RS 210A:  THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE: HEBREW SCRIPTURES
Instructor: William A. Tooman                   Office Hours: Mon & Wed 12:00-1:30 Time: Mon & Wed., 10:00-11:40                      Telephone:  (608) 663-3271 Location: Predolin 122                               Email:  wtooman@edgewood.edu
Edgewood College, rooted in the Dominican tradition, engages students within a community of learners  committed to building a just and compassionate world.   The College educates students for meaningful personal and professional lives of ethical leadership, service, and a lifelong search for truth.

 

Course Description

 

A survey of the literature of the Hebrew Scriptures from a literary and canonical perspective.  The course is designed to stress the essential theological content of the Tanak and to observe the literary conventions of its various genres.  The primary objective is to develop the students’ abilities to read and interpret Hebrew Bible in translation.

 

 

Goals and Objectives

 

This class has four basic goals:

 

•   To learn the contours of ancient Israelite history and religion.

•   To learn the conventions of ancient Hebrew literature.

•   To learn how to interpret the Hebrew Bible with understanding.

•   To improve reasoning, reading and writing skills.

 

These goals will be met in the following ways:

 

•    Modeling – Class instruction is designed to model the kinds of observations and interpretive skills we will be developing over the semester.

•    Class room exercises – We will conduct careful, participatory reading exercises in class to enable students to learn to make observations and interpretive decisions.

•    Written assignments – Written assignments will be given every week.  These assignments are designed to help exercise the students' analytic abilities, interpretive skills, and writing.

•    Text Book Readings – The text-book was selected to supplement classroom instruction on the interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

•    Quizzes – There are three quizzes assigned during the course of the semester.  These quizzes are cumulative.

 

 

Text Books

 

     Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns,

2002).

       An English Bible (any version will do, so long as it is formatted in paragraphs [in narrative] and lines [in poetry].)  Students must bring a bible to every class period.

 

The text book was selected to enhance lectures on the interpretation of the biblical books.  Chapters will be assigned throughout the semester.

 

 

Assignments and Grades

 

Quizzes.  Early in the semester I will be giving two quizzes on basic material that all students need to grasp (50 pts. each; see semester schedule).  The quizzes are cumulative.  There are, however, no exams in this class.

 

Daily Assignments.  At the end of each class period, the instructor will give an assignment due at the beginning of the next class period.  (Students who miss class are responsible to contact a class mate or the instructor about the assignment.)  There are two types of daily assignments.

 

•   Reading Assignments (20 pts. each).  After class on most Tuesdays, you will be asked to read a portion of the Bible or secondary literature relevant to the topics for the week.  For the readings from the textbook (Berlin) and the three articles (Coogan, Mendenhall, & Berlin), you will turn in a summary of the assigned reading at the beginning of the next class period.  Summaries should be structured so that they can be used as reference guides when studying for the quizzes (Mendenhall) or when working on writing assignments and the project paper (all other readings).

•   Interpretation Assignments (30 pts. each).  After class on most Thursdays, students will be asked to write on a select passage of the bible.  These assignments are crafted to enable students to hone their interpretive skills.  The instructions for each assignment will be given out on in class on Thursdays.  These assignments must be typed, double-space.  Composition, grammar and style will make up ½ of the grade; content and argument will make up the other of the grade. 

• These assignments will be graded on the following scale:

 

30 pts.                  exemplary (concepts, argument, structure, grammar all good)

25 pts.                  you're getting there

20pts.                   satisfactory

15 pts.                  needs a lot of work

10 pts.                  unsatisfactory (not thoughtful enough, poorly written, etc.)

 0 pts.                  incomplete

 

There are a total of ten written assignments; nine of them count for credit, so you may skip one of the weekly written assignments.  Late written assignments will be downgraded.  Note however, you may not fall behind by more than 2 written assignments.  (If, for example, writing assignment 6 is due and you have not yet turned in assignment 4, I will give you a zero for assignment 4.)

 

 

Project Paper.  Students will write an 8-10 page, double-spaced paper interpreting a Biblical text of their choice, or exploring a topic of interest.  The details of this paper will be distributed later in the semester, but the following deadlines are important.

 

•     Students need to select their passage or topic and have it approved by the end of class on November 5  (10 points)

•     Students need to turn in a 1-2 page précis of their paper on November 26 (40 points)

•     The final paper is due on December 12  (100 points)

 

As with the weekly assignments, writing quality will make up of the grade of the précis and exegetical paper.  The final grade will be reduced by ½ a letter grade for day that it is late.

 

 

Class Participation.  Students are graded for classroom participation, including attendance.  That is, your final class grade will be increased or decreased by up to 25% based upon classroom participation.

 

 

Extra Credit.  Anyone who is concerned about his or her grade may undertake an extra-credit assignment worth 30 points.  You may do as many extra credit assignments as you wish, but they can only improve your final grade by a total of one full grade point.  There are any number of options for earning extra credit.  The following are just suggestions.  Feel free to suggest other topics.

