University of California, Riverside

RLST010: Introduction to the Bible

Fall 2023

Instructor: Nathan Womack, Ph.D.

Email: nwoma001@ucr.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 3:45p-4:45p and by appointment via Zoom
Office Location: INTN 2047

Teaching Assistants:
Deoin Cleveland – deoin.cleveland@email.ucr.edu
Alexandr Zamusinski – alexandr.zamusinski@email.ucr.edu
Remy Ilona – remy.ilona@email.ucr.edu

Please see your TA’s office location and hours on your section in Canvas

Course Description:
This course prepares students with the theories and methods needed the informed academic
study of the Bible. Examines contemporary interpretive stances, history, methods, and major
themes through the study of significant portions of the Bible.

Goals for the Course:

1. Read 10% of the Bible
2. To have a general sense of the sequence of events in the Bible
3. To have a general understanding of the major themes of the Bible
4. To be familiar with major methods of interpretation of the Bible

Required Texts:

Kugler, Robert and Patrick Hartin, An Introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

Coogan, Michael D., ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version with
the Apocrypha. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780190276089

Note about the course – It is important to note that this course is not a religiously oriented
“Bible Study.” Therefore, it is not appropriate to use this class as a forum to debate your own
personal ideas about religion, God, the Bible, etc. There are times and places that are
appropriate for such discussion and debate. However, RLST 10 is not one of them. Topics, such
as the Bible and religion in general, invoke strong reactions from individuals (both positive and
negative). This course will explore the Bible academically and take critical approaches to
understanding it.

Lectures – Lectures are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00p-6:20p. During lectures, the
instructor will introduce the topics and themes for the week that build upon and supplement
the assigned readings. Lecture slides are posted on Canvas for review. Students are welcome to
attend office hours to review course materials, presentation slides, and any other materials
introduced.

Discussion Sections – Discussion sections are led by your Teaching Assistant and are held at
various times, on various days, in various locations. Please make sure that you double check
where your discussion section meets. Attendance and participation in discussion sections are
mandatory i.e. your attendance and your participation are part of your grade. Discussion
sections also provide students with an opportunity to ask questions about the course materials.

Grade Breakdown:
• Participation in Discussion Sections: 15%
• Essay #1 – 15%
• Midterm Exam – 25%
• Essay #2 – 15%
• Final Exam – 30%

Assignments:

Discussion Section Participation: Students are required to attend the discussion section in
which they are enrolled. Students need to be ready to discuss the course materials including
lectures, assigned readings, and writing assignments. Teaching Assistants will grade
participation as they see fit and may include (but not limited to) the following as part of the
participation grade: quizzes, discussion participation, discussion board interaction, etc.

Essay #1 – Write a 1000 word double-spaced paper on the Hebrew Bible using one of the
following prompts below. The paper must be 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins,
and use either MLA or Chicago style format for citations and formatting. Please only use the
textbook, biblical texts (and the study notes within the required Oxford Study Bible), and
lectures as sources for this assignment. No outside sources including books, journals, or
Internet sources are needed or permitted.

• Option 1 – Explain why the biblical author(s)/editor(s) of Genesis might have chosen to
include two, sometimes similar and sometimes apparently contradictory, accounts of
creation.

• Option 2 - Explain why the biblical author(s)/editor(s) of 1-2 Samuel include the story of
David, Bathsheba, and Uriah in 2 Samuel 11 and what message is it meant to convey to
the original audience and/or a contemporary audience today?

Essay #2 - Write a 1000 word double-spaced paper on the New Testament using one of the
following prompts below. The paper must be 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins,
and use either MLA or Chicago style format for citations and formatting. Please only use the
textbook, biblical texts (and the study notes within the bible), and lectures as sources for this
assignment. No outside sources including books, journals, or internet sources are needed or
permitted.

• Option 1 – Using either the 2-Document Hypothesis (4-Source Hypothesis) or the Farrer
Hypothesis, provide an explanation for the similarities and differences between the
beatitudes of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:3-13 and Luke 6:20-23

• Option 2 – Comparing the stories of Mark 5:22-43 (Jesus raising the girl from the dead
and healing the hemorrhaging woman) and John 11:1-46 (Jesus raising Lazarus from the
dead), provide an explanation of how the original audiences of these narratives might
have different perceptions of Jesus as a messiah?

Midterm Exam: The midterm exam covers the course materials (lectures and assigned
readings) from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

Final Exam: The final exam covers the course materials (lectures and assigned readings) from
the Intertestamental texts and New Testament.

Absence Policy: Your teaching assistant will provide their attendance and absence policies in
their respective discussion sections.

Late Work Policy: As a general rule, no late work is accepted in RLST010. There may be
extenuating circumstances for the acceptance of a late assignment that may be permitted by
your teaching assistant or the instructor. These are approved or denied on a case-by-case basis.
As a general rule, it is best to plan accordingly and submit your work on the assigned due dates.

