Welcome to the Bible II class! Instructor Contact Information

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1 COS 221 Syllabus Bible II: Torah and Israel s History Methodist Theological School of Ohio Fall 2016: Sept ; Oct Dr. F. Rachel Magdalene, Instructor Welcome to the Bible II class! Instructor Contact Information Telephone: (h & o); (m; during the 2 day classes) rachelmagdalene@islet verlag.de Skype: F. Rachel Magdalene (rachelmagdalene@islet verlag.de) Course Description This course interprets the critical events, developing institutions, and traditions of Israel. Attention is given to the earliest Covenants, to the Exodus, to the rise of the monarchy, and to other events up to the eighth century prophets. Course Objectives Students will be able to: 1. Articulate a historical overview of the experience and faith of ancient Israel. 2. Exegete selected passages that illustrate crucial turning points in the history of Israel. 3. Apply exegesis to preaching, other pastoral responsibilities, and issues of the present day. Required Course Textbooks Books 1. Michael D. Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical & Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (3rd ed.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013). Paperback, ISBN Terence E. Fretheim, The Pentateuch (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996). Paperback, ISBN Richard D. Nelson, The Historical Books (Nashville: Abingdon, 1998). Paperback, ISBN Adrian Curtis, ed., Oxford Bible Atlas (4th ed.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Paperback: ONE of the reputable NRSV Study Bibles from among the four below listed alternatives: a. Walter J. Harrelson, The New Interpreter s Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003). Hardback, ISBN b. Harold W. Attridge, ed., The HarperCollins NRSV Study Bible, fully revised and updated (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2006). Paperback, ISBN

2 2 c. Michael D. Coogan, ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible, fully revised 4 th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010). Paperback, ISBN d. One of the above in an older edition provided it is dated after Required Handouts 1. I will distribute before class a number of handouts and PowerPoints relevant to this class. Reference Text Books 1. Bruce Birch et al., A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, 2 nd ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2005). Paperback, ISBN Powell, Mark Allen. HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, rev. and updated ed. (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2011). Hardback, ISBN Course Requirements 1. In Class Active Learning = 20% of grade a. Assigned reading completed before class b. Active class participation, which means interacting with the instructor and other students 2. Learning/Assessment Tools a. Rewritten Bible Text Analysis = 20% of grade b. Twenty five minute Teaching Type Sermon, with analysis of your particular church context = 25% of grade b. Five page Exegesis Paper = 35% of grade c. 3. Extra credit Project a. Exodus and Cultural Uses of the Bible Paper = Raising your final grade by 1 3 full points (a part of a letter grade, i.e., a B to a B+). A letter grade of B on this paper entitles you to the full 3 point. Due dates for the first, second, and third assignments, as well as the extra credit project, are on the class schedule below. Further instructions for the Movie Text Analysis Paper and the Exodus and Cultural Uses of the Bible Paper are below. Instructions for the other two papers will be provided in class. All papers should follow standard formatting, have 12 point type, and, as required, documentation (i.e., footnotes and bibliography of all secondary sources used). Documentation should conform to Turabian, 8 th ed. A word to the wise: this course involves a great deal of primary and secondary source reading, as well as watching one or more films. It, therefore, is imperative that ALL THE READINGS ARE COMPLETE BEFORE THE SESSIONS BEGIN IN SEPTEMBER. Although the calendar indicates which portions of the Bible and textbooks are most relevant to that particular session, it is best if all reading is finished before class begins.

