Intro to the Hebrew Bible

Prof. Mark K. George
Office: I-113, (303) 765-3168
Office hours: I am happy to arrange a meeting with any student. Please contact me by email to make arrangements.
Email: mgeorge@iliff.edu
Weekly office hours: I will hold weekly "Hebrew Bible Happy Hours" (HBHH) on Zoom every Thursday, 7:00–8:00 pm MT, but this is subject to change before the beginning of the quarter. Should fewer than 3 people be able to join me, I reserve the right to close out the happy hour in the first 10 minutes. Please note this meeting has a password, and you will enter a waiting room before reaching the session.

Elyse Pierce, GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
Email: epierce@iliff.edu

Hebrew Bible Happy Hour : each week in Thursday evening at 7:00 pm MT (Zoom link here ), Mark will open an optional synchronous Zoom session. The purpose? To hang out, chat about what we're learning, have conversation, be with one another. Mark will not present new materials or expect what is discussed during these sessions to be material for which you are accountable. Rather, think of these sessions as opportunities for a Zoom conversation over an adult beverage (since we are not on campus and thus unable to walk over to a bar or coffee shop and have conversation together). It's informal. It's ungraded. It's optional. It's fun and relaxing!

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

Course Description

Catalogue description: An introduction to the literature and history of ancient Israel and early Judaism with special attention to the various methods appropriate to studying the Hebrew Bible.

Additional description: As an introductory course, this class is designed to provide a one quarter survey of the Hebrew Bible. It is organized according to the canonical arrangement of the Hebrew Bible. We study the content and themes of the books of the Hebrew Bible, their historical and social backgrounds, and scholarly interpretations and approaches to the materials. Among the objectives of the course is to prepare students for further coursework in biblical studies and to develop each student’s skills in critical, close readings of biblical texts.

Course Outcomes

The following are the desired student outcomes for this course:

1. students gain greater understanding of the major aspects of the critical study of the Hebrew Bible;
2. students increase their knowledge of the content of the Hebrew Bible, the types of literature it contains, and the historical and cultural contexts in which this literature was produced, through readings, lectures, course discussions, and assessments;
3. students improve their critical reading skills of biblical (and other) texts, through readings and course discussions;
4. students learn and begin to use scholarly theories and approaches to the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, through readings, lectures, and class discussions;
5. students learn to interpret the Hebrew Bible in the larger context of material artifacts, archaeological and geographic sites, and other ancient materials, through readings and course discussions.

Books

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). This is the translation we will use in the course for all class work, written work, online postings, and other “official” contexts. If you do not own a copy of the NRSV or have easy electronic access to a copy, please make arrangements to gain access. If you would like to purchase a copy, I recommend Harold W. Attridge, ed. The HarperCollins Study Bible-Student Edition: Fully Revised and Updated . San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006. ISBN 978-0060786847. The only online site of which I know that provides access to the NRSV is Oremus ; please make sure you use the NRSV from the options provided in the drop-down menu under the search box.

Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies . 2nd edition. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015. ISBN 978-0664235949 . If you only can find the 1st edition, that also is acceptable. Note: Please read this book prior to the first week of class.

Coogan, Michael D. and Cynthia R. Chapman. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context . 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0190903756 (p).

Newson, Carol A., Sharon H. Ringe, Jacqueline E. Lapsley, eds. The Women’s Bible Commentary . 3 ^rd edition. Revised and expanded. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0664237073.

Petersen, David L. The Prophetic Literature: An Introduction . Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0664254537.

If you would like to begin reading over the break , please start reading the Bible. This might sound like a cliché (maybe it is), but becoming familiar with the content of each book will be extremely helpful for the course. You don't have to read every book, chapter, and verse, but spend time with each book. Skim it for content. If something catches your eye, slow down (or stop) and read more carefully. Take a few notes for yourself about what you find in the books. Let the narratives and stories capture your interest and imagination. Read closely. What I mean is, slow waaaaaaay down and pay attention to what the stories themselves say, not what you've heard or been taught about them. Allow yourself to be stumped, puzzled, thrilled, angered, mystified, or whatever. Take a couple notes for yourself when this happens, noting your reaction and what book, chapter, and verse(s) provoked your reaction. This will be valuable information for our class during the term.

NOTE: the syllabus and schedule are subject to change at the sole discretion of the professor.

