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SCHOOL OF DIVINITY, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY
ACADEMIC SESSION 2015-2016
DR4553 Contemporary Issues in the Study of the Hebrew Bible/
DR552U The Study of the Hebrew Bible
30 Credits, 11 Weeks
PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY:
The full set of school regulations and procedures is contained in the
Undergraduate Student Handbook which is available online at your
MyAberdeen page. Students are expected to familiarise themselves not only
with the contents of this leaflet but also with the contents of the Handbook.
Therefore, ignorance of the contents of the Handbook will not excuse the
breach of any School regulation or procedure.
You must familiarise yourself with this important information at the earliest
opportunity.
COURSE CO-ORDINATOR/COURSE TEAM
Professor Joachim Schaper
Tel. 01224-272840
Office hours: by appointment
Discipline Administration:
Mrs Claire Hargaden
50-52 College Bounds
Room CB001
01224 272366
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TIMETABLE
Lecture Mondays 2-3pm MR268
Seminar Tuesdays 12-2pm KCF6
Students can view their university timetable at
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/timetables-550.php
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This lecture course will delineate, analyse and evaluate recent work in the study of
the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, including Septuagint studies. The subjects covered
are those which are currently of special importance to the development of Old
Testament Studies, namely the history of ancient Israel, Pentateuch Studies and
exegetical methodology, anthropology and its use in Old Testament research, and
the history and theology of the Septuagint.
INTENDED AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
(By being introduced to recent developments in the study of the Hebrew Bible/Old
Testament, namely the history of ancient Israel, Pentateuch Studies and exegetical
methodology, anthropology and its use in Old Testament research, and the history
and theology of the Septuagint, the students will understand and learn to evaluate
research methodology in Old Testament Studies. They will be enabled to acquire a
substantial knowledge of key areas and of some of the most important current
debates and will thus be in a position to participate more fully in the exploration of
the Jewish and Christian Bibles.
A. Knowledge and Understanding
- to introduce students to current key debates in Old Testament study
- to enable students to develop an independent view of said debates and the
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conflicting viewpoints they are informed by
- to enable students to gain a substantial knowledge of the data underlying the
current debates
- to deepen the students’ understanding of the historical basis and the theological
consequences of the contemporary issues discussed in the lectures
- to enable students to discern between good and bad methodology with regard to
both historical and theological arguments in the study of the Old Testament/Hebrew
Bible
B. Discipline-specific Skills
- to produce work which coherently presents and astutely assesses central points of
contemporary debates in Old Testament studies and results in a precisely argued,
responsible, independent conclusion
- to assess and evaluate conflicting viewpoints in a complex discussion
- to explore and use the full range of printed, IT and other resources in the subject
- to develop good presentation skills while making use of said resources
- to realise the interplay between historical and theological arguments in Biblical
Studies
C. Transferable Skills
- to develop an independent position through intellectual rigour - to process, analyse
and evaluate a wealth of data
- to gain proficiency in the public presentation of academic work - to strengthen and
further develop academic writing skills
- to produce diligent, self-reliant work
- to develop good time-management skills
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LECTURE/SEMINAR PROGRAMME
The ‘History of Ancient Israel’
Week 25: The History of ‘Ancient Israel’ vs. the History of ‘Ancient Palestine’
Week 26: ‘Biblical History’ and Historical Method: The ‘Copenhagen School’
Week 27: Is it possible to write a ‘History of Ancient Israel/Palestine’?
Anthropology and the Study of the Old Testament
Week 28: History of scholarship; genesis of the current situation
Week 29: How can anthropology contribute to Biblical Studies/OT Studies?
Week 30: Examples from Deuteronomy and some prophetical books
The Resurgence of Septuagint Studies
Week 31: Why the new interest in Septuagint Studies?
Week 32: The relation between the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint
Week 33: ‘Case studies’ from the Pentateuch and Isaiah
Exegetical Method and Pentateuch Studies
Week 34: A revolution in methodology?
Week 35: The current turmoil in the study of the Pentateuch
I am happy to meet for revision on the scheduled times in Week 39. If you are
interested in structured revision, please contact me by email no later than 31st
March 2016. Please specify which particular topics you would wish to have
addressed.
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READING LIST
Compulsory reading for each week will be specified during the course and will
be chosen from the bibliography given below and from material available on
MyAberdeen.
