Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: I

Description: This course is Part One of a year-long sequence in interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. In the Fall semester we read the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, and Psalms. In the Spring semester we focus on Prophets and the remaining books of the Writings.

Class periods will be divided into three sections: lecture, discussion and skills workshops. In lectures, I will talk about each book of the Hebrew Bible, focusing on its theological witness and literary art, and its historical, cultural, and canonical contexts. In the discussion period of class, we will read and talk about articles that treat more specific topics connected with each book. Finally, the skills workshops are designed to train you in the exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, be it for pastoral ministry and preaching, academic work, or other interests.

The larger goal of the class is to develop a friendship with the Hebrew Bible, in the context of and together with a community of people who turn to its text for comfort, direction, challenge, and insight. A friendship strong enough to see the beauty and wisdom in the text, while also being able to ask difficult, critical questions of it. We will by no means exhaust the text. This class is intended as the beginning of a relationship, or a deepening of an existing relationship. My hope is that you will come out with more paths into the text that you had before we started, and that this will fuel a life-long relationship with the many books of the Hebrew Bible.

Prerequisites: None

This class is available both in person and online via Zoom
This class must be taken synchronously