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REL 3010: Prophecy in Ancient Israelite Literature
(Sample syllabus)
*Prerequisite: REL 2010: Hebrew Scriptures
Professor: Dr. Rodney K. Duke
Contact Info.: Office: 116A, I.G. Greer; phone: 262-3091; email: dukerk
Office hrs:
General Description
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament prophetic books are among the most difficult
biblical books for the modern reader to understand in terms of their literary
form and content. This course is a historical and literary introduction to the
Old Testament prophets and seeks to enable the student to be better prepared to
read the prophets with understanding. After briefly surveying the nature of the
life and ministry of the early non-writing Israelite prophets, we will examine
four aspects of each of the prophetic books:
 | the prophet's historical and political setting, |
| the major events in the life and ministry of the prophet, |
| the content of structure of the book, and |
| the major concerns and themes of the prophet/prophetic
book. |
Course Goals
| For students to develop independent learning skills and function as a
scholarly community (see "Instructional Methods" below). |
| For students to discover how to "read" the
prophetic literature, wrestling with questions regarding functions, genres and
forms, compositional history, historicity, theology (nature of God,
inspiration, etc.), and contemporary relevance. |
| For students to develop skills in locating,
evaluating and synthesizing past research on the prophets. |
| For students to develop and employ writing and oral
presentation skills. |
| For students to create a "product," a notebook on
the prophets that can serve them as a future resource. |
Instructional Methods
Lecture will be minimal. Instructional methods will focus on
student presentations and discussion in the style of a seminar. In general, for
each class:
| All students will be expected to read and assimilate a
minimal amount of assigned material and be prepared to discuss the main
points in class. |
| Select students will be expected to present reports and
lead the discussion on specific prophets and topics. (There will be a
specific format to follow and resources to use for reports on the individual
prophets.) |
| All students will record in a notebook/journal their
conclusions about each prophet (issues, questions, significance) and/or a
summary of the main points of the class. |
As a result, during the course of the semester each student
will prepare several minor research projects to be presented in written and oral
forms on the prophets, with at least one project on a special topic or a book
review.
Methods of Evaluation
| Journal/Notebook. 30% |
| In-class participation
10% |
| Prophet presentations
(2-3) 20% |
| Research paper and
presentation 20% |
| Final examination 20% |
Policy Regarding Absences
Unexcused absences will result in a 2% deduction per absence
from the grade. Students who are unavoidably absent may submit a written excuse
at the next class, stating name, date & assignment missed, and reason.
Excused absences will not effect the student's grade.
Policy Regarding Electronic Devices
During class only PDAs and laptops are permitted. During examinations, all electronic devices (cellphones, iPods, PDAs, etc.) must remain turned
off and must be stowed out of sight. Any use of a cellphone, iPod, or similar device during an examination may result in temporary confiscation of the device.
Required Textbooks
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| The Bible, New International Version,
paperback edition. For purchase. |
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| John Bright, A History of Israel. 3rd
edition. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981. (For rent.) |
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| James D. Newsome, Jr., The Hebrew Prophets,
paperback. For purchase. |
General
Class Format
Except for the first few introductory
classes, in which there will be brief responses to specific reading assignments,
the classes will consist of student-led reports on the biblical prophetic
books. The material that is presented in class is to be put into a
notebook-journal and organized in the chronological order of the assignments.
The notebook will be one of the major products used for evaluating the student
grades. Students will also use this collected material to study for the final
examination.
In regard to the assignments on the biblical
prophetic books:
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For each class period on a prophetic book,
all students who are not presenting, are to have read the biblical book
of the prophet, to have read the related chapter in the textbook by Newsome,
to have filled out in note form the Prophet Research Form sections A-D,
and to come to class prepared to discuss the readings. |
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For each class period on a prophetic book,
there will also be a team of 2-4 students, who will have read more material in
the Bible encyclopedias (see list below). They will have filled out the
"Prophet Research Form" sections A-E more comprehensibly, will
distribute a copy to each of the class members, and will present the results
of their research. |
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After every presentation on a prophetic
work, all students who did not present will need to
complete section E on the "Prophet Research Form," which asks them to
reflect on the issues and relevance of the prophetic material. (This section
will be graded for thoughtfulness.) |
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After every class period,
all students, will write out a brief response to the question: "What
were most relevant points about this class (lecture, prophetic work
presentation, paper presentation, etc.) that needs to be remembered for a
study on the prophetic literature?" and include it with the forms in
their journals. This section will be graded for thoughtfulness and will help
students to prepare for the final exam. |
| Each student will also write a brief research paper or book
report and present a summary of the results to the class. These will be
scheduled to fit in with the general sequence of topics covered in the class.
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Bible Encyclopedias:
The Anchor Bible Dictionary. REF BS440
.A54 1992
Encyclopaedia Judaica. REF DS102.8
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. REF BS440 .I63
The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. (Online
library reserve).
Standards and procedures of the Academic Integrity Policy (http://studentconduct.appstate.edu) will be upheld.
"Appalachian State University is committed to making reasonable accommodations for individuals with documented qualifying disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Those seeking accommodations based on a substantially limiting disability must contact and register with The Office of Disability Services (ODS) atwww.ods.appstate.edu <http://www.ods.appstate.edu> <http://www.ods.appstate.edu/> or 828-262-3056. Once registration is
complete, individuals will meet with ODS staff to discuss eligibility and appropriate accommodations."
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