Introduction to the Old Testament

Aim of the Course

This course aims to provide the student to comprehend the contents of the Old Testament and to equip him to undertake a scientific study of the Old Testament with a view towards interpreting it for himself and the wider community.

Course Content

The course will deal with basic concepts in the formation of the Old Testament including authorship, translation, canon formation, inspiration & the principle of biblical Hermeneutics according to the mind of the Church, and Old Testament History & Geography, and Introduction to Biblical Hebrew.

There will be some content overlap with the Introduction to the NT course.

Assessment

Class Participation: 20%

Several small pieces of coursework

Final Examination: 80%

Select Bibliography

Duggan, Michael W. The Consuming Fire: A Christian Guide to the Old Testament. Updated and Revised. Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010.

Collins, John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Second Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014.

Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. Manila: St. Pauls,1993.

Harrington, Daniel J. Interpretation the Old Testament. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1991.

Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. London: SCM Press, 1985.

Bergsma, John, and Brant Pitre. A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018.

Birch, Bruce C, Walter Brueggemann, Terence E. Fretheim, David L. Petersen. A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005.

Walton, Robert C. A Basic Introduction to the Old Testament, eds. London: SCM Press, 1970.

Williamson, Peter S, Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture. Rome: PIB, 2001.

Benedict XVI. Verbum Domini, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation. Libreria Editrice: Vaticana, 2010.

Vatican Council II, Dei Verbum. In Vatican Council II: Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, edited by Austin Flannery, OP. Northport: Costello, 1996.

However, the student also will be exposed to a wide variety of literature on the subject.

Lecture Hours

To be confirmed

Lecturer

Fr. Ryan Innas