IST3052-1-WI15 - H. B. Lit: Deuteronomy

Prof. Mark K. George
I-202C
mgeorge@iliff.edu

Course Description
The book of Deuteronomy for centuries has been viewed as laying out a political view of Israel’s life together. Josephus, for example, described Deuteronomy as Israel’s politeia or “form of government.” Government certainly is an issue in the book, particularly as it involves the conduct of self and others. More recently, Deuteronomy is understood to play a foundational role in the books of the Former Prophets within the theory of the Deuteronomistic History. This course examines these and other critical issues in the study of Deuteronomy. Prerequisite: TX-Breadth.

About this Course
Deuteronomy receives a great deal of scholarly attention, and not without reason. A variety of scholarly issues confront those who study this book. There are various canonical issues associated with the book. Deuteronomy is a boundary book, in the sense that Israel is poised at the Jordan, waiting to cross into the land promised to Abraham. It is the fifth book of the Pentateuch, and the Former Prophets begin after Deuteronomy ends. The homiletical nature of the book also marks it as different from other books, because its style is quite different from the books preceding and following it. Thematic concerns, such as centralizing where YHWH is worshipped, link it with what follows, even as Moses’ presence in the book ties it with what precedes it. These issues and others raise canonical questions of various sorts, most clearly in terms of the Tetrateuch, Pentateuch, Hexateuch issue. The literary form of Deuteronomy is another issue. Scholars widely accept Moshe Weinfeld’s arguments about Deuteronomy being structured in the form of an ancient Near Eastern vassal treaty. Even though debate continues as to whether Hittite or Neo-Assyrian vassal treaties are the basis of this formal comparison. In light of this formal argument, how does it influence interpretation of the book and its contents? Another issue involves the various compositional issues in Deuteronomy (when its various parts were written and then brought together into one scroll), whether it was the first written text to link the ancestors with the Exodus or whether it drew upon earlier sources for this linkage, and other such matters. Related issues take up the relative dating of Deuteronomy and other legal codes in the Pentateuch, as well as connections between legal materials in the book and other ancient Near Eastern legal codes, practices, traditions, and ideas. There also are numerous interpretive issues involving the content of the laws, of the social world they portray (or not), and so on. These are but a few of the issues swirling around Deuteronomy.

One way to focus these scholarly issues for our work is with a different sort of question. How is it that readers come to find themselves in the book of Deuteronomy? This question may be interpreted and answered in several different ways. For example, we find ourselves in Deuteronomy because we enrolled in this course. Jews and Christians might answer this question by saying they find themselves in Deuteronomy as part of their collection of canonical books. I want us to explore this question in a different manner, namely with respect to how readers become subjects of, and subject to, Deuteronomy. In other words, I want us to pursue the how of finding oneself in the text.

For our work this term I chose readings and shaped the schedule around comparative concerns, and balanced these with a well-regarded commentary (Lundbom). The comparison emerges in both traditional biblical studies work and the philosophical work of Michel Foucault. Levinson’s work, representing more traditional biblical scholarship, will help us compare Deuteronomy’s legal materials with other ANE legal materials (including elsewhere in the HB). The Foucault reading provides a different point of comparison, with that of legal ideas, systems, and practices in the Western world from the 18 ^th –20 ^th centuries (C.E.) that led to the establishment of particular types of subjectivities in the western world. It will enable us to be more aware of our own assumptions and ideas about legal materials as we read Deuteronomy, to ask how readers read themselves into texts, and to consider relationships between individuals and institutions. Additional readings will help us consider other issues related to Deuteronomy. Beyond this, the interests, concerns, ideas, and research of each class member will enrich our study of this book.

Course Objectives

• To develop and improve exegetical and interpretive skills in reading the Hebrew Bible, through weekly readings of biblical and secondary literature.
• To increase students’ knowledge of the Book of Deuteronomy and the various interpretive issues it presents, through readings, discussions, and written work.
• To improve critical thinking and writing skills, through class work and the final paper.

Books

Required

• Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York: Vintage, 1979). The version now available is the 1995 2 ^nd edition, ISBN 9780679752554.
• Levinson, Bernard M. Deuteronomy and the Hermeneutics of Legal Innovation . New York: Oxford, 1997. ISBN 9780195152883 (p).
• Lundbom, Jack R. Deuteronomy: A Commentary . Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2013. ISBN 9780802826145 (p).
• New Revised Standard Version (I recommend the HarperCollins Study Bible if you do not own a copy of the NRSV. The Student edition is ISBN 9780060786847).

Reading assignment for the first week's class session : Please read the "Introduction" (pp. 1-97) in the Jack Lundbom Deuteronomy commentary. This is a very informative Introduction that covers a range of background issues related to the reading and interpretation of the Book of Deuteronomy as well as for the remainder of the commentary.