3 3 Instructions for Movie Text Analysis (my thanks to Dr. Paul Kim for providing the basic instructions for this Learning/Assessment tool) This learning/assessment project involves what we call a re written Bible, one done in film. For over a millennium, various authors have retold the Bible story, filling in some of the gaps and interpreting other aspects of the characters, plot, setting, and so forth. A re written Bible is, therefore, an interpretative vehicle for the biblical story and is a creative act that is anchored in the Bible. Films of biblical stories are exactly the same thing, using writing, visuals, and sound within the film. This project, therefore, intends to help you do a careful, close reading of a biblical story by comparing closely the original biblical text and its cinematic rewriting. In so doing, we can tease out what is similar, what is different, and, ultimately, how the author of the rewrite is interpreting the story. This exercise, then, assists us in doing careful textual readings, which form the basis for any exegesis, and understanding the interpretive process, which everyone reading the original text will undertake. To begin, read either (1) Genesis or (2) Exodus Read very carefully, critically, and creatively. Note what is told in the text and what is not covered by the text, i.e., what do you have to think about because the text does not tell you anything (these are the literary gaps found in all stories). Read as if you have never read this text before. Read the whole story in a continuous fashion, i.e., do not read bits and pieces in isolation. Be sure to jot down the plot line, any key characters, settings, understandings concerning God, scenes/episodes, morals, and themes you see as you read the text. Also, jot down your observations or any questions that may arise while you read. If you selected Genesis 37 50, then watch ONE of the following three movies: (1) Joseph the King of Dreams (animated; Dreamworks, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 2000); (2) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Andrew Lloyd Weber musical; Universal Studios, 2000); OR Joseph in Egypt (Television miniseries; Roger Young (dir.); TNT, 1995). If you selected Exodus 1 15, then watch ONE of the following two movies: (1) The Prince of Egypt (animated; Dream works, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 1999); OR (2) The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille; Paramount Pictures, 1956). If you should choose the Exodus passage, be sure only to compare the material covered up to Exodus 15 and not beyond it. While watching your selected movie, make keen observations as to how the biblical story and the movie coincide, where the movie alters or shifts the story as told in the Bible, and in what ways the movie dramatizes the story, i.e., fills in the gaps. In fact, you should pay special attention to the gaps and how these gaps are filled by the movie: e.g., the depiction and/or dramatization of the characters, narrator, God, the plot, various points of view, particular theme lines, portrayal of women, portrayal of racial ethnic persons, ethical principles, and so on. Also, pay attention to the movie s

4 4 visual and sound interpretations, e.g., sets, casting, directing, special effects, line variations, and so on. In doing the comparison, make a typed notebook, charting these comparisons. On the left side, enter the biblical material; on the right side, enter how the movie handles the same material. Here is a sample entry having to do with the David and Bathsheba episode, that has also been made into a movie: Biblical Observations 1. 2 Sam 11:2 says simply that David saw a beautiful woman bathing. It was late afternoon. Movie Comparison The movie changes the time from the afternoon to evening, because it is dark and the stars are out. The movie is adding more sexual tension by moving the events into the night. It adds details showing where she is bathing. Furthermore, she looks up at the palace, with longing. While the text says nothing about Bathsheba s intentions or desires, the movie interprets that she is longing for David in her gaze at the palace. The biblical story does not indicate whether or not she desires David s advances. One might have a very, very long list of such things. Nonetheless, a list of 20 such observations that cover the full range of the biblical passage is sufficient (e.g., observations that are limited to Genesis or Exodus 1 3 are unacceptable), but if the film should not cover the entire biblical passage, that should be noted as one of the differences between the Bible and the selected movie. Instructions for Extra Credit Project: The Bible in Culture This is another film project, but it is different from the Movie Text Analysis. It is, rather, a focus on how a biblical text gets creatively appropriated by modern cultural instruments to tell a non biblical story. Again, you will read a biblical story. You will not, however, watch a cinematic re written Bible in this case. You will, instead, watch a film that uses biblical themes and images to convey a different story that recalls, often only most subtlety, the biblical story. In examining how the film uses and builds upon the biblical story, we are studying the methodological field called the Bible in Culture ; that is, how our cultural development and expressions are still dependent on the biblical text and just how the Bible is read through this particular cultural vehicle.

