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DIPLOMA IN LAY PASTORAL MINISTRY
Weyerhaeuser Center for Faith and Learning • Whitworth College
Survey of the Old Testament
Syllabus
Module I: June 6-10, 2011
9:00 AM to Noon
Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.
Not of the philosophers and intellectuals.
—Blaise Pascal
Welcome to Old Testament Exploration!
Course Description
The Hebrew Bible, the bible to Jesus of Nazareth, is arguably the most read text in history, though all too
often misconstrued. The literary critic, Erich Auerbach, described the Old Testament narrative as being
“fraught with background.” To understand the foreground of the Hebrew Bible, one must welcome and
comprehend its background. In this class, the method of study will be to intelligently read the texts of the
Old Testament with a view to the wider cultural context of the ancient Near East in which they were
composed in the service of uncovering the historical intents and the theological claims of Old Testament
texts. Throughout the course, attention will be given to central theological issues in all three
subdivisions of the scriptures: the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, as well as the use of Old
Testament quotations and allusions in the New Testament.
Faculty
Scott R.A. Starbuck, M.Div. Ph.D., Lecturer in the Theology Department at Whitworth College, Pastor of
Manito Presbyterian Church, and author of Court Oracles in the Psalms among other publications.
Email: sstarbuck@whitworth.edu (cc. scotts@manito.org). Phone: 509.216.3602; fax 509.838.1554. If
you send e-mail, please do not consider information communicated until you have received a receipt of
communication from me (since servers fail, computers crash, and cyberspace can become “lost in
space”).
Post-Class Projects
The only required post-class project is to complete the Bandstra online quizzes with an 80% average. If
students would like feedback on an additional ministry related project, I am open to serve in either a
review or consulting capacity.
Survey of the Old Testament
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Required Readings
— The Bible: New Revised Standard Version (recommended; other translations such as the NIV, NASB,
JB, or JPS may be helpful for purposes of comparison). All students are required to bring a Bible to each
class session. Normally, you can purchase the HarperCollins NRSV for about $30.00 through
Amazon.com.
— Barry L. Bandstra, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (4th edition;
Wadsworth, 2008). Normally, you can purchase this book used for about $50.00 through
Amazon.com
—B.S. Childs, “The Canonical Shape of the Prophetic Literature,” Interpretation 32 (1978) 46-55.
—Terence E. Fretheim, “Law in the Service of Life: A Dynamic Understanding of Law in
Deuteronomy,” in A God So Near: Essays in Old Testament Theology in Honor of Patrick D. Miller
(eds. B.A. Strawn and N. Bowen; Eisenbrauns, 2003) 183-200.
—J.J.M. Roberts, “The Enthronement of YHWH and David: The Abiding Theological Significance
of Kingship Language of the Psalms.” CBQ 2000.
—Hermann Spieckermann, “God's Steadfast Love: Towards a New Conception of Old Testament
Theology.” BIBLICA 80: 305-27.
—Scott R.A. Starbuck, “Why Declare the Things Forbidden? Classroom Integration of Ancient Near
Eastern Archaeology with Biblical Studies in Theological Context,” in Between Text and Artifact:
Integrating Archeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (ed. M.C. Moreland; SBL, 2003) 99-113.
Course Structure
Compared to the New Testament, the Old Testament is a vast and virtually unexplored territory. To
facilitate substantive theological reflection and discussion during on-campus class time, students are
encouraged to work through introductory readings and chapter evaluations prior to June 10, 2010. All
readings are taken from Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, by Barry L.
Bandstra, (4th edition; Wadsworth, 2008).
In addition to reading through the Old Testament, each participant is strongly encouraged to complete
online quizzes at http://barrybandstra.com/biblicaltext/course/category.php?id=2 prior to the first day of
class. Our course is listed as “Weyerhaeuser Center” at the bottom of the webpage. Please note, you
must enroll in our class on the webpage. Please do not enroll in the other class listed under my name
and Whitworth University. Thank you!
Day
Mon
Tues
Subject
Overview of the Old Testament
Theology of the Torah: Focus -- Deuteronomy
Wed
Theology of the Prophets: Focus -- Isaiah
Thurs
Theology from Below: Focus – Psalms
Fri
OT Theology
Readings to be Read by Class
Starbuck, “Things Forbidden”
Fretheim, “Law in the Service to
Life”
Childs, “Canonical Shape of
Prophetic Literature”
Roberts, “Enthronement of Yahweh
and David”
Spieckermann, “Steadfast Love”