INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE (OT 100)

Course Description

Fr Bogdan G. Bucur (bucur@svots.edu); Tuesdays, 9:15-12 (Met. Philip auditorium)

By introducing students to the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture, this course offers a Christian entry into the
Scriptures. Although issues of canon, text and redaction criticism, literary genres, historical and political contexts, etc
will be given due attention, this is primarily a theological introduction to the Old Testament, guided by the themes of
covenant and theophany and focused on texts that have played a role in constructing and reinforcing individual and
communal identity—specifically the identity of Israel as the people of the covenant. This Christian entry into the Old
Testament will be guided, methodologically, by the study of "biblical reception history"—that is, how biblical texts have
been received and reinterpreted in later (in our case, Christian) tradition—and will pay special attention to the intimate
relation between biblical exegesis, theological reflection, and liturgical experience.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
• a better understanding of important biblical texts and their ancient social, political, and religious contexts;
• greater familiarity with the biblical foundations of the Jewish and Christian theological traditions;

COURSE MATERIALS:
• Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? HarperOne, 1997.
• Eugen Pentiuc, The Old Testament in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition. OUP, 2014.
• Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (IVPress,
2015).
• Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible. HarperOne, 1987.
• Larry W. Hurtado, One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism. T&T Clark, 2015.
• Peter Schäfer, Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity. Princeton, 2020.
• Various materials in PDF posted or emailed by the instructor

ASSIGNMENTS AND EVALUATION:

• Bible Quiz (20%): about 50 true/false and multiple-choice questions drawing on the biblical passages
discussed in this course. Quiz date TBA (first week of December).
• Five 1000-word essays (80% = 5 x 16%) drawing on all primary and secondary literature covered by the
course. Essays are to be submitted in hard copy and by email (a single file in PDF) on December 1.
1. How is the Ancient Near Eastern political term “berit” relevant to the Christian religion? In your essay make
sure to explain what the original (political) use of this term was; to further explain how this term was adopted
for religious use in the Hebrew Bible, to designate the relationship between God and selected individuals or
communities; and – very important – how it is used in Christianity.
2. Imagine a fellow Christian telling you: "As believers we read the Bible, which says that the world was created in
six days and centers on the special status of humankind, assigned a special place on Earth, in Eden. As educated
persons, we read about the earth as a speck of dust in the universe, and about human life as a tiny part of an
evolution spanning billions of years. We must either believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and
reject the scientific account; or embrace what the sciences tell us and reject the Bible as hopelessly antiquated
and irrelevant mythology.” Discuss the treatment of this topic by Costache; demonstrate that you have read and
understood the information and arguments put forth, and articulate your position in critical dialogue with his.
3. Discuss the relationship between Eden and Zion (Jerusalem) as theophanic places.
4. Discuss the literary and theological connections between Ezekiel 1 and the Sinai theophanies (Exod 3, 19, 24).
5. EITHER Write an essay discussing the relationship between feasts of "Pesah" (Passover) and "Yom
Kippur" (Day of Covering/ Atonement) and Christian "Pascha" (Passover, the Lord's Passover), and between
"Shavuot" and Christian "Pentecost."
OR Write an essay explaining how the "binitarian" tendency of Second Temple apocalyptic
literature and the Rabbinic polemic against the heresy of "two powers in heaven" help us further our
understanding of New Testament Christology.
INTELLECTUAL HONESTY: Plagiarism, unapproved collaboration, or falsifying work in whole or in part are ethical
infractions. Such cases will be reported to the Dean and may result in dismissal from the course. Plagiarism means using
sentences or passages originally written by another person and presenting them as your own. Always indicate the
source you are quoting or paraphrasing, by using quotation marks and indicating the author, the book, or the article,
and the exact page number. When using internet sources, make sure to indicate the electronic address, the author and
publisher of the document, and the date you have consulted the web page.

GRADING SCALE:
A (96–100); A– (90–95); B+ (87–89); B (83–86); B– (80–82); C+ (77–79); C (70–76); D (60-69); F (0-60)

In preparation for our first meeting (August 24), please read the following:

St Isaac of Nineveh, Part II.38-39 [PDF]