OT 450 WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Spring 2016 Claude F. Mariottini Professor of Old Testament Northern Baptist Theological Seminary Lombard, Illinois 60148 (630) 620-2186 Email: cmariottini@faculty.seminary.edu Web page: www.claudemariottini.com Blog: http://claudemariottini.com I. Textbooks a. The Bible: The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV). Students do not have to buy the NRSV, but they are required to bring their Bible to class each week. b. Lerner, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. ISBN-13: 978-0195051858. 368 pp. $19.95. c. Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 2002. ISBN-13: 9780805211825. 480 pp. $18.95. d.. Gender and Its Image: Women in the Bible. In the Wake of the Goddesses, 118-143. New York: The Free Press, 1992. e.. Sex in the Bible. In the Wake of the Goddesses, 187-198. New York: The Free Press, 1992. f. LaCocque, André. The Status of Women in the Ancient Near East and in Israel, The Feminine Unconventional: Four Subversive Figures in Israel's Tradition, 7-20. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. g. Carol Meyers, "The Roots of Restriction: Women in Early Israel." Biblical Archeologist (1978): 91-103. h.. Women and the Domestic Economy of Early Israel, in Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader, ed. Bach, Alice, 33-43. New York: Routledge, 1998. i.. In the Household and Beyond: The Social World of Israelite Women, Studia Theologica 63 (2009): 19-41.
2 j. Rivkah Harris, "Women" (Mesopotamia), The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:947-951. k. Phyllis Bird, "Women" (OT), The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:951-957. l.. Images of Women in the Old Testament, in The Bible and Liberation, ed. Norman K. Gottwald, 252-288. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983. m. Phyllis Trible, "Women in the OT," The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - Supplementary Volume, 963-966. Note: The articles listed above will be available through Moodle. II. Course Description This course will help students discover the important contribution of biblical women to the life, culture, religion and history of Israel. This course will also provide students with guidelines for the interpretation of the biblical material in its theological, cultural, social and historical contexts, and will help students develop an appreciation for the Old Testament as an integral part of the Christian Scripture. III. Course Objectives 1 This course will help students to discover the important contribution of biblical women to the life, culture, religion, and history of Israel. 2. This course will provide students with guidelines for the interpretation of the biblical material in its theological, cultural, social, and historical context. 3. This course will help students to develop an appreciation for the Old Testament as an integral part of the Christian Scriptures. IV. Course Requirements 1. Students are expected to attend all class meetings unless hindered by circumstances beyond control. 2. Any student who, for any reason, misses more than 20% of classes (2 classes), will fail the course.
3. Two small research papers will be required of each student. The paper should be a minimum of 7-8 pages in length. The papers will be due on Monday, May 2 and June 6. 4. Students are expected to make preparation for each class meeting by reading the pages assigned in the textbooks and the articles. 5. Students must be prepared to discuss each chapter and each article in class. Class discussion will be worth 1/5 of the grade. 6. When Gerda Lerner s book is assigned for reading, students must write a 2-page review of the reading and submit the review by email before coming to class. The reviews will be worth 1/5 of the grade. 7. When Gerda s book is not the assigned reading for the class, students must select 2 articles and write a 1-page review of each article. The reviews will be worth 1/5 of the grade. 8. No incomplete will be granted for this class. An incomplete may be granted (at the discretion of the professor) in case of a dire emergency. IV. Office Hours I am available to any student who wishes to discuss any problem related to class work, research paper, or any matter related to seminary work. This quarter my office hours will be as follows: Monday Tuesday Thursday 1:30-3:00 p.m. 9:00-11:30 a.m. 1:30-3:00 p.m. If you are unable to come during office hours, send me an email and make an appointment to see me. You can also send me an email with questions about assignments. I will answer your email as soon as possible. V. Grading 1. Grade for the course: Grading for this course will be as follows:
4 a. Reviews of Lerner s book = 1/5 of the grade b. Reviews of article = 1/5 of the grade c. Class discussion = 1/5 of the grade d. First paper = 1/5 of the grade e. Second paper = 1/5 of the grade 2. Grading Scale A = 100-95 A- = 94-90 B+ = 89-87 B = 86-83 B- = 82-80 C+ = 79-77 C = 76-73 C- = 72-70 D+ = 69-67 D = 66-63 D- = 62-60 F = 59 and below VI. Weekly Reading April 4 Introduction: Women in the Ancient Near East Discussion of Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, Introduction, Chapters 1, 2 and 3, pages 1-75. Rivkah Harris, "Women" (Mesopotamia), The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:947-951. Rivkah Harris, "Women in the Ancient Near East, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - Supplementary Volume, 960-963. LaCocque, André. "The Status of Women in the Ancient Near East and in Israel," The Feminine Unconventional: Four Subversive Figures in Israel's Tradition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. Pages 7-20. April 11 The Role of Women in Israelite Society Discussion of Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, Chapters 8 and 9, pages 161-198.
