| CODE | SHG2320 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Acts and the Catholic Letters: Exegetical Approaches | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sacred Scripture, Hebrew and Greek | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit will give students the opportunity to have a direct encounter with New Testament texts through an exegetical study of the texts of the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke the evangelist, and the Catholic Letters, namely James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 ,3 John, Jude. Through various exegetical methods and approaches in New Testament exegesis, students are enabled to delve more deeply into the texts written during the first decades of the nascent Church, and their milieu, vocabulary and diverse audiences, especially in their pastoral aspects. Study-Unit Aims: - the main aim of this study-unit is to enable students to probe into the main exegetical issues encountered in select texts from the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Letters so that the most pertinent theological themes and issues raised by writings besides the four gospels in general will be brought to the fore; - students will thus become aware of the history behind the text that reflects the concrete vital situation, faith and pastoral issues of the communities to whom these writings were originally written; - this will help students to adopt more critical and analytical tools in studying the texts of the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Letters within the New Testament. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - define and describe the various Biblical exegetical approaches and methods; - differentiate between literary forms in Biblical texts; - adopt and utilise Biblical exegetical tools appropriate to different New Testament texts; - outline the basic structure of each of the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Letters; - determine the authorial intention for each of these New Testament writings and their component pericopes; - determine the theological messages of each of these writings; - correlate the theological messages in specific texts to current everyday situations and issues. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - appraise and compare & contrast different exegetical commentaries on Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Letters; - use different exegetical commentaries for specific pastoral needs and contexts; - synthesise analytical studies of different pericopes in the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Letters; - endorse and apply theological messages to specific vital contexts and issues. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Exegesis - GORMAN, Michael J., Elements of Biblical Exegesis. A basic guide for students and ministers, Peabody/MA 2002 [BS511.2 .G6]. - FEE, Gordon D., New Testament Exegesis. A Handbook for Students and Pastors, Third Edition (Westminster: John Kox, 2002). - BAZYLI艃SKI, Stanis艂aw, A Guide to Biblical Research. Introductory Notes (Subsidia Biblica 28; Rome: Pontifical Biblicall Institute, 2006). - SCHERTZ, Mary H. and YODER, Perry B., Seeing