Huntingdon College W. James Samford, Jr. School of Business and Professional Studies

Transcription

1 Huntingdon College W. James Samford, Jr. School of Business and Professional Studies COURSE NUMBER: REL 308 COURSE NAME: Torah (Hebrew Scriptures) Fall 2014, Session III, Sumiton Wednesday / 5:30 PM 9:30 PM INSTRUCTOR S NAME: Dr. John Michael Brannon CONTACT INFORMATION: john.brannon@hawks.huntingdon.edu COURSE DESCRIPTION: A study of the Torah with focus on its meaning and relevance today in the Judeo-Christian tradition. This course is an introduction to the first five books of the Bible, known in Jewish tradition as the Torah and in Christian tradition as the Pentateuch. Since this portion of the canon presents a single story from the creation of the world to the entry of the people in Canaan, we will attend most closely to the narrative material within these books. A number of secondary goals will occupy our attention, including the consideration of the relative value of various methods of biblical interpretation (e.g., source criticism, form criticism) and the nature and role of non-narrative material (most importantly, law) in the wider story of the Pentateuch/Torah. PREREQUISITE: one 200-level religion course recommended, but not required. TEXT REQUIRED: Terence E. Fretheim. The Pentateuch. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ISBN Bible COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: 1) perceive and articulate the literary features of biblical narrative in general and specific passages in particular 2) employ their knowledge of a passage s literary contours to articulate a coherent and compelling interpretation of a passage from biblical narrative 3) recognize and recount the basic contours of Israel s story as articulated in the first five books of the Bible (i.e, they will be able to state what happens in the Torah, and, when a reason is provided by the narrative, why) 4) evaluate critically theological, political, or ideological claims of historical interpretations whose basis is found (ostensibly) in the Torah/Pentateuch

2 COURSE ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING CRITERIA: 1) Class preparation, attendance, and participation (20%) To receive full credit for participation, students must a) fulfill all attendance requirements (see separate section below) and b) participate actively in all lectures and class discussions. The class discussions are especially important for participation grades, as they allow students to demonstrate their careful engagement with the lectures, biblical material, and secondary readings. Whether a class session is a lecture or a discussion, materials assigned for any particular day must be read in advance. 2) Final Exam (30%) At the end of the semester, a final examination will be given. This test will be a cumulative assessment of the student s critical engagement with and understanding of the material covered throughout the semester. The final exam will include an essay question in which you will be asked to describe the most important features of careful, literary interpretation of the Torah. As a result, you will want to pay attention in class when we consider the features of excellent biblical interpretation. 3) Exegesis Paper (30%) Due the last week of class, this paper will allow you to demonstrate your ability as a literary critical interpreter of the Bible. Each student will work in conjunction with the professor to choose a narrative text from the Torah/Pentateuch on which to work for the duration of the class (texts should be selected by the third week of class. Students will write a 5-7 page exegesis paper detailing their interpretation of the passage they have chosen. The final session of class will consist partly of close readings conducted by students on their passages, and this presentation will make up 10% of your grade on this assignment (i.e., 3% of your total grade). 5) Interpretation Evaluation Essay (20%) Due on the date of the final, this 4-page paper must engage an interpreter of a specific passage of the Torah, either ancient or modern. It must 1) state the interpretive position of the author, 2) analyze that position, 3) articulate at least two potential exegetical counter-arguments, and 4) take a stand on the interpretive position. Do you agree or disagree with the interpretation? Why? Students must identify their interpreter and his/her passage by one week after the midterm examination at the latest. Pick something you re interested in, like a sermon or Bible study with which you re familiar. Grading Elements Percentage: Weekly Assignments 55% Final Project 20% Oral Presentation 10% Participation 15% Total Points 100%