 

1.   You may suggest a topic to the instructor on which you wish to do further reading (something that interests you, bothers you, confuses you, or whatever).  The instructor will then give you an article or selection form the Hebrew bible to read on that topic.  You will then write a two page summary and reflection on the reading.  (The summary portion should be no more than 1 page of the essay.)

 

2.   You may watch a documentary about something related to the Hebrew Bible or ancient Israelite history and write a two-page reflection on the films contribution to your understanding of the Hebrew Bible or its history.

 

3.   You may attend a public lecture given at the University, or a local church or synagogue, and write a two page reflection on its contribution to your understanding of biblical literature.

 

 

─────────────────────────

 

 

Grading Summary and Scale

 

TOTAL POINTS                                                          GRADE SCALE

 

Quizzes                          100 points	94-100     A
Written Assignments       300 points	88-93       AB
Textbook Notes            100 points	82-87        B
Project Paper               150 points	76-81        BC
Class Participation          100 points	69-75        C
Total:                             750 points	63-68        CD
Extra Credit:               + 30 points	57-62         D

 

 

 

 

The following is a schedule of topics for each week of the semester.  This schedule may be altered to account for the specific interests of the students or revised based on classroom progress.

 

DATE

TOPICS

ASSIGNMENT

 

Unit I – Introduction to Hebrew Bible

 

· 8-29         Syllabus & Presuppositions                                                    Read: Crenshaw, 9-28

· 9-3           Labor Day – No Class

· 9-5           Bible History and Geography                                                  Study for Quiz

· 9-10         Israelite Religion: Covenant; Quiz 1                                       Read: Mendenhall, 714-21

· 9-12         Israelite Religion: Cult                                                             Study for Quiz

· 9-17         Origins & Shape of the Hebrew Bible; Quiz 2                        No Assignment

 

Unit II – Reading Hebrew Bible (Genesis)

 

· 9-19         Reading HB 1 - Challenges, Intention                                     Writing Assignment 1

· 9-24         Group Reading - Gen 1                                                           Read Genesis 1-11

· 9-26         Reading HB 2 - Narrator                                                         Writing Assignment 2

· 10-1         Group Reading - Gen 2                                                           Read: Berlin, 13-21

· 10-3         Reading HB 3 - Parallelism                                                    Writing Assignment 3

· 10-8         Group Reading - Gen 3                                                           Read: Berlin, ABD 155-62

· 10-10 Reading HB 4 - Characters                                                          Writing Assignment 4

· 10-15       Fall Break - No Class

· 10-17       Group Reading - Gen 4                                                           Read: Berlin, 23-42

· 10-22 Reading HB 5 - Composition & Structure                                    Writing Assignment 5

· 10-24 Group Reading - Gen 1-11                                                           Read: Berlin, 43-82

· 10-29 Reading HB 6 - Motifs                                                                   Writing Assignment 6

· 10-31       Group Reading - Gen 12, 16, 22                                             Read Genesis 12-36

· 11-5         Reading HB 7 - Ambiguity; Gen 34                                         No Assignment

Students must have selected their paper topics by 11-5

 

Unit III – Genres & Books in Hebrew Bible

 

· 11-7         Reading Biblical Law                                                              Writing Assignment 7

· 11-12       Group Reading - Exodus 15                                                   Read Judg 1-5, 17-21

· 11-14       Reading DtrH 1                                                                       Writing Assignment 8

 

· 11-19 & 21 – Library Day & Thanksgiving Break

 

· 11-26 Group Reading -Judges 13-16                                                     Read II Kings 9-10

Précis due at beginning of class on 11-26

· 11-28       Reading DtrH 2                                                                       Writing Assignment 9

· 12-3         Group Reading - II Kings 9-10                                                            Read Isaiah 1-4

· 12-5         Reading Prophets                                                                   Writing Assignment 10

· 12-10 Group Reading -Isaiah 1-2                                                            No Assignment

· 12-12 Student Choice

Final papers due at beginning of class on 12-12

 

· 12-17–21  Exam Week: no Exam

 

 

 

Cancelled Classes

 

If the college ever needs to close due to weather, it will be reported in the morning on local TV and radio (e.g., channel 27, 105.5 FM).  If the instructor ever needs to cancel class due to illness or emergency the dean's office will be notified, and an announcement will be posted on the door of the classroom.

 

 

Students with Disabilities

 

If you have a documented disability that requires accommodation, please contact Elizabeth Watson in Learning Support Services (Student Resource Center, 206 DeRicci, 663-2281).  She will work with you provide appropriate accommodation, and all information will be kept confidential.

 

 

Learning Support Services

 

Learning Support Services (Student Resource Center, 206 DeRicci and Sonderegger 408) provides academic support for students.  Peer tutoring is available in some introductory-level undergraduate courses.  Individual assistance in time-management, study skills, and test-taking skills is also available.  Please contact Learning Support Services at 663-2281 for more information.