Revision date: 30 December 2021

1. Regular participation in Canvas discussions and activities. Each week the professor posts a two-part lecture on the week’s materials (normally these will be posted by Tuesday evening of the previous week). Outlines for each lecture will be posted (in Word) on Canvas so you know where the lecture is going, what is covered, and also to encourage you to take notes on the lecture. Before participating in the online discussions for the week, please listen to the lecture and complete the readings. The flow of participation is as follows:
   1. Tuesday: This is the initial posting you will make each week and where our class discussion begins. It is the one where your voice and engagement with the materials for the week are most clearly articulated.
      1. By 11:45 p.m. MT, please log in and offer your considered reflections and contribution for the week. Tell us what you make of the material in terms of how it helps you understand the Hebrew Bible (HB). For example, "Reading the Enuma elish blew my mind! Why have I not ever heard of other creation stories from the ancient Near East? This story helps me think about human existence and humans' interest in where we come from in a new way. Specifically, ..."  Or tell us what doesn’t make sense, or questions you have about the material. Please don’t simply say something like, “I don’t understand Source Criticism.” This is too general, and the sort of thing that might pass in an undergraduate course, but not here. Instead, try to explain what it is, specifically, about Source Criticism that doesn’t make sense, or where you got lost, or whatever it is that you don’t understand. In other words, to the best of your ability, diagnose where your confusion or lack of understanding lies.
      2. If you are not sure where to start, look at the questions Coogan offers at the end of each chapter and see if you can answer them. They can help you focus your thinking about what you are learning.
      3. Please note that this discussion is set up in such a way that you cannot see other contributions until you enter your own. This is intentional! It helps the rest of us hear you and what you are learning.
      4. The more specific you can be in explaining your thinking, the more it helps the rest of us hear you, understand how you think about the materials, help us think about them with you, and thus facilitate our learning together. But please keep the next point in mind!
      5. Please don’t write everything you are thinking about the week’s materials! Three (3) paragraphs (no more than one page total) should be enough to get us going. What are the 1 or 2 most important take-aways for you from the week’s materials in terms of how you understand the HB? You may have more than this in mind, so please remember you can introduce other ideas about the materials in the Wednesday discussion.
      6. Your Tuesday contribution is the primary basis for your weekly participation grade (90% or so). This grade is adjusted based on your other contributions for each week (Wed. and Thurs.), since those parts of the grade will be entered into the Canvas grade book as “complete/incomplete.”
   2. Wednesday: By 11:45 p.m. MT, please read through the Tuesday contributions and respond to at least 2 others in your group (groups change each week). The goal of these responses is to advance our learning and understanding of the week’s materials. Answer a question. Pose a question. Connect the dots between ideas of one person with those of another. Tell us how your own thinking is developing as you think about something another person contributed.
      1. Your responses do not have to be lengthy; a (short-ish) paragraph normally is sufficient.
      2. Please note that the quality of our discussions depends on what you contribute on Tuesday and the ways you respond to others on Wednesday.
      3. The professor and GTA are active participants in the discussions each week.
   3. Thursday: For this discussion, some sort of artifact related to the study of the HB is posted for your consideration. These include maps, images of material artifacts, other textual evidence from the ancient Near East (ANE), a biblical passage, something science offers biblical study, etc. These artifacts make available to you primary sources (textual, material, etc.) that contribute to our understanding of the HB and place the HB within a larger context. The goal of these assignments is both to have you post comments about the artifact and that you briefly respond to others.
      1. Please look at the artifact and respond as indicated. Please do so by 11:45 p.m. MT on Thursday.
      2. Responses may be short: 2–3 sentences is enough. I have in mind the sort of quick response you might make on a social media platform.
2. Terms quizzes. Most weeks there will be a short quiz (10 items) on terms, names, sites, and dates relevant to our study and understanding of the HB.
   1. Many of these come from the terms Coogan lists at the end of his chapters, but others do not, since Coogan does not list every term the professor considers important for your basic knowledge of the Hebrew Bible. The professor suggests consulting Coogan and a one-volume Bible dictionary for help learning the terms. Also, work with others from class to define and learn the terms.
   2. These quizzes and terms are another way to learn about the Hebrew Bible and its contents. You may ask questions about terms if you are not finding useful information elsewhere, but please do your homework before asking; the purpose of these quizzes and terms is to add to what you've learned rather than being your one source for information!
   3. Each quiz must be completed no later than 11:45 p.m. MT on Friday (there is no quiz in Weeks 1, 5, 6 or 10). Each quiz has a time limit of 7 minutes.
   4. You may take the quiz a total of three (3) times, with Canvas recording your highest score. The terms on each quiz are listed in the schedule for that week. There are more terms than will appear on each quiz because Canvas mixes up which questions appear each time you take the quiz, so please learn them all. Caveat: terms from earlier weeks will not be listed again, even though they may appear again in later weeks.
   5. Quiz questions come in a variety of forms, including true/false, multiple choice, all that are correct, etc. These different formats are designed to help you learn these terms.
3. Map quizzes. There are two map quizzes for this course, one on sites in the larger ancient Near East (ANE), the other on sites in Canaan. Each quiz is administered online over a two-day period. The first quiz, on sites in the ANE, will be available in Week 3 between Wednesday, 26 Jan. at 6:00 a.m. MT and Friday, 28 Jan. at 12:00 p.m. MT. The second quiz, on sites in Canaan, will be available in Week 8 between Wednesday, 2 Mar. at 6:00 a.m. MT and Friday, 4 Mar. at 12:00 p.m. MT.
   1. In order to help you learn and study for these quizzes, you can download the full list of map sites for the ancient Near East and Canaan for use in the Google Earth website on Chrome. (Suggestion: download the Google Earth Pro stand-alone program to your personal computer or laptop so you can study the maps without an internet connection. To load the map files into Google Earth Pro after you install this app, click on "File," then"Open," then locate the map files [.kmz files] on your computer and click on them.) If you are using the Chrome browser and have Google Earth open in a window, here is how you get the map sites to open on it:
      