5 5 The intellectual benefits here include: assisting, once again, your general biblical reading skills; embracing a new method of biblical reading; increasing your understanding of the use of the Bible in modern culture and how the Bible is far from culturally irrelevant or dead; and offering you additional material for teaching, preaching, and care that your congregation will find highly interesting and relevant. To proceed, watch ONE of the following two movies: Shawshank Redemption (distributed by Warner Brothers, 2007); OR The Hunt for Red October (distributed by Paramount Pictures, 1990). You are to write a four page paper in which you discuss the themes and imagery used in the film that are related to the Exodus story in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There are many in both films. If you select a film that you have never seen before, you should watch it twice: once, to familiarize yourself with the basic plot and players; next, to think about the details regarding the role of the biblical Exodus story in the film. Then write a four page paper on your analysis. Academic Honor The Course of Study School of Ohio requires that all material submitted by a student in fulfilling his or her academic requirements be the original work of the student. Violations of academic honor include any action by a student indicating dishonesty or lack of integrity in academic ethics. Violations in this category include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly passing off work of another as one s own. Cheating includes seeking, acquiring, receiving or passing on information about the content of an examination prior to its authorized release or during it administration. Cheating also includes seeking, using, giving or obtaining unauthorized assistance in any academic assignment or examination. Plagiarism is the act of presenting as one s own work with the work of another whether published or unpublished (including the work of another student). A writer s work should be regarded as his or her own property. Any person who knowingly uses a writer s distinctive work without proper acknowledgement is guilty of plagiarism. A student found guilty of a violation of the academic honor code, after a review of the case, may be subject to one or more of the following actions: (1) warning; (2) probation; (3) suspension for the remainder of the course; (4) dismissal from the Course of Study School of Ohio; (5) grade of Fail for the course. Regardless of the outcome, a letter will be sent to the student s District Superintendent and Board of Ordained Ministry representative. A Note on Resources: For any written assignment, you may not use any resource with a publication date before This specifically means you need to pay attention to online resources which are typically out of copyright and, therefore, quite old. References to Wikipedia are also prohibited. Use of these resources is unacceptable for COS level work, and papers using them will not get full score credit. Care must also be taken when using general Bible Internet sites for reference material, as they often do not rise to the pastoral or scholarly level. Additional resources including print and various electronic references are available in the MTSO Library when you are on

6 6 campus. Your public library will also interlibrary loan books for you, usually for a nominal fee. Class Schedule Date & Time Subject Biblical Texts Readings Project Sept. 23 4:30 6:30 Introduction to HB & Exegesis Coogan, IOT, 3 32 Curtis, OA (look through); Timelines that I will distribute before class Fretheim, Pent, Sept. 23 7:30 9:30 Sept. 24 8:00 9:40 The Primeval History: Creation & Humanity s Beginnings The Matriarchs & Patriarchs & the Abrahamic Covenant Genesis 1 3 Genesis 7 9; 11 Genesis Genesis 21; 26; Genesis 44 45; Coogan, IOT, Fretheim, Pent, Coogan, IOT, Fretheim, Pent, Sept. 24 9:40 11:20 Sept. 24 1:00 3:45 On or before Oct. 2, 11:59 pm On or before Oct. 9, 11:59 pm Oct. 21 4:30 6:30 The Exodus Sinai & The Mosaic Covenant In the Wilderness & Into the Promised Land Joshua & the Conquest Exodus 1 4 Exodus 19 20, 24 Exodus Leviticus 1 2 Leviticus 19 Numbers Deuteronomy 5 6 Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Coogan, IOT, Fretheim, Pent, Coogan, IOT, Fretheim, Pent, Joshua 1 7 Coogan, IOT, , Choose sermon passage by end of morning session Approval of sermon passage at end of afternoon session Rewritten Bible Text Analysis due via Extra credit due via Sermon due at the beginning of class via or handed in Oct. 21 7:30 9:30 Settlement and the Judges Judges 1 2 Judges 4 5 Judges Judges Judges 19 Coogan, IOT,

7 7 Oct. 22 8:00 11:20 Kings Saul, David, and Solomon 1 Samuel Samuel Samuel 14 15, 28 2 Samuel Kings 1 6 Coogan, IOT, Choose exegesis passage by the end of class (may not be in the same book as the sermon passage) Oct. 22 1:00 3:45 On or before Nov. 11, 11:59 p.m. The Divided Kingdom 2 Kings Kings Isaiah 9 2 Kings Coogan, IOT, Approval of exegesis passage at end of session Exegesis due via