IST2004-1-WI16 - Intro to the New Testament

Instructor: Pamela Eisenbaum

Course Overview and Objectives

3/2/16 - Master Terms List GoogleDoc - Collaborate and Study!

Introduction to the New Testament Wiki Study Guide

Greetings, students! Below you will find the humble beginnings of our collaborative Wiki Study Guide for the key terms in this class. I've added two of the first terms we've covered, Eschatology and Apocalyptic. Add more and define them as we go. This can be a great resource for you all going forward! -DY

Directions for editing this page:

Simply click the "Edit" button above and to the right (see screenshot immediately below). After you finish editing be sure to click the "Save" button below the edit window! 

Key Terms

January 13, 2016

• Jewish War
• Destruction of the Temple
• 66-73 CE
• revolt of Jews in Judea against the Roman Empire
• Little Apocalypse
• Jesus prophesies about the soon destruction of the Temple (in Mark)
• the Son of Man will come to judge and SOON
• explanation of tragedies of Jewish War
• Apocalyptic
• revelatory text
• means "reveal"
• Jesus revealing something about God
• Passion
• Synoptic narrative of Jesus' death
• from Greek word for "suffering"
• Messianic secret
• Why was Jesus secretive about what he did?
• theory - explanation by the author of Mark fr why it seems like nothing happens after Jesus and the Jewish War
• theory - Jesus didn't believe he was the Messiah and didn't want that being spread
• “Markan sandwich” (intercalation)
• Mark's habit of enclosing a story in the middle of another, which affects the interpretation of the story
• ex: Mark 2:1-12
• Gospel
• from the word for any kind of good news
• in NT, it is the good news of Christ's salvation
• when capitalized, Gospel means the literary genre of the retelling of Jesus' life, words, and deeds
• Son of God
• in ancient Judaism, it is the concept of one being in a special relationship with God, in which God works through you
• God calls Jesus "Son" in the beginning of Mark
• Son of Man
• term that was related to divinity
• in Mark: Jesus is the Son of Man who is facing impending suffering
• Hellenization/Hellenism
• "Greek-ish"
• from Alexander to Islam
• process that began under the rule of Alexander the Great to create cultural unity in his empire
• adoption of Greek culture
• Greek culture was through of as superior and portrayed one as wealthy and civilized.
• Septuagint (Abbreviated LXX)
• Koine Greek translation of Hebrew Bible (with addition of the Apocrypha)
• Latin for "seventy," story is that 70 priests translated the Bible and they were all the same
• Augustus/Octavian
• first real Roman Emperor after Julius Caesar
• named himself Caesar Augustus
• ruled from 27 BCE to 14 CE

January 20, 2016

• Israel
• Torah
• first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Septuagint)
• Law of God given to Moses
• Apocrypha
• books that are in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible (includeds 1 & 2 Maccabees
• Jews/Judaism
• Greco-Romans thought of them as having an ancient cultic devotion
• belief in powerful deity who can benefit humans and shows favor on Jews
• a cultural and social identity
• Temple in Jerusalem
• Septuagint/LXX
• Greek translation of Hebrew Bible (plus Apocrypha)
• Latin for "seventy"
• Pseudepigrapha
• means "false writings"
• non-canonical early Christian and Jewish writings
• generally pseudonymously written
• Hellenism
• (Aniconic) Monotheism
• Hellenistic Judaism
• Dead Sea Scrolls
• Mishnah
• Talmud
• Halakhah
• Written Torah
• Midrash
• Oral Torah
• Sadducees
• Pharisees
• priestly group, wealthiest
• Essenes
• Gentile/s
• Maccabees
• Redaction Criticism
• Covenant
• Diaspora
• Antitheses
• Temple cult
• Passion narrative 

January 27, 2016

• Synoptic Problem
• Q
• Matthew + Luke - Mark

• (Beckett) The hypothesis of the Q Source, where Q is the abbreviation of the german word for source - Quelle, explains the materials that are the same in Matthew and Luke. These overlaps often have verbatim agreement which would discourage the argument for an oral tradition of sayings. Examples include: the Beatitudes & the Lord’s Prayer. 

