General
The course is offered as a freestanding course. It is part of the Pre-Master in Religious Studies and Theology, 60 credits.
Course Description
This course introduces students to the Bible as a body of literature that emerged from concrete historical situations and served concrete communities. Rather than surveying biblical books according to the classical schema, the course examines why and how these texts came into being as responses to the social, political and material realities of their time. Students explore the formation of the Hebrew Bible in light of the ancient Near Eastern world and the emergence of the New Testament writings within the social and literary fabric of Greco-Roman culture. In addition, this course engages with early Christian writings, through which students examine how the early Christians received, used and interpreted Scripture.
Learning Outcomes
After completion of the course the student should be able to:
1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1 describe specific social, political and material conditions under which the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament emerged;
1.2 identify key methodological differences between a classical survey approach and a contextual approach to biblical studies;
1.3 explain broadly how early Christians received, used and interpreted Scripture in the first centuries;
2. Competence and skills:
2.1 analyze a biblical text in light of its ancient Near Eastern or Greco-Roman context, using the methods and perspectives provided in the course;
2.2 present, in speech and writing, critical arguments in dialogue with different audiences;
3. Judgement and approach:
3.1 evaluate scholarly arguments about the origins and formation of biblical texts from historical, social, and ethical viewpoints;
3.2 assess how the contexts of production and reception shape the interpretation of Scripture.
See course plan for more information.
Course Literature
Miriam de Cock and Elizabeth Klein (eds), Exploring the Literary Contexts of Patristic Biblical Exegesis. Leiden: Brill, 2023 (276 pp).
Paula Fredriksen, Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2024 (209 pp.)
Peter W. Martens, Origen and Scripture: The Contours of the Exegetical Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014 (294 pp).
Candida Moss, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2024. (336 pp.)
Robyn Faith Walsh, The Origins of Early Christian Literature: Contextualizing the New Testament within Greco-Roman Literary Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. (246 pp.)
Jacob L. Wright, Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and Its Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. (472 pp.)
Articles may be added.