Content

This unit will consider selected themes and texts from the Pentateuch, including: issues of authorship and audience, society, geography, theology, genre, literary devices, major themes and contemporary application issues.

Unit code: BA8106L

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Foundational

Unit discipline: Old Testament

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Australian Lutheran College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Engage with scholarly debates over understanding the books of the Pentateuch

2.

Discuss major theological themes of the Pentateuch and its individual books, and their broader canonical echoes

3.

Critically analyse the relevance of pentateuchal texts and themes for the church and world today

4.

Demonstrate exegetical skills in the analysis of pentateuchal texts; for students with Hebrew this includes but is not limited to an ability to function readily with the Hebrew language

5.

Synthesise key theological messages of a pericope in the Pentateuch and defend the synthesis through rigorous exegetical analysis

Unit sequence

BA8001L Introduction to the Old Testament or equivalent Previous units in Hebrew are desirable Prohibited combinations: BA3006L The Pentateuch

Pedagogy

Lectures, tutorials, class presentations

Indicative Bibliography

  • Alexander, T. Desmond. 2012. From paradise to the promised land: an introduction to the Pentateuch. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. (eBook available)
  • Kitchen, Kenneth A. On the reliability of the Old Testament. Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2003.
  • Kleinig, John W. 2003. Leviticus. Concordia Commentary Series. St Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.
  • Lessing, R. Reed, and Andrew E. Steinmann. Prepare the way of the Lord: an introduction to the Old Testament. St Louis, MO: Concordia, 2014.
  • Levenson, Jon D. Sinai & Zion: an entry into the Jewish Bible. New York: HarperCollins, 1985.
  • Macina, Robert D. The Lord’s service: a ritual analysis of the order, function and purpose of the daily divine service in the Pentateuch. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2019.
  • Moberly, R. W. L. 1983. At the mountain of God: story and theology in Exodus 32-34. Sheffield: JSOT Press.
  • Schachter, Lifsa. ‘The Garden of Eden as God’s First Sanctuary.’ Jewish Biblical Quarterly 41, no. 2 (April 2013): 73‒77.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Exegetical Essay

Exegesis Category A (Hebrew) Category B (non-Hebrew) 5000 words

5000 60.0
Essay

Essay (on a Pentateuchal theme) 1500 words

1500 30.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper

Part A: Tutorial paper (on a Pentateuchal theme) 500 words

5000 10.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 27 Sep, 2019

Unit record last updated: 2020-10-14 20:11:40 +1100