SECONDARY READING
History of Ancient Israel/Palestine
Barr, J., History and Ideology in the Old Testament: Biblical Studies at the End
of a Millennium: The Hensley Henson Lectures for 1997 delivered to the
University of Oxford, Oxford 2000
Carroll, R.P., ‚Poststructuralist approaches: New Historicism and
postmodernism’, in: J. Barton (Hg.), The Cambridge Companion to Biblical
Interpretation, Cambridge Companions to Religion, Cambridge 1998, 50-66
Davies, P.R., In Search of ‚Ancient Israel‘, JSOTS 148, Sheffield 1992
Dever, W.G., What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?
What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel, Grand
Rapids, Michigan und Cambridge, U.K. 2001
Edelman, D., ‚Clio’s Dilemma. The Changing Face of History-Writing’, in: A.
Lemaire and M. Saebo (Hgg.), Congress Volume. Oslo 1998, VTS 80, Leiden
2000, 247-255
Finkelstein, I. and N. A. Silberman, The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New
Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, New York 2001
Finkelstein, I., The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement, Jerusalem 1988,
293-356
Finley, M.I., Ancient History: Evidence and Models, London 1985
Garbini, G., History and Ideology in Ancient Israel, ET J. Bowden, London 1988
Grabbe, L.L. (ed.), Can a ‚History of Israel’ Be Written?, JSOTS 245, Sheffield
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1997
Grabbe, L.L., ‚Writing Israel’s History at the End of the Twentieth Century’, in:
A. Lemaire and M. Saebo (Hgg.), Congress Volume. Oslo 1998, VTS 80, Leiden
2000, 203-218
Grabbe, L.L., Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?,
London and New York: T&T Clark, 2007.
Hodder, I., Reading the Past: Current Approaches to Interpretation in
Archaeology, Cambridge u.a. 1986
Howard, Th.A., Religion and the Rise of Historicism: W. M. L. de Wette, Jacob
Burckhardt, and the Theological Origins of Nineteenth-Century Historical
Consciousness, Cambridge 2000
Jaeger, F. and J. Rusen, Geschichte des Historismus: Eine Einfuhrung, Munchen
1992
Knauf, E.A., From History to Interpretation, in: D. V. Edelman (ed.), The Fabric
of History: Text, Artifact and Israel’s Past, JSOTS 127, Sheffield 1991, 26-64
Kofoed, J. B., Text and History: Historiography and the Study of the Biblical
Text, Winona Lake (Indiana) 2005
Kofoed, J.B., ‚Epistemology, Historiographical Method, and the „Copenhagen
School“’, in: V. Philips Long et. al. (eds.), Windows into Old Testament History:
Evidence, Argument, and the Crisis of ‚Biblical Israel’, Grand Rapids, Michigan
und Cambridge, U.K. 2002, 23-43
Lemche, N.P., ‚Warum die Theologie des Alten Testaments einen Irrweg
darstellt’, in: JBTh 10 (1995), 79-92
McNutt, P.M., Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel, London und
Louisville (Kentucky) 1999
Philips Long, V. (Hg.), Israel’s Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient
Israelite Historiography, Winona Lake (Indiana) 1999
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Provan, I., ‚Ideologies, Literary and Critical. Reflections on Recent Writing on
the History of Israel’, in: JBL 114 (1995), 585-606
Provan, I., ‚In the Stable with the Dwarves. Testimony, Interpretation, Faith
and the History of Israel’, in: A. Lemaire and M. Saebo (Hgg.), Congress
Volume. Oslo 1998, VTS 80, Leiden 2000, 281-319
Schaper, J., ‚Auf der Suche nach dem alten Israel?’, in two parts, in: ZAW
117/4 (2005) and ZAW 118/1 (2006)
Thompson, Th., Early History of the Israelite People, Leiden 1992 Thompson,
Th., ‚Critical Notes. A Neo-Albrightean School in History and Biblical
Scholarship?’, in: JBL 114 (1995), 683-705
Thompson, Th., ‚Das Alte Testament als theologische Disziplin’, in: JBTh 10
(1995), 157-173
Thompson, Th., The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past, London 1999