1. Regular attendance and participation in class. As a depth class and seminar, class discussion is an integral and important part of our work together, so each student is expected to come to class having read the required materials for the week and to be prepared to engage them critically in class discussions. This includes identifying the central claims of the readings, how the arguments are made, and what contributions the readings make to our understanding of Deuteronomy. This also includes acknowledging when the readings are confusing and identifying where they start not to make sense (don't simply say a reading doesn't make sense; figure out where it doesn't and why it doesn't).
2. Tell a Friend and class discussion. Twice during this term, students will “tell a friend” about the week’s assignments and what they are learning. These are to be no more than two (2) typed, double-spaced pages, will be read aloud in the first part of class, and will be our initial entry into the materials for the week. Write them as if you are telling a friend what you are studying. Alternatively, assume you are writing for the church newsletter, an op-ed piece for the local newspaper because your work in class is relevant to the community discussion, writing a blog post, or some other setting (be sure to tell us about that setting when you begin). Whatever context you assume, your goal is to be a focused consideration about something you learned for the week, such as what most engaged you in the readings, what confused you, connections you made with earlier readings or materials from other courses, linkages between our class work and some current event, or whatever else you would tell a friend about your work in this course. What is a key idea from the week’s assignment you think is useful for your audience? Demonstrate in your posting your careful thinking about the biblical materials and readings for the week.
3. Exegesis Papers (Masters students). All Masters students will write two short exegesis papers (1400–1700 words, approximately 5–6 pages) during the term. This word count includes text and footnotes but not your bibliography.
1. The first paper, on a passage of the student's choice from Deut 1–15, is due no later than Tuesday, 3 February at 6:00 p.m. MST (Wk 5).
2. The second paper, on a passage of the student's choice from Deut 16–34, is due no later than Tuesday, 3 March at 6:00 p.m. MST (Wk 9).
3. Papers are to be uploaded to the Canvas site. Please note that papers will be graded down one full letter grade for each 24 hour period it is late. Also note that late papers will adversely affect your exegesis response grade (see below), because the Canvas system only assigns papers for review to those students who submit the assignment. If you do not submit, you will not be assigned a paper to review, and thus the negative impact on your grade will be more significant (you will receive a zero [0] for the review).
4. All papers are to conform to the standards of graduate school research, writing, and formatting and to follow the style guidelines detailed in The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition (CMS) and/or The SBL Handbook of Style, 2^nd ed. (SBLHS), which is based upon the CMS and provides a number of useful abbreviations for journals and other standard reference works in biblical studies.
5. All papers are to be critical exegesis papers that are written for a scholarly audience. They are to have a clear thesis and argument that is developed in the course of the paper and that makes a contribution to the understanding of the biblical text being exegeted.
6. All papers are to demonstrate engagement with scholarship on the topic or passage that is the focus of the paper. Normally this would be indicated by citing at least two recent journal articles and two recent monographs (recent being defined here as published within the last 10–15 years). Commentaries, bible dictionaries, and encyclopedias may be consulted and used (please cite them properly), but they do not count as journal articles or monographs. Please take extra care to proof-read your papers before submitting them, to ensure they have proper spelling, correct grammar, proper footnoting and annotation style, and generally are the highest quality writing you can achieve. The Writing Center at Iliff is available for your use and consultation, and all students are encouraged to avail themselves of this resource.
4. Response to exegesis papers. Every student will be assigned another student’s exegesis paper to read and to provide a written scholarly response. Canvas automatically will assign papers after they are submitted through the system. Assignments will be made 24 hours after the submission deadline. To access the paper assigned to you, log into Canvas, click on the exegesis paper assignment (the same link you used to upload your paper). Once on that page, click on the “Peer Review” link in the right-hand column of the screen. Responses are to be no longer than one page, typed, single-space, although they may be shorter! Guidelines for responses are available here. Responses are due no later than the following Friday after initial submission (i.e., 6 February and 6 March) by 6:00 p.m.
5. Exegesis Papers (doctoral students). All doctoral students are required to write a final exegesis paper on a topic and passage of their choice related to the study of the Book of Deuteronomy. Papers are to be between 4500–5400 words (15–18 pages), including notes. Students are to follow the style guidelines detailed in The SBL Handbook of Style, and therefore are expected to conform to the standards of graduate school research, writing, and formatting. Footnotes, however, may be single-spaced! As part of this process, all doctoral students are to meet with me no later than Thursday, 19 February to discuss your topic and thesis, theory and/or method, and other aspects of the paper. The paper is to be uploaded to the course Canvas site no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Friday, 13 March 2015.

Attendance, participation........................................................................................... 20%
Tell a Friend papers.................................................................................................... 20% (10% each)
Paper response............................................................................................................ 10% (5% each)
Exegesis papers (Masters students)............................................................................. 50% (25% each)
Exegesis paper (Doctoral students)............................................................................ 50%

Pass/fail requests must be submitted to the instructor in writing by e-mail no later than Friday, 9 January 2015. You will receive an e-mail response confirming (or denying) your request. Incomplete grades will be granted only in the rarest of cases. For doctoral candidates, incompletes will follow DU’s published incomplete policy, which may be found at http://www.du.edu/registrar/records/incompletegrade.html. For Iliff masters students, incompletes will follow the policy in the 2014–15 Masters Student Handbook, which is online.

Late work is unacceptable. Should an assignment be turned in after the due date it will be graded down one full letter grade for each 24 hour period it is late.

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 may be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by telephone at 303-765-1146. Accommodations also will be made according to DU’s policies and procedures.

A...................94–100

A-..................91–93

B+.................88–90

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

NB: Changes and corrections may by made as necessary to this syllabus at the sole discretion of the professor.