Course Description

The Bible emerged as an expression of ancient Israel’s religious experience and faith as it occurs within history. Yet we rarely ask what actually happened--much less, whether it matters what actually happened. This seminar will reconstruct the history of ancient Israel in order to understand better the theological significance of the Bible. We will explore how ancient Israel’s understanding of history, including its own, differs dramatically from our post-Enlightenment understanding, which relies on an interpretation of facts and past events. The class will include slide presentations, videos, lectures, and independent research by students that will culminate in a final research paper.

 

REL 344 "History of Israel"

Spring 2002

REL 344-001: Tu 1:30PM, Con 128

 

Professor:

Dr. Andy Vaughn

office: OM 105C

office telephone: x7475

home telephone: 625-2797 (before 8PM)

email: avaughn@gustavus.edu

office hours: M10:30-11:30; W10:30-11:30; W2:30-3:30; AND by appointment

Required Texts:

-J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes, A History of Israel and Judah (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986).

-Michael D. Coogan, ed., The Oxford History of the Biblical World (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998). Paperback 2001.

Optional Text:

-W. Meeks, ed., The Harper Collins Study Bible

Link to library reference web page for this class:

-http://www.gac.edu/oncampus/academics/library/Guides/israel.html

---

Anticipated Method of Evaluation:

Participation: 10%

Short reports: 25%

take-home essays: 25%

Final paper: 40%

____

100%

---

ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND READINGS

Feb. 12 (Tu): Week 1: Introduction to Course

• go over syllabus and assign topics
• lecture and discussion on the meaning of history
  • some scholars say that history is not important (the interpretation is important and not the facts)
  • some scholars say that one must find an essential continuity for biblical history to be true
  • we will discuss why both sides are too extreme (we will try to find a middle ground in this course)
• introduce how course will approach history and the study of the Bible
• have an introduction to the library, doing research, and the resources available in the library and by ILL
  • link to library reference web page for this class

19 (Tu): Week 2: What is history and how does it relate to studying the Bible?

• Part One: Lecture and discussion on "history" and if this should even be attempted with the biblical narratives
  • read, "History" in The New Columbia Encyclopedia, ed. by William H. Harris and Judith Levey (New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1975). Photocopy to be distributed in class.
  • read one additional encyclopedia entry on "history."
    • Try to talk with other students in the class to make sure that at least several different encyclopedias are covered.
    • From this additional entry on history, type a summary along with a bibliographic reference. The summary should be 1-3 sentences in length. Bring 11 copies of the summary to class.
  • read "Chapter One: The Uses of History" by John Tosh. Chapter in John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims methods, and new directions in the study of Modern History, Second edition (London and New York: Longman, 1991) pp. 1-29. Photocopy to be distributed in class.
• Part Two: Discuss different types of history and historians (short reports):
  • Instructions: prepare a brief report on the assigned historian. Include in your report a description of the major works by that historian, a brief biography, relevent summary of the period in which the historian wrote, and at least one example (passage) from the historian's writings. Your report should focus on how the historian viewed what we will call the "factualness" criterion. If this history is "factual," is it different from history today or did this historian have different criteria? You should also address the idea of whether this historian would be considered a historian by contemporary standards (see the assigned article by John Tosh). The report should include handouts with summaries of the above items. The handout should also include your example (sample passage). You are encouraged to present your report on powerpoint, but you are not required to do so for this week. Presentation should be around 5 min. long (no more than 8 min.!)
  • Homer: Dan Pioske
  • Herodotus: Seth Finck
  • Thucydides: Kara Haroldson
  • Diodorus of Sicily: Peter Nerothin
  • Livy: Mara Michaletz
  • Quintillian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus): Ellen Zimmel
  • Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero): Michael O'Brien
  • Aristotle (look especially at how he distinguishes history, poetry, and philosophy): Rachel Schwingler
  • Shalmaneser III's Inscriptions (see pp. 257ff in the Miller and Hayes textbook): John Bergengren
  • Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III: Adam Smith

26 (Tu): Week 3: The Rise of the Monarchy (Part 1)