Thompson, Th., ‚Problems of Genre and Historicity with Palestine’s
Inscriptions’, in: A. Lemaire and M. Saebo (Hgg.), Congress Volume. Oslo 1998,
VTS 80, Leiden 2000, 321-326
Veyne, P., Comment on ecrit l’histoire: Texte integral, Paris 1971 (reprint Paris
1996)
Anthropology and the Study of the Old Testament
Assmann, A., Assmann, J., Hardmeier, C. (eds.), Schrift und Gedachtnis:
Beitrage zur Archaologie der literarischen Kommunikation, Archaologie der
literarischen Kommunikation 1, Munchen 1983 (21993)
Assmann, J., Das kulturelle Gedachtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische
Identitat in fruhen Hochkulturen, Munchen 1992
Davis, E. F., Swallowing the Scroll: Textuality and the Dynamics of Discourse in
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Ezekiel’s Prophecy, JSOTS 78; Bible and Literature Series 21, Sheffield 1989
Goody, J., The Domestication of the Savage Mind, Cambridge 1977
Goody, J., The Logic of Writing and the Organisation of Society, Studies in
Literacy, Family, Culture and the State, Cambridge 1986
Goody, J., The Interface between the Written and the Oral, Cambridge 1987
Goody, J. and I. Watt 1968, ‘The Consequences of Literacy’, in: J. Goody (ed.),
Literacy in Traditional Societies, Cambridge 1968, 27-68 (= Comparative
Studies in Society and History 5 [1963], 304-345)
Lawrence, L. and M. Aguilar (eds.), Anthropology and Biblical Studies: Avenues
of Research, Leiden 2004
Niditch, S., Oral World and Written Word, Library of Ancient Israel, Louisville,
KY 1996
Ong, W. J., Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word, London and
New York 2002 (repr.; first published: New York 1982)
Schaper, J., ‘A Theology of Writing: Deuteronomy, the Oral and the Written,
and God as Scribe’, in: L. Lawrence and M. Aguilar (eds.), Anthropology and
Biblical Studies: Avenues of Research, 97-119
Schniedewind, W. M. 2000, ‘Orality and Literacy in Ancient Israel’, in: Religious
Studies Review 26 (2000), 327-332
Thomas, R., Literacy and Orality in Ancient Greece, Key Themes in Ancient
History, Cambridge 1999 (repr.; first published in 1992)
The Resurgence of Septuagint Studies
Collins, N. L. The Library in Alexandria and the Bible in Greek, Boston 2000
Dines, J. M., The Septuagint, London 2004
Fernandez Marcos, N., The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek
Versions of the Bible, Leiden/Boston/Koeln 2000
Jellicoe, The Septuagint and Modern Study, Oxford 1968 (repr. Winona Lake,
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Ind. 1993)
Jobes, K. H. and M. Silva, Invitation to the Septuagint, Grand Rapids, MI 22001
McLay, R. T., The Use of the Septuagint in New Testament Research, Grand
Rapids, MI 2003
Muller, M., The First Bible of the Church, Sheffield 1996
Schaper, J., Eschatology in the Greek Psalter, WUNT II/76, Tuebingen 1995
Swete, H.B., An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, Cambridge 21914
(repr. Peabody, MA 1989)
Tov, E., The Greek and Hebrew Bible, Leiden/Boston 1999
Exegetical Method and Pentateuch Studies
Alter, R. and F. Kermode (eds.), The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge,
MA 1987
Fishbane, M., ‚Inner-biblical Exegesis: Types and Strategies of Interpretation in
Ancient Israel’, in: idem, The Garments of Torah. Essays in Biblical
Hermeneutics, Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature, Bloomington/Indianapolis
1989, 3-18
Fishbane, M., ‚Inner-Biblical Exegesis’, in: M. Saebø (ed.), Hebrew Bible/Old
Testament. The History of Its Interpretation, I: From the Beginnings to the
Middle Ages (Until 1300), 1: Antiquity, Gottingen 1996, 33-48
Fishbane, M., ‚Midrash and the Nature of Scripture’, in: idem, The Exegetical
Imagination: On Jewish Thought and Theology, Cambridge (MA)/London 1998,
9-21.
