OT 500 Old Testament Survey Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston Spring 2012 Professor: Quonekuia Day Ph.D. (cand.) qday@gordonconwell.edu 617-427-7293 Location: Boston, MA C.U.M.E. Weekend Course Dates and Times January 18, 2012 Saturday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. February 17, 2012 Friday 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. February 24, 2012 Friday 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. February 25, 2012 Saturday 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. March 16, 2012 Friday 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. March 17, 2012 Saturday 9:00 a.m-4:00 p.m. Final Exam will be offered at two locations on March 30, 2012 6:30-9:30 at Boston Room 213 and 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. at South Hamilton Library In order to fulfill the 37.5 hours course requirement students will complete a course project in addition to their OT course work. Course Objective This course concentrates on the overall content of the entire Old Testament with its historical, geographical, and cultural backgrounds. Only the English version of the Bible will be used. While the basic content of each individual book will be given, emphasis will be placed on how each book fits into the overall story of the Old Testament. This course objective is consistent with Article #1 of the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Mission Statement which states- To encourage students to become knowledgeable of God's inerrant Word, competent in its interpretation, proclamation and application in the contemporary world. Course Requirements Students will be expected to complete all assigned readings and participate in class discussions. The final course grade will be determined on the basis of a Midterm exam 30%, Book Review 10%, Final Exam 50%, and a Course project 10%. Two or more unexcused absences will result in an automatic ½ point grade deduction from your final grade. There are no Reading Weeks for this course.
Required Texts can be purchased at Boston or South Hamilton library 1) Kaminski, C., CASKET Study Guide, 2005 2) Kaminski, C., God s Story in the Old Testament through CASKET Saturday, January 18 -Intro. to Course, Overview of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers -Required Reading for February 17 Bible-Genesis 1-28, Exodus 1-15, 20-24, 32-24 Leviticus 1-5, Numbers 1-14, Deuteronomy 1-9, 27-32, Joshua 1-10, 24, Judges 1-3, 19 CASKET Study Guide-sections on Abraham-I Samuel Articles-Date of Exodus and Judges 19 and Sex Crimes Friday, February 17 -Overview of Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges -Required Reading for February 24 Bible-I Samuel 1-16, II Samuel 1-7, I Kings-All, Hosea-All, Amos-All, Obadiah-All, Jonah-All CASKET Study Guide sections-ii Samuel and Northern Kingdom and Northern Prophets -Study for Midterm Exam Friday, Feb 24 Midterm Exam Overview of Northern Kingdom and prophets lecture pt. 1 Required Reading for Feb 25 Bible-II Kings, II Chronicles, Job CASKET Study Guide sections-northern Kingdom and Northern Prophets Begin reading book for book review assignment Saturday, Feb 25 Overview of Northern Kingdom and prophets lecture pt. 2 Overview of Southern Kingdom and prophets lecture pt. 1 -Required Reading for March 16 Bible-II Chronicles 36, Ezra-All, Nehemiah-1-5, Psalms 1-20, 51 Casket Study Guide-Finish the entire book -Finish book review assignment.
Friday, March 16 Book Review due Course Project due Southern Kingdom and prophets lecture pt. 2 Wisdom literature lecture Required Reading for March 17 Bible-Isaiah 1-9 and ch. 44, Jeremiah 1-11, 31-33, Ezekiel 1-10, Daniel-All Haggai-All, Zechariah-All, Malachi-All Saturday, March 17 Course Project presentations Exile and Temple lecture March 30 Final exam Group Project - Sunday School lesson plan Time spent planning, meeting, researching and writing of project should take 6-8 hours. 1) Develop a Sunday School Lesson Plan based on lectures, readings, and additional research focusing on the theme of Grace and/or Mercy in the Old Testament. 2) Group members should plan to meet twice outside each time for approximately 45 minutes in order to prepare for the presentation on the final day of class. Meetings right after class on Saturday afternoon or prior to Friday night classes might prove to be the easiest to schedule. 3) Project should be 4-5 pages, typed and double spaced. 4) All Group members should be listed on the cover page. Subsequent pages should include the name or names of the persons responsible for that particular section of the group project. 5) Presentations should be a summary of your Lesson Plan project NOT a word for word description of the actual Sunday School Lesson Plan. 6) Visuals or props for presentation are encouraged. However, your grade will be based on the content of your presentation and the written assignment. 7) Individuals will be assigned to groups on the first day of class. 8) More project details will be discussed in class.