• Double Tradition
• Triple Tradition
• Two-Source/Four Source Hypothesis
• 

• (Beckett) Two-Source: The Two-Source Hypothesis proposes that the author of Matthew used both Mark and Q, as a narrative source and a sayings source respectively, in the writing of The Gospel of Matthew. The author of The Gospel of Luke later did the same thing.

• (Beckett) Four Source Hypothesis: (see Ehrman p 122) This hypothesis is an evolution of the Two-Source Hypothesis and proposes that there were materials available to Matthew, called ‘M’, and materials available to Luke, called ‘L’, that further contribute to the Mark and Q materials, in Matthew and Luke respectively.

• Sayings Gospel
• Minor Agreements

Ehrman Terms

• Criterion of Independent Attestation
• Criterion of Contextual Credibility
• Criterion of Dissimilarity

Gospels (Piper) (Beckett)

Mark

• Jesus illiterate
• Son of God
• disciples as fools
• Messianic secret
• Jesus tells people not to tell anyone about him
• Mark's explanation for why no one knew who Jesus was in his time

Matthew

• long speeches
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Birth and resurrection/appearance
• Scripture citations
• Fulfillment quotations
• limitations
• genealogy of Jesus traced to Abraham 
• presents Jesus as the Jewish Savior

Luke

• Jesus literate
• birth and resurrection
• Scripture citations
• limitations
• Ex: Mary's song
• Jesus as "World Savior"
• through the genealogy being traced to Adam
• Luke 9:53 (thru chapter 19-ish. all only in Luke.) 
• "Journey to Jerusalem"
• importance of geography
• uses the word 'innocent' in the centurion's statement at Jesus' death (Luke 23.47)
• possible reasons include: 
• there were many who were called 'Son of God' in this time including Caesar, other prophets, and more. 
• by using 'innocent' and having a Roman say it Luke is being politically aware of the climate at the time Luke/Acts was written

Paul Chart

Course Description

This course serves as a general introduction to the New Testament, its literature, its background and origins, its history, and its significance to the Christian tradition. There are no prerequisites.

Objectives

1. To provide you with a basic knowledge of the literary contents of the New Testament
2. To locate New Testament texts in the Roman and Jewish context of the first century
3. To gain an understanding of the beliefs and practices of the first generations of Jesus-followers
4. To help you become critical interpreters of the New Testament.
5. To develop an appreciation for the biblical text and the scholarly resources that can be used to deepen one’s understanding of it

Books

Required

• Krister Stendahl, The Final Account: Paul’s Letter to the Romans (Fortress, 1995) ISBN-10: 0800629221; Kindle edition okay
• Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction (Sixth Edition; Oxford, 2016) ISBN-10: 978-0-19-020382-5 Note: This text may be rented from Amazon (which costs less than half the retail price).
• Pamela Eisenbaum, Paul Was Not A Christian (HarperOne, 2009/10) ISBN-10: 0061349917 or ISBN-10: 0060722916; Kindle okay
• Marc Brettler and Amy-Jill Levine (eds.), The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Oxford, 2011); ISBN-10: 0195297709
• Although we will primarily use the JANT, you should also have a Bible in one of the following versions: NRSV (recommend HarperCollins Study Bible, but any NRSV will do); New International Version (Updated 2011); New American Bible (Revised 2011); New American Standard Bible (Updated 1995); Note: Pay attention to the date and edition; older versions are not acceptable, though anything published later than the stated date is fine if it is the same version.

Optional

• Brian Blount, et al, True to Our Native Land: An African American Commentary on the New Testament (Fortress, 2007); ISBN-10: 0800634217
• Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, and Jacqueline E. Lapsley (eds.), Women’s Bible Commentary , (Third Edition Revised and Updated; Westminster/John Knox, 2012); ISBN-10: 066423707X
• Kurt Aland (ed.), Synopsis of the Four Gospels (Revised 1982; English only; American Bible Society, 2010) ISBN-10: 1585169420

