommend that you allocate 12 hours a week for all study activities.

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Online synchronous and asynchronous, virtual classrooms, seminars, completion of workbooks

Participation activities include:

• Virtual Classrooms.
• Workbooks to be completed.
• Selected workbooks to be submitted (threshold task – required for completion of the unit).
• Student to student engagement as required.

*This unit is offered at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. Students may engage with people across both levels when this unit is delivered.

1 x 1,200 word Summative reflection - 20%

1 x 1,500 word Exegesis of selected text - 25%

1 x 2,700 word Essay - 45%

1 x 600 word Blog - 10%

Upon successful completion of this unit, it is expected that students will be able to:

1.  Describe the general literary structures and narratives of the Hebrew Scriptures, and major theological themes in their socio-cultural contexts.

2.  Demonstrate the application of tools for biblical interpretation (dictionaries, lexica, commentaries, monographs, journals, etc)

3.  Apply critical methodologies in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible.

4.  Distinguish between a variety of interpretations of biblical texts and the assumptions upon which they are based.

5.  Assess how the biblical text may be of value or relevance in the contemporary context.

To undertake this unit you are required to have access to a copy of:

Coogan, Michael D. The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. (4th edition) New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

EBC Library owns multiple copies of this title for semester long loan, on a first in, first served basis – contact EBC librarian.

Source Suggestions

From Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Testament-Historical-Introduction-Scriptures/dp/019060865X

Amazon AU https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Old+Testament%3A+a+Historical+and+Literary+Introduction+to+the+Hebrew+Bible.&ref=nb_sb_noss

Alternatively, if you have access to the 3^rd edition, this will suffice but be aware that it is missing some updated material and the page numbers will be different from those we will use in the student unit guide and workbooks. (Two available in EBC library.)