Additional Recommended but not Required Books and Articles Assis, Elie. The Choice to Serve God and Assist His People: Rahab and Yael. Biblica 85, no. 1 (2004): 82-90. Ailing, Charles F. The Sphinx Stele of Thutmose IV and the Date of the Exodus. Journal of Andersen F., Job. Leicester, England:Inter-Varsity Press, 1976 Beck, John A. Why do Joshua s Readers Keep Crossing the River? The Narrative-Geographical Shaping Joshua 3-4. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 48, no. 4 (2005): 680-699. Brueggemann, Walter. The New Interpreter s Bible vol. 1. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. Cole, R. Alan. Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1973. Frolov, Serge. Semiotics of Covert Action in 1 Samuel 9-10. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 31 no. 4 (2007): 429-450. Durham, John. Exodus: World Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word Books, 1987. Geoghegan, Jeffrey C. Israelite Sheepshearing and David s Rise to Power. Biblica 87, no. 1 (2006): 55-63. Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. Hess, Richard S. The Book of Joshua as a Land Grant. Biblica 83, no. 4 (2002): 493-506. Hoffmeier, James K. Israel in Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Kaiser, Walter. A History of Israel. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998. (January-March 2001): 36-51. Kofoed, Jens Bruun. Saul and Cultural Memory. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 25, no. 1 (2011): 124-150. Laney, Carl J. God s Self-Revelation in Exodus 34:6-8, Bibliotheca Sacra 158, Leuchter, Mark. 'Why Tarry The Wheels of his Chariot?' (Judg 5,28): Canaanite Chariots and Echoes of Egypt in the Song of Deborah. Biblica 91, no. 2 (2010): 256-268. Lewis, Peter E. Is There a Parallel between 1 Samuel 3 and the Sixth Chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead? Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 31, no. 3 (2007): 365-376.
Matthews, Victor H., and Don C. Benjamin. Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East. 3rd ed. New York: Paulist Press, 2006. Montet, Pierre. Egypt and the Bible. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968. Nihan, Christophe. Israel s Festival Calendars in Leviticus 23, Numbers 28-29 and the Formation of Priestly Literature, in The Book of Leviticus and Numbers, ed. Thomas Römer, 177-231. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 2008. Peleg, Yaron. Love at First Sight? David, Jonathan, and the Biblical Politics of Gender. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 30, no. 2 (2005): 171-189. Petrovich, Douglas. The Dating of Hazor s Destruction in Joshua 11 by Way of Biblical, Archaeological, and Epigraphical Evidence. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 51, no. 3 (2008): 489-512. Reid, Garnett. Minimalism and Biblical History. Bibliotheca Sacra 155 (October-December 1998): 394-410. Robinson, Bernard P. Rahab of Canaan and Israel. Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 23, no. 2 (2009): 257-273. Sherwood, Aaron. A Leader s Misleading and a Prostitute s Profession: A Re-examination of Joshua 2. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 31, no. 1 (2006): 43-61. Stuart, Douglass. The New American Commentary vol 2 Exodus. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006. Sprinkle, Joe M. The Rationale of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43, no. 4 (2000): 637-657. Sellars, Dawn Maria. An Obedient Servant? The Reign of King Saul (1 Samuel 13-15) Reassessed. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 35, no. 3 (2011): 317-338. Wong, Gregory T.K. Goliath's Death and the Testament of Judah. Biblica 91, no. 3 (2010): 425-432. The Evangelical Theological Society 22/2 (June 1979): 97-101. Wyatt, Nick. Circumcision and Circumstance: Male Genital Mutilation in Ancient Israel and Ugarit. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33, no. 4 (2009): 405-431.