Other Books of Interest

• Jouette Bassler, Navigating Paul: An Introduction to Key Theological Concepts. (WJK, 2007). A Theological Introduction to Paul, organized thematically.
• Joe Marchal, Studying Paul’s Letters: Contemporary Perspectives and Methods . (Fortress, 2012). A collection of essays by various authors introducing readers to new contemporary approaches to reading Paul.
• James D. G. Dunn, Jesus, Paul and the Gospels (Eerdmans, 2011). A set of lectures on the Gospels and Pauline letters from one of the most influential evangelical scholars of the Twentieth-Twenty-first Century.
• Stephen Patterson, Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Life and Death of Jesus (Fortress, 2004). A creative reading of the gospel tradition that interprets the meaning of Jesus’ death not just as atonement for sin, but in terms of his life and teachings.
• Mark Goodacre, The Synoptic Problem: A Way Through the Maze (T & T Clark, 2004). A substantive but accessible overview of the synoptic problem. Goodacre does not hold the mainstream view but this volume is nevertheless a fairly balanced approach.

A Synopsis of the Schedule 1.3 (update 3/2)

IST2004-1-W116: Introduction to the New Testament

Winter 2016

N.B.1 This schedule is subject to change, though any alterations of assignments would be very minor.

N.B.2 WBC=Women’s Bible Commentary; JANT=Jewish Annotated New Testament

Jan 6    What is the NT and where did it come from? | Introducing Jesus

• 1 Corinthians 15
• Ehrman, chap. 1: “What is the New Testament?”; chap. 2: “Do We Have the Original New Testament?

Jan 13 A Secret Savior: Gospel of Mark | The Greco-Roman Context

• Gospel of Mark
• Ehrman, 3,5,6,7
• Peruse notes on Mark in JANT

Jan 20 A New Moses? Gospel of Matthew | Judaism of the First Century

• Gospel of Matthew
• Eisenbaum, Paul, chaps. 5,6,7 (pp. 67-131; these chaps. function as a brief introduction to the beliefs and practices of ancient Judaism)
• Ehrman, 9
• Optional: Ehrman, 4
• Peruse notes on Matthew in JANT

Jan 27 Gospel of Luke: Rejected Prophet & World Savior | Synoptic Problem |

• Gospel of Luke
• Excerpts from Synopsis of the Four Gospels (scan)
• Ehrman, 8, 10, 16, 17
• Peruse notes on Luke in JANT
• Luke lecture outline

Feb 3 More Synoptic Problem & Comparing Gospels | Q/Thomas |Acts

• Acts chaps 1-16; 26-28
• Ehrman, 13, 14, 19
• Excerpts from the Synopsis of the Four Gospels (scan)
• Excerpts from Thomas (online)
• Synoptic Problem Lecture outline

Feb 10 Midterm Exam | John | Comparing John and the Synoptics

• Gospel of John
• Ehrman, 11
• Gospel of John Lecture Outline

Feb 17 Introducing Paul | 1 Thessalonians, Philippians & 1 Corinthians

• 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, 1 Corinthians
• Eisenbaum, Paul, chaps. 2, 8, 9, 10, 11
• Ehrman, 21, 22
• WBC: Jouette Bassler, “1 Corinthians” (scan)
• Intro to Paul (1 Thess, Philp, 1 Cor) outline - N.B. updated 3/2

Feb 24 Romans

• Romans
• Stendahl, Final Account (entire)
• WBC: Beverly Gaventa, “Romans” (scan)
• Peruse notes on Romans in JANT
• Romans lecture outline

Mar 2   Literature in the Pauline tradition | Hebrews

• Ephesians; 1-2 Timothy; Titus
• Acts of Paul and Thecla
• The link will take to the translation of the multi-part Acts of Paul by M.R. James. Read only Section II, which is the Acts of Paul and Thecla.
• Hebrews
• Ehrman, 25, 27
• Optional: Ehrman, 26
• Native Land: Clarice Martin, “1& 2 Timothy, and Titus”
• WBC: Margaret McDonald, “The Religious Lives of Women in the Early Church”
• Hebrews, Ephesians, etc lecture outline

Mar 9   Final | Jesus: The Next Generation

• Study Hard!!!

 Participation 20%

Participation    20%

Midterm          30%

Final                50%

Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).

Incompletes:  If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.

Pass/Fail:  Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.

Academic Integrity and Community Covenant:  All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate.  All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.

Accommodations:  Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs.   Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations.  The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146. 

Writing Lab:  Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments.  Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft. 

Inclusive Language:  It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community. 

Wiki Study Guide