Course Description
The origin and development of the phenomenon of prophecy as it existed throughout the history of ancient Israel.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional readings will be assigned along with a research paper and more extensive examinations to reflect the graduate students' additional responsibilities.
Athena Title
Prophetic Lit of the OT/HB
Prerequisite
Third- or fourth-year student standing or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every even-numbered year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to comprehend and recall the history of scholarship on the subject of ancient prophecy, including the methodologies of literary, source, form and traditio-historical criticism.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to interpret the prophetic corpus using proper methods, demonstrating their ability in regard to its Sitz-im-Leben including the historical and sociological aspects of ancient Israelite society.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to analyze and assess the religion of the prophets, including the prophets' understanding of Yahwism as this was brought to bear as a social critique of the abuses of the power structure (king & priest) as it existed in ancient Israel in the Iron Age.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to demonstrate their mastery of the material through a
term paper project and essay questions, effectively developing and expressing their own arguments supported by evidence.
Topical Outline
- 1. Modern Critical Study of Prophecy
- (a) Terminology
- (b) History of Scholarship
- 2. Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy and the Problem of Origins (Prophecy in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria)
- 3. The Office of the Prophet
- (a) The various words used to designate seers and prophets in the Hebrew Bible
- (b) Prophetic Call Narratives
- (c) Prophetic Biography
- (d) The Role of the Prophet
- 4. Pre Literary Prophecy from the Early Period to the Monarchy (Samuel, Elijah, Elisha)
- 5. The Assyrian Period (Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, Joel, Nahum, Zephaniah)
- 6. The Babylonian Period. The Exilic and Deuteronomic Responses (Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Ezekiel, Deutero-Isaiah)
- 7. The Persion Period and the Eschatological Reinterpretation of Prophecy. The Emergence of Apocalyptic Literature
- (a) Trito-Isaiah and the Isaianic Apocalypse
- (b) Haggai
- (c) Zechariah
- (d) Malachi
- (e) Jonah
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