Plagiarism Policy: UCR defines plagiarism as, “Includes the copying of language, structure, or
ideas of another and attributing (explicitly or implicitly) the work to one’s own efforts.
Plagiarism means using another's work without giving credit. Examples include but are not
limited to: copying information from computer-based sources, i.e., the Internet; allowing
another person to substantially alter or revise your work and submitting it entirely as your
own.” (https://studentdocs.ucr.edu/conduct/uc-riverside_scaip_academic-integrity-student-
guide.pdf)

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have contributed to the rise of AI systems, like
ChatGPT, which are capable of creating human-like essay-style responses. AI programs are NOT
a replacement for human creativity, originality and critical thinking. Writing is a craft students
must develop over time to cultivate critical and creative thinking skills and harness one’s own
voice. Given the vital need for students to strengthen their writing abilities independent of AI
systems, the following policy will be observed in this course:

Plagiarism, including the use of AI systems such as ChatGPT, will not be tolerated in this course.
Any work submitted that is found to have been generated by an AI system or language model
will be considered plagiarism and will result in a grade of zero for that assignment. If additional
use of AI systems and/or plagiarism is detected following a prior incident, the student will be
reported to the proper administrative personnel. All writing projects and exams, at all stages of
development (process work, drafts, low-stakes writing, and final drafts) must be the unique
work of the student. It is the student’s responsibility to properly cite any sources used in their
work, including text generated by AI systems or language models.

The instructor reserves the right to address and take actions against instances of plagiarism as
they see fit as per the UCR policies and procedures regarding plagiarism. For more information,
please visit: https://conduct.ucr.edu/policies/academic-integrity-policies-and-procedures

Course Schedule:

Week 1

October 2: Course Introduction and Genesis

• Introductions – Review syllabus and assigned textbooks
• Lecture – Introduction to the Torah and the Documentary Hypothesis

October 4: Genesis
• Assigned Reading - Read Genesis 1-4; 6-9:17; 11; 12:1-9; 15-17; 22; 25-27
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 45-67 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Abrahamic Covenant

Week 2

October 9: Exodus
• Assigned Reading - Exodus 1-3; 7-12; 14; 19-20:21
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 68-79 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture - Mosaic Covenant

October 11: Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

• Assigned Reading – Deuteronomy 6; 29-30
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 101-110
• Lecture – Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Week 3

October 16: Historical Books 1 Samuel

• Assigned Reading - 1 Samuel 8-10; 15-17
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 113-117 and 143-153 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Introduction to Historical Books and Hebrew Kingship
October 18: Historical Books 2 Samuel
• Assigned Reading - 2 Samuel 5-7; 11-12:25
• Assigned Reading – Reread pp. 143-153 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Davidic Covenant

Week 4

October 23: Historical Books Kings

• Assigned Reading - 1 Kings 1-2; 5:1-6; 8; 12
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 154-166 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Divided Kingdom and Exile

October 25: Writings

• Essay #1 Due before the start of class
• Assigned Reading – Psalms 1; 2; 23; 51; 74; 110; 121; Proverbs 1-3; Ecclesiastes 1-3
• Assigned Reading – Read pp. 197-218 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Introduction to the Writings of the Hebrew Bible

Week 5

October 30: Prophets

• Assigned Reading - Read Jeremiah 1-3; 29; 31; Book of Jonah
• Assigned Reading – Reread pp. 227-230 and 241-249 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Introduction to Prophets and New Covenant

November 1: Midterm Examination

• Exam will focus on the following items:
o Your retention of the primary texts
o Your understanding of the sequence of the Bible and its major themes
o Your comprehension of interpretive methods

Week 6

November 6: Intertestamental Texts and Intro to the New Testament

• Assigned Reading – 1 Maccabees 4:36-59; 2 Maccabees 9:1-10:9
• Assigned Reading – pp. 337-348 in An Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – The Intertestamental Period and Introduction to the New Testament

November 8: Gospel of Mark

• Assigned Reading – Mark 1-16
 • Assigned Reading - pp. 349-379 in An Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture on Mark as Story; Synoptic Problem

Week 7

November 13: Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke

• Assigned Reading - Matthew 1-2; 3-7; 13; 18; 24-28; Luke 1-2; 6; 11; 23-24
• Assigned Reading – pp. 380-402 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke

November 15: Gospel of John

• Assigned Reading - John 1-3; 8:12-59; 11; 15-17; 19-20
• Assigned Reading – pp. 483-494 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – John and the Johannine Community

Week 8

November 20: Acts and the expansion of the Church

• Assigned Reading - Acts 1-2; 6; 8:1-3; 9-10; 17; 28
• Assigned Reading – pp. 403-414 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – The Gentile mission and the spread of the Jesus Movement

November 22: Paul’s Letters

• Assigned Reading – Galatians and 1 Thessalonians
• Assigned Reading – pp. 426-462 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Pauline Communities

Week 9

November 27: Paul’s Letters

• Assigned Reading – Romans 1-4:12; 5:12-21; 8-9; I Corinthians 1-3; 10:23-33; 13; 15; II
Corinthians 3; Philippians 1-4
• Assigned Reading – pp. 432-462 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Paul’s gospel, eschatology, and Christology

November 29: General Letters

• Essay #2 is due before lecture begins
• Assigned Reading – Hebrews 1-3; 7-10; James
• Assigned Reading – pp. 475-479 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Jesus as High Priest; Perspectives on Soteriology
 Week 10

December 4: Revelation
• Assigned Reading - Revelation 1; 4-5; 15; 21-22
• Assigned Reading – pp. 512-519 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Literary structure of Revelation

December 6: Wrapping it all up

• Assigned Reading – pp. 523-534 in Introduction to the Bible
• Lecture – Canonization of the Bible

Finals Week

• The final exam will be a take home exam. The exam will be posted on Canvas at 6:00 PM
PST on Friday, December 8. Students will download the word document and complete the
exam in the word document. Students will upload their completed exam to Canvas by 11:59
PM PST on Saturday, December 9. No late exams will be accepted.
• Students do not need to show up to the scheduled Final Exam date/time posted by UCR
Administration.

*Please note that the instructor reserves the right to change any part of the syllabus as they see
fit