Phyllis Bird, "Women" (OT), The Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:951-957. Phyllis A. Bird, Images of Women in the Old Testament, in The Bible and Liberation, ed. Norman K. Gottwald, 252-288. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1983. Phyllis Trible, "Women in the OT," The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible - Supplementary Volume, 963-966. Carol Meyers, The Roots of Restriction: Women in Early Israel." Biblical Archeologist (1978): 91-103. Carol Meyers, In the Household and Beyond: The Social World of Israelite Women, Studia Theologica 63 (2009): 19-41. Carol Meyers, Women and the Domestic Economy of Early Israel, in Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader, ed. Bach, Alice, 33-43. New York: Routledge, 1998. April 18 Women as Victors, Part 1 Discussion of Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, Chapters 10 and 11, pages 199-230. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: The Rivka [Rebekah] Stories, pages 5-23. Saviors of the Exodus, pages 24-33. The Guardian at the Door: Rahab, pages 34-44. April 25 Women as Victors, Part 2 Discussion of Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, Chapters 6 and 7, pages 123-160. Warriors by Weapon and Word: Deborah and Yael, pages 45-57. A Wise Woman of Power, pages 58-63. The Shunammite, 64-73.
6 Villains: Potiphar s Wife, Delilah, and Athaliah, pages 74-88. May 2 Women as Victims, Part 1 Discussion of Gerda Lerner, The Creation of Patriarchy, Chapters 4 and 5, pages 76-122. Sarah: The Disposable Wife, page 93-98. Achshah: Daddy s Daughter, page 99-101. Father-right Awry: Jephthah and His Daughter, page 102-117. May 9 Women as Victims, Part 2 The Bad Old Days: Concubine and Chaos, page 118-138. Kings to the Rescue [Saul s Daughter], 139-142. Off with His Head : David, Uriah, and Bathsheba, page 143-156. Trauma and Tragedy: The Betrayal of Tamar, page 157-169. Power and Person: The Problem of Political Life [The Cannibal Mothers], 170-174. May 16 Virgins and Sex, Part 1 The Dinah Affair, pages 179-198. To the Barricades: Views Against the Other [The Problem of Foreign Wives], pages 199-208. Queen Jezebel, or Deuteronomy s Worst Nightmare, pages 209-214. Cozbi, pages 215-224. Hagar, My Other Self, pages 225-237.
May 23 Virgins and Sex, Part 2 Royal Origins: Ruth on the Royal Way, pages 238-256. Royal Origins: The Moabite, pages 257-263. Royal Origins: Tamar, pages 264-277. The Royal Way, 278-282. Outsider Women: Exile and Ezra, pages 283-291. May 30 The Voice of Women Oracles of the Conquest of Canaan: Rahab and Deborah, pages 297-300. Oracle of Saul: Hannah and the Witch of Endor, pages 301-309. The Necromancer at Endor, pages 310-314. Abigail, pages 315-323. Huldah, pages 324-326. Woman as Voice, pages 327-330. June 6 Reading the Women of the Bible Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Gender and Its Image: Women in the Bible. In the Wake of the Goddesses, 118-143. New York: The Free Press, 1992. Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Sex in the Bible. In the Wake of the Goddesses, 187-198. New York: The Free Press, 1992. Women of Metaphor, Metaphors of Women, pages 333-338. The Later Adventures of Biblical Women, pages 339-349. Mirrors and Voices: Reading These Stories Today, pages 350-354.