      1. Once you have Google Earth open, click on the "Projects" icon on the left side of the screen (it's the locator pin in a square, third icon below the magnifying glass icon, or third from the bottom of the icons).
      2. Once Projects is open, click on the "Open" box and drop-down menu, at which point you will see the option to "Import KML file from computer."
      3. Locate the downloaded map file(s) on your computer and click on one. It should open in Google Earth.
      4. You can remove particular sites, regions, etc. by clicking on the "eye" icon in My Places.
      5. The pins are color-coded: Yellow = site, Red = region, White = bodies of water
      6. Regions are indicated by dark borders and shaded areas.
   2. The instructors suggest you learn each site by its relationship to fixed landmarks or bodies or water, since not every pin will appear on the map questions.
   3. In each quiz, students are to correctly identify sites, regions, and bodies of water on the map. Each question has a colored pin on the map indicating which site must be identified. Each question is multiple choice; select the correct answer from the list.
   4. Each quiz has a time limit of 7 minutes. You have three (3) attempts at each map quiz, with Canvas recording your highest score. As with the terms quizzes, there are more sites in for each quiz than you will be asked, so you are likely to have at least one or two different sites posed for you from one quiz attempt to the next.
   5. Practice map quiz. A practice map quiz is available for your use. Based on New Testament sites, it is designed to help you become familiar with how the quiz works in Canvas.
4. Examinations. There will be two examinations in the course: a midterm and final. Both involve writing essays in response to questions given by the professor.
   1. Midterm: the midterm examination questions will be posted in Week 6 on Sunday, 13 Feb. at 12:00 pm MT; answers are due on Thursday, 17 Feb. no later than 11:45 p.m. MT.
   2. Final: the final examination questions will be posted in Week 10 on Monday, 14 Mar. at 12:00 pm MT; answers are due on Friday, 18 Mar. no later than 11:45 p.m. MT.
   3. Both examinations are open book. Students may consult their course materials, discuss the questions with others in the class and what they understand each question to be asking, and how they might go about formulating an answer. However, each student must write their own answers for the examination. Students may not share answers, review the answers of others, or assist directly in any way with the answer of another student. What is being encouraged is collaborative work preparing your answers, but once you begin answering the question, you are not permitted to work with others; you must create and produce your own answer.
   4. Both examinations are essay exams. Both will be comprehensive of the materials to that point in the course (i.e., through Wk 5 for the midterm, through Wk 10 for the final). Students will be given 2 or 3 questions and asked to write essay answers to them. All essays are to follow graduate school standards for written work: typed, in 12 point font, with 1 inch margins on all sides, double-spaced, proof-read and carefully checked for grammar and style, with proper citation style, and noting the total word count for the examination on the last page. Examinations can be answered on the basis of assigned course materials. In other words, the examinations are not research papers. As a result, references to assigned course materials do not require bibliographic information beyond author, title, and page(s). Only if you decide you must cite an outside source (i.e., other than the materials assigned for this course) do you need to provide proper bibliographic information in a footnote for that source.