3 GRADE POINT EQUIVALENTS - Describe the point range for each letter grade. A = B = C = D = F = 59-below ATTENDANCE POLICY: Absences and Tardiness All students are required to attend the first session. Those who do not attend the first session will be automatically dropped from the course. Students with more than one absence will receive an "F" for the course. Since this class meets only five times, missing a single class meeting is equivalent to missing three weeks of a regular term. If you cannot attend a class you must let the instructor know via as soon as possible. In case of absences you are responsible for obtaining all handouts and assignments. Tardiness may result in a deduction in your class participation grade. Excessive tardiness may count as an absence. Participation Participation is not the same as attendance. Participation requires students to come to class prepared to actively participate, which makes the classroom experience more meaningful. However, participation is not just speaking out in class. The contributions made by the student should be related to the course content and meaningful to the class discussion. Late Assignments No shows fail the assignment. It is expected that the students fulfill their assignments on the date they are scheduled to do so. Students with illness or other problems that prevent them from attending class on the day a presentation or written assignment (including a test and/or exam) is due must contact their instructors PRIOR to the deadline via Huntingdon College with supporting documentation to request an extension or a make-up. In most cases, missed assignments are logistically difficult to make-up while maintaining the integrity of the module. In rare cases, approval to make-up an assignment may be granted at the discretion of the faculty member based on the seriousness of the circumstance and on the supporting evidence provided by the student. Contacting a fellow class member does not substitute for contacting the instructor. Accommodation of Special Needs- Huntingdon College makes every reasonable accommodation for disabilities that have been processed and approved through our Disability Services Committee in accord with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of In order to request disability-related services at Huntingdon College, students must self-identify to the Disabilities Intake Coordinator, Camilla Irvin, and provide appropriate and up-to-date documentation to verify their disability or special needs. After the accommodations have been approved by the Disability Services Committee, the 504 Coordinator, Dr. Lisa Olenik Dorman, will notify your professor(s) of the committee s decision. If you have any questions regarding reasonable accommodation or need to request disability-related services, please contact Disability Services at (334) or at disabilityservices@huntingdon.edu.

4 Academic Honesty Plagiarism is literary theft. Failure to cite the author of any language or of any ideas which are not your own creation is plagiarism. This includes any text you might paraphrase, as well. Anyone is capable of searching the Internet or any printed media; your research paper is intended to broaden your knowledge, stimulate your creativity, and make you think, analyze, and learn. It is not consistent with the College Honor Code, nor with scholarly expectations to submit work which is not the product of your own thinking and research. Severe penalties will result upon the submission of any work found to be plagiarized, including potential failure of the entire course. It is easy and simple to properly cite all sources used in your paper. Take no risks cite your sources. First Night Assignment - CLASS SCHEDULE: Week 1: Genesis: In the Beginning Reading Assignments: Genesis 1:1-25:18; Fretheim, Articulation of basic methodological issues by means of source critical observations in Genesis 1 and 2 (J and E sources). Students should be able to answer: what do source critics do with the earliest chapters of the Bible and why? Critical evaluation of the claims of the documentary hypothesis and theological interpretation of its suggestions. Encourage students to ask: is this the way I have always read the Bible? Should I read it this way or are there other ways to read? Simple awareness that different people read the same text differently, and that how they choose to read significantly affects the meanings they produce. Students should, more specifically, be aware that their way of reading is in fact very specific to their own history, and that as a result they are always interpreting, though they may not be aware of the fact. Part 1: - Introductions and Overview: Syllabus review and introduction of instructor and students. Introduction of course topic, with special attention to the unique way in which the Bible will be studies in the academic context of Huntingdon College. - Lecture on creation narratives, with special attention to significant differences between Genesis 1 and 2. Begin with the differences, and help them to see how major interpreters in the critical era have, until recent years, privileged this way of producing meaning. Introduce Wellhausen, documentary hypothesis, etc. Read the texts of Genesis 1 and 2 carefully with the students. Part 2: - Discussion: Having articulated the typical scholarly way of reading Genesis 1 and 2 (source criticism), allow the students time and space to construct their own meaning from the text. Taken as a whole, what does it all mean? Could there be a coherent reading of the whole literature in spite of the fact that it is apparently composite? Does it matter if different people wrote the Bible? Why or why not?