8 VII. Classroom Expectations POLICIES FOR ALL MASTERS CLASSES NOTE: All communications from the seminary will go to your seminary email account. Contact ithelpdesk@seminary.edu if you need help forwarding your seminary email address to your personal email address. As a seminary community we hold integrity/hospitality as core values. Individuals are able to do their best work and thinking when their peers are fully present and engaged. We expect each person to both participate in class and carefully listen to others with the belief that everyone s contribution is equally important. Therefore, the following policies have been established in order to provide clarity in regard to attendance expectations and relationships in the classroom. Class Attendance Policy It is expected that students will attend and participate in all class sessions. Failure to attend at least 80% of class sessions is grounds for automatic failure. A professor may set other attendance expectations. Students are always expected to communicate with a professor in advance if they will be absent. Attendance expectations are higher for online and intensive courses (see syllabus for specific requirements). Class Tardiness Policy The third time a student is late to the start of class, it will be counted as a class absence. It is also expected that students will return from a break by the time specified by the professor. Late Work Policy If a student cannot complete the work for a course by the due date listed on the syllabus, they must submit a Request for a Grade of Incomplete form to the Registrar by 4:30 of the last day of the term. The form must be signed by the instructor and Dean of Students. The professor may set stipulations and grade reductions. In the absence of a formal request form, the student will receive a grade based upon work completed by the last day of the term. Turabian Format All papers, including footnotes and bibliography, must be submitted in the correct format according to Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7 th ed., 2007. Plagiarism Plagiarism is the act of passing off as one s own the words or ideas of someone else without providing proper acknowledgement or documentation. See the Academic Honesty Policy in the Seminary Catalog for more information on plagiarism and how to avoid it. Electronic Format Unless otherwise specified by the professor, all work submitted electronically must be in a Word document format (.doc,.docx).
Technology Use in the Classroom Unless it is directly tied to note-taking or research for the class, students are expected to refrain from using cell phones, laptops, or other electronic devices during class. Course Evaluation in Moodle Students must complete an online course evaluation using the seminary Moodle system at http://moodle.seminary.edu in order to receive a final grade for the course. The evaluation will be open for one week starting the last day of the term. If you need assistance connecting to Moodle or accessing the evaluation, please send an email to ithelpdesk@seminary.edu.
10 OT 450 WOMEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Spring 2016 I. Basic Research Information Research Project 1. Each student will be required to write two small research papers (7-8 pages minimum) on one of the topics listed below. 2. Students must submit their research papers via email and through Turnitin. 3. The papers will be due Monday, May 2 and June 6. Any overdue paper will be penalized one letter grade. II. Research Project Topics 1. The Role of the Queen Mother in the Social Life of Israel 2. The Plight of the Widow in the Old Testament 3. The Plight of the Poor Woman in the Old Testament 4. The Plight of the Concubine in the Old Testament 5. The Plight of the Female Slave in the Old Testament 6. The Plight of the Prostitute 7. Patriarchy in the Old Testament 8. Virginity in the Old Testament 9. Women and Sex in the Old Testament 10. Jezebel, Queen of Israel 11. Athaliah, Queen of Judah 12. Abigail and David 13. Queen Esther 14. Deborah: A Mother in Israel 15. Miriam, the Prophetess 16. Huldah, the Prophetess 17. Zipporah, the Wife of Moses 18. The Medium of Endor 19. The Story of Ruth 20. The Plight of Naomi 21. The Story of Tamar (Genesis 38) 22. The Story of Hagar
23. Jephthah s Daughter 24. Delilah 25. Michal and David 26. Bathsheba 27. The Rape of the Tamar (1 Samuel 13) 28. Rebekah 29. Sarah, the Wife of Abraham 30. Rizpah: A Mother s Agony 31. Jeroboam s Wife 32. Jael 33. If you desire to select another Old Testament woman as the subject of your research paper, please, see the professor for approval. 11