Weekly class participation............................................................................. 20%
Terms quizzes...................................................................................................10%
Map quizzes......................................................................................................10% (5% each)
Midterm examination..................................................................................... 25%
Final examination............................................................................................ 35%

Late work is graded down one full letter grade for every 24-hour period it is late. Work more than two days late (48 hours) may be graded a zero, at the professor's discretion.

Pass/Fail requests must be made by e-mail to Prof. George (mgeorge@iliff.edu) no later than Sunday, 16 January 2022. E-mailed responses approving or denying each request will come from the professor. If you do not receive an email response by Friday, 21 January 2022, please contact the professor by email.

Incomplete grades will be granted only in the rarest of cases, and will follow the published incomplete policy in the Masters Student Handbook, which is online, with the addition that students who receive an incomplete will be required to make up all work, plus write a 5 page exegesis paper.

Iliff’s Academic Integrity policy will be followed and is available on the Iliff website. All students are encouraged to read carefully and understand this policy.

Please see the Policies & Services page for additional information.

A.....................94–100
A-....................91–93
B+...................88–90 (NB: a score of 90 is a B+)
B.....................83–87
B-...................80–82
C+..................78–79
C....................73–77
C-...................70–72
D+..................68–69
D....................60–67
F.....................59 or below

1. Electronic devices. Except for the purpose of listening to lectures, I strongly suggest you turn off all electronic devices while studying or place them in "Do Not Disturb" or "Focus" mode. Research indicates people learn more when they take notes with pen and paper rather than taking notes on a computer. There is a lot of material to learn in this course, so do whatever you can to improve your learning and retention of it. Turning off electronic devices or placing them in "Do Not Disturb" mode is a big step in this direction. In my research practice (this is Mark writing these suggestions), I read with pen and paper at my side so I can take notes (source, page, quotations [if really needed], observations, ideas). Once I’m done reading, I summarize the main point of the reading in my notes. Only once I’ve done all this do I turn on my computer and transcribe my notes into it so I have them. This practice gives me two opportunities at learning the material: when I take notes (which requires me to put ideas from the reading into my own words, thereby aiding me in learning it and making sure I understand it), and again when entering them on my computer in Word or a note-taking app.
2. Reading. Be an active reader. When you begin, read through the section headers so you can see the structure of the argument. Then read through the material with a pencil or electronic highlighter, noting and underlining important information and elements of the argument. If you are underlining everything, it’s too much. Stop highlighting and read through the material quickly. When you finish, articulate out loud the central argument or claim being made in the reading. If you cannot do this with confidence, then skim the materials again to identify this central argument! Then go back and read more slowly, noting and underlining the important elements of the argument.
3. Use the resources in Coogan. The Coogan textbook offers a variety of ways to learn the materials. The terms and review questions at the end of each chapter are helpful for making sure you understand what you just read, and later, for review. The Glossary, Chronology, maps, charts, images, and other materials in each chapter and at the end of the book are very helpful. I encourage you to use them regularly. You also have access to the Oxford Biblical Studies website, using either the code that came with your copy of Coogan (these often are expired or missing), or accessing the site through the Iliff library database site. There is an overwhelming amount of information on this site, but don't let that intimidate you. Log in, enter a search term, and start learning how to use the site and narrow your focus. Dictionaries, handbooks, maps, and other reference materials on the site are good places to begin your research.
4. Review and study! In preparation for examinations, review your lecture and reading notes before beginning the examination. When you receive the examination questions, read through each question carefully to ensure you understand it. If you do not, then contact the professor right away and ask for clarification. You also can contact other students in the course to ask for help clarifying the question(s), but be forewarned, the professor is the best interpretive source on them and what he is asking! Once you understand each question, review your notes, the lectures, and the readings that are pertinent to it. Write out an outline of a possible response, then edit and fill in gaps as needed. The review and outlining of questions will deepen your understanding and comprehension of the materials presented in the course. Not only will this time and effort help prepare you for the examination, but it also will make you better equipped to address questions about the Bible in the future and therefore be more confident as a person with a graduate school degree from Iliff!