• Homework reading assignments:
  • Biblical reading: Judges 6-8; 1 Samuel 1-15
  • Miller and Hayes, A History of Israel and Judah: 120-148
  • Oxford History of the Biblical World textbook: Chapter 4: "'There Was no King in Israel': The Era of the Judges," by Jo Ann Hackett, pp. 132-164.
• Short reports:
  • Instructions: your report this week should focus on summarizing the material about important people, places, and themes for this week. Much of the information for your report will come from the assigned biblical readings and the assigned textbook readings. You should supplement this reading with consultation of the Anchor Bible Dictionary and the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, and The Oxford Encylopedia of Excavations in the Near East as well as other standard dictionaries and atlases (see our web page of resources for the course for a beginning point in terms of the locations for the dictionaries, etc). Please prepare 11 copies of a one-page handout on your topic. The handout should summarize the topic or person, give a listing of the important biblical passages, and discuss what we will call the "factualness criterion" (i.e., what can we actually know about this topic or person factually and does that matter for understanding the biblical text). You may use the back of your one-page handout for a map, drawing, picture, or other helpful resource, but you do not need to include this if it doesn't fit your topic. Please try to keep your presentation of the topic / person to 5 minutes!
  • Judean and Samarian hill country as a geographic feature: what is this area like geographically? What are the natural resources? How do people live in this area? Why might these areas be settled by groups who do not pose a threat to peoples living in the valleys and the coastland? How much rainfall do these areas receive? What is the land (soil) like? Do we see population growth and decline in these areas? Kara Haroldson
  • Samuel: Summarize his role according to the Bible. What can be known of Samuel from a "factual" standpoint? Is he opposed to human kingship? Why or why not? Describe and characterize his role in the biblical narratives. How is Samuel's role like a priest, a prophet, or a king? Mara Michaletz
  • Women in the biblical narratives: Ellen Zimmel
  • Deuteronomistic History: Dan Pioske
  • David: (remember we will have more on him later in the course) Michael O'Brien
  • Judges: in addition to the questions above, how are they like or different to a king? A prophet? A priest?: Peter Nerothin
  • The Philistines: Seth Finck
  • Saul: Nate Bergengren
  • Mizpah and Kireath-ye`arim and Geba: look at the significance these sites play in the narrative, especially with regards to the ark and the worship of Yahweh. Look also at the site for its importantance as a royal center whether the ark was kept there or not. Why might the two things be related?: Adam Smith
  • Battles in the narratives assigned: what role does the judge play in the battle? What role does the king play? Are there other people who play important roles? How are all of these roles similar or different? Rachel Schwingler

Mar 05 (Tu): Week 4: The Rise of the Monarchy (Part 2)

• homework reading assignments:
  • 1 Samuel 16 - 2 Samuel 14
  • Miller and Hayes, A History of Israel and Judah: 149-170
  • Oxford History of the Biblical World textbook: Chapter 5: "Kingship and Kinship: The Early Monarchy" by Carol Meyers, pp. 165-205.
• Write a 3-page essays that discusses the positive and negative uses of history with regards to the rise of the monarchy

12 (Tu): Week 5: The Geographic and Political Setting of Israel

• short reports

19 (Tu): Week 6: The Monarchy under David and Solomon (Part 1)

• homework reading assignments:
  • review or reread 1 Samuel 1 - 14 (focus esp. on 2 Sam 7)
  • read 2 Samuel 15 - 24
  • Miller and Hayes, A History of Israel and Judah, pp. 170-188
  • reread or review: Oxford History of the Biblical World textbook: Chapter 5: "Kingship and Kinship: The Early Monarchy" by Carol Meyers, pp. 165-205 (in paperback edition). Look especially at the sections "Interpretative Theories and Models" to the end of the chapter.
• Short reports:
  • The "Solomonic Gates" of Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer
  • Summarize the Knoppers article in Catholic Biblical Quarterly and give a response
  • Zion Theology (see especially articles by JJM Roberts)
  • Dating the "Davidic and Solomonic" archaeological strata
  • Temple Building and the Solomonic Temple

26 (Tu): Week 7: Individual meetings to go over papers and topics for final papers

April 09 (Tu): Week 8: The Monarchay under David and Solomon (Part 2)

homework reading assignments:

• read 1 Kings 1 - 11
• Miller and Hayes, A History of Israel and Judah, pp. 189-217.

Make of list of what you think did or did not happen in the biblical account for

• Solomon
• David

focus on the positive and negative uses of history (essay due)

16 (Tu): Week 9: The Origins of Israel (Part 1)