5 - Have the students divide into groups and discuss what they think the meaning of Genesis 1-2 is? How do they arrive at their conclusions? What makes for good biblical interpretation? Be sure to hold students accountable to the text itself. How do they build their interpretations from the Bible itself and not only from their opinions of it? Part 3: - Lecture: Gen 1-11, the Primeval History: a tale of dissolution and sin, from the first murder (Gen 4) to the Tower of Babel (Gen 11). Help students to see Gen 1-2 as a high point (Creation as very good ) and Gen 11 as a low point. By the end of ch. 11, God was in need of a new approach. Help them to see the long story rather than only the individual stories readily apparent to all readers. This will help to prepare them for Fretheim s book and the idea that the Torah itself is a long story that only begins here. - Gen 12-25:18: the Abrahamic covenant; Potential topics include: reciprocity of divine blessing, artistic and Christian interpretations of Gen 22 (Binding of Isaac), the nature of the Genesis story as a family story, which ends with the people in Egypt and thus sets the stage for Exodus the following week. Re. Gen 22, you may ask whether Christians should read Isaac as a Christ figure. If so, how and why should this be done? Week 2: Exodus: Go Down, Moses Reading Assignments: Exodus 1:1-23:19; 32:1-34:29; Fretheim, Literary Criticism: Characterization: Students begin to see the characterization of God in the Old Testament, focusing especially here on the fact that God listens to Israel and attends to their needs when they suffer. Moreover, they begin to see the characterization of Israel as a nation. Increased reading skill not only in terms of characterization, but in terms of the intertextual connections between this story and that begun already in Genesis. In short, students begin to read the entire story well, as opposed to only reading short portions of it well. Composition of their interpretation: By means of an in-class writing assignment, students begin to write their own interpretations of the text, seeking not only a single meaning, but an interpretation within the broad range of potential meanings. Part 1: - Lecture: Who is God in Exodus? Who is Moses? Who is Pharaoah? With the events of the exodus, the Bible begins to flesh out answers to these questions, and one must read carefully to sense this point. Both Moses and Pharaoh keen to answer: Who is Yahweh? and this is an important question for the reader as well. Potential topics include: Exodus 3; plagues; the crossing of the Red Sea (accomplished by wind that comes from the LORD); note that the Israelites are freed in order to worship, not for freedom in any absolute sense. Stay focused on main characters: Moses, the LORD, Pharaoh. - View clip from The Prince of Egypt (or some other such film) and ask: is this a good interpretation of the book of Exodus?

6 Part2: - In-Class Writing: Ask students to interpret the plagues narrative. How would they order the plagues? Have them compare each of the plagues themselves. How are they different? What always stays the same? How do they deal with the theological conundrum of Pharaoh s hardness of heart? Use this assignment as a means to prepare the student for their exegesis essays, having them pass the papers to other students for critical evaluation. Make sure they offer both negative and positive feedback to help their written interpretations. Part 3: -Lecture: Grumbling and Stumbling: focus especially on the characterization of Israel here. They complain at God s provision and stumble considerably with the golden calf incident (Exod 32-34); potential topics include: manna, results of Israelite grumbling, Moses role as leader and his unique nature as prophet and one who speaks with God face to face; connection of golden calf to golden calves of Jeroboam in later biblical stories (thus once again showing the deep intertextual connections on offer in the canon Week 3: Leviticus: Laying Down the Law (Fretheim, ) Reading Assignments: Leviticus 1-11; 17-21; Fretheim, Generic Recognition: Students will recognize various genres within the Bible, taking care especially to note the distinctive features of law and narrative. They will learn that one cannot interpret well without careful observation of the kind of literature with which one is dealing. The Old Testament is not only a story, but a story told by means of several different literary genres. Literary Criticism: the interplay of different genres within a story. Students will ask: what role does Leviticus, the central text of the Torah, play in the story itself. Why did the composers of the Old Testament put Leviticus here? Theological Application: Students will be encouraged to ask how/if the law still applies to Jews and Christians in the modern era. If it does apply, do all of them apply or only some? If not, what does one do with a text like the Ten Commandments, so prominent in the law. Students will begin to bridge the gap between the ancient text and the (post)modern world. Part 1: - Lecture: Begin by breaking the ice a bit. I often play a game called clean or unclean and give the students a chance to show how closely (or not so closely) they read the material from Leviticus. Following this small activity, I lecture on the nature of law, emphasizing the priestly interests of the text and showing them that this may be another source behind the Torah. Potential topics include: the sacrificial system, the purpose of the clean/unclean distinction (for this point, read Fretheim), the importance of blood in sacrifices, the short story that appears in Lev 10. Part 2: - Discussion: How does Law relate to the life of the modern Jew or Christian? Divide the class into two sides for a debate (don t let them choose). One side has to argue for the enduring value of the law, while the other has to argue against it. Give the teams time to prepare their arguments and time for rebuttals before allowing things to break down into a free-flowing conversation. You may choose to bring up the Ten Commandments in this context, if there is time and the participants seem willing.