Fishbane, M., ‚Types of Biblical Intertextuality’, in: A. Lemaire and M. Saebø
(eds.), Congress Volume. Oslo 1998, VTS 80, Leiden/Boston/Cologne 2000, 39-
44
Fishbane, M., Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel, Oxford , sec. edn. 1991
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Kugel, J., ‚The Bible’s Earliest Interpreters’, Prooftexts 7 (1987), 275-276
Levinson, B. M. 1991, ‘The Right Chorale: From the Poetics to the
Hermeneutics of the Hebrew Bible’, in: J. P. Rosenblatt and J. C. Sitterson, Jr.
(eds.), ‘Not in Heaven’: Coherence and Complexity in Biblical Narrative,
Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 129-53
Levinson, B.M., Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation, New
York and Oxford 1997
Schaper, J., ‚Re-reading the Law – Inner-biblical Exegeses of Divine Oracles in
Ezechiel 44 and Isaiah 56’, in: B. M. Levinson and E. Otto (eds.), Recht und
Ethik im Alten Testament: Beitrage des Symposiums “Das Alte Testament und
die Kultur der Moderne” anlasslich des 100. Geburtstags Gerhard von Rads
(1901-1971), Heidelberg, 18.-21. Oktober 2001, Altes Testament und Moderne
13, Munster 2004, 125-144
Schmid, K., ‚Innerbiblische Schriftauslegung: Aspekte der
Forschungsgeschichte’, in: R.G. Kratz/Th. Kruger/K. Schmid (eds.),
Schriftauslegung in der Schrift. Festschrift fur Odil-Hannes Steck zu seinem 65.
Geburtstag, BZAW 300, Berlin/New York 2000, 1-22
Seeligmann, I.L., ‚Voraussetzungen der Midrasch-Exegese’, in: Congress
Volume Copenhagen 1953, VTS 1, Leiden 1953, 150-181.
Sternberg, M., The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the
Drama of Reading, Bloomington, Ind. 1985
ASSESSMENT
PLEASE NOTE: In order to pass a course on the first attempt, a student must attain a Common Grading Scale (CGS) mark of at least E3 on each element of course assessment. Failure to do so will result in a grade of no greater than CGS E1 for the course as a whole. DR4553 One three hour written examination (60%);
in-course assessment: one essay (30%) and one presentation (10%).
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DR552U Written examination (60%); 5000 word essay (30%); oral presentation
(10%).
Click to view the University Level Descriptors (ANNEX A).
Click to view the University Assessment Scale Band Descriptors (ANNEX B).
ESSAYS
Essays should be approximately 4000 words long for DR4553 & 5000 words
long for DR552U, including quotations and footnotes but excluding
bibliography; students should note that they will be penalised for work which
is either too long or too short.
The essays should be carried out in informed and critical dialogue with
relevant and up-to-date scholarly secondary literature. All interaction with
secondary literature must be annotated with footnotes. Failure to do so will
be penalized.
Try being concise and to the point.
Do not include material that is irrelevant to the topic at hand.
If you have any questions or concerns about submitting your essays, ask the
course co-coordinator before the essay is due.
ASSESSMENT DEADLINES
The presentation will be given in the course of the seminar. The essay must be submitted to the course co-ordinator no later than Monday 25th April 2016.
SUBMISSION ARRANGEMENTS
Submit one paper copy to the drop boxes in CB008 in 50-52 College Bounds
and one electronic copy to Turnitin via MyAberdeen. Both copies to be
submitted by 3.00pm on the due date.
Failure to submit both an electronic copy to Turnitin and a hard copy to the school office, by the stated deadline, will result in a zero mark.
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N.B Turnitin doesn’t accept Mac documents in Pages. If using a Mac please go to File and export work as a Word document. All coursework must be submitted to the course co-ordinator no later than Monday 25th April 2016. Failure to comply will disqualify the student from taking the final exam AND the resit. The student must retake the course in order to be eligible to take the final exam / resit.
EXAMINATION
Duration: 3 hours.
Structure of examination papers: of. previous examination papers which are
available on databases; past examination papers can be downloaded from
MyAberdeen.
General exam guidance will be given in the Student Handbook.)
RESIT INFORMATION
100% examination.
Access to the resit is provisional on:
All submitted coursework having been submitted and graded at CGS E3
or higher.
Student having a valid Class Certificate. Students with C7’s are not
eligible for resits.
Past exam papers can be viewed at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/learning-
and-teaching/for-students/exam-papers/.