7 Part 3: - Lecture: Be holy, for I am holy. Transitioning from the previous discussion, you may wish to discuss this common refrain in the Holiness Code, Lev You may also point out that ritual law and moral law appear side by side, as for example in Lev 19:18 and 19:19. What does loving one s neighbor have to do with not mixing fabrics in garments? Finally, you may wish to compare ancient Israelite laws with those of their counterparts in Egypt and Mesopotamia. These are readily available on the Internet and can be useful for both comparison and contrast. Week 4: Numbers: In the Wilderness Reading Assignments: Numbers 5:1-25:18; Fretheim, Literary Criticism: Repetition/Form: Students will learn to appreciate and observe literary repetition where it occurs, noting its importance in biblical narrative. Instead of noting doublets for the difficulties they cause the reader, they will come to observe repetition as a key ingredient in the artistry of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Appreciation of historical context, especially as it relates to gender issues in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Students will learn to consider the history of a passage and ask whether and how it can be applied in modern contexts. Theological Application: Students will be encouraged to consider the myriad ways to interpret a passage by observing visual art. As in week one above, they will be encouraged to understand their own situated-ness as an interpreter (i.e., their context and the way it affects their interpretations). Part 1: - Lecture: On overview of the book of Numbers that notes its obvious composite nature as well as the reason for its Greek title (Numbers) and its Hebrew title (bamidbar = in the desert ); conduct a close reading of Numbers 5 and ask whether the ritual concerning adultery here seems fair or reasonable. Use this opportunity to discuss the historical situation of the text and the roles that women seem to play in the Torah. Are they on equal footing with the men? Should they be? - Activity: ask students to do some in-class writing on one text from Numbers, using the paragraph they produce to ask about their progress/questions leasing up to the exegesis paper that will be due next week. Part 2: - Discussion: The Art of the Talking Ass ; using Google and the Bible, find images of Balaam and the talking ass. Ask students which artist they think has best interpreted the passage and why. Which piece of art best captures the story itself? Do any of them? What restrictions do artists have as interpreters that preachers or writers do not? Part 3: - Lecture: Comparing grumbling stories from Exodus and Numbers, lecture on the benefit of doublets and triplets in the biblical narratives. While they may not reflect historical situations, they nevertheless make their theological points more poignant. In short, they force the reader to read the Bible for theological truth rather than simple historical truth. Other potential topics include: the daughters of Zelophehad, Moses exclusion from entering the Promised Land, Aaron and Miriam s rebellion, Phineas zeal, etc.

8 Week 5: Week 5: Deuteronomy: The Words that Moses Spoke; Exegesis Papers Due! Reading Assignments: Deuteronomy 1:1-11:32; 26:16-34:12; Fretheim, Literary Criticism: The Sense of an Ending: Students will learn the importance of beginnings and endings to stories in the biblical narrative. They will thus become even more sensitive readers of biblical texts. Appreciation of Authorship in the Torah: The question of Mosaic authorship will here be brought up (again, if you mentioned this in earlier lectures). Students will be encouraged to reflect on the significance (or lack thereof) of who wrote the material. To what degree, they will be encouraged to ask, is the author significant? Who is the author? God or humanity? Both? Storytelling: To emphasize the retelling of Israel s story up to Deuteronomy, students will be encouraged to retell the narrative of Scripture themselves. They will thus have some sense of what stories can do for those who retell them they affect the teller in profound and even mysterious ways. Part 1: - Lecture: Begin class by telling a story, perhaps of one that has been meaningful to your family. Explain that this story is not only important because of what happened, but because it is retold. In other words, the stories we choose to tell shape us significantly. That is how Deuteronomy begins as a retelling by Moses. Help them to understand how Deuteronomic themes emerge, that the retelling itself is a new story in terms of emphasis and content. Potential topics include: second version of 10 commandments, function of law in middle of book, Shema, etc. Part 2: - Activity and Discussion: Allow students five minutes to prepare to tell their own stories and then to share them briefly with the class. Help them to see that stories change over time, and that such adaptation does not entail dishonesty so much as vitality. Lead them in a discussion of why this would be significant for the second law in Deuteronomy. -In the latter half of this time, you should allow some time for students to report on their exegetical work. Part 3: - Lecture: Wrapping up what you have taught regarding reading the Torah. You may wish to spend some time during this portion of the class considering Fretheim s book explicitly. Do you agree with his thesis regarding the Torah as a single narrative? This would also be the space to discuss the thesis of Mosaic authorship. Did he write about his own death? Why does it even matter? Potential topics: Joshua as successor, Torah as Moses biography, whether Deuteronomy is really an ending or instead just the beginning of a longer tale, etc. Finals Week Final Exam Final Critical Interpretation Essay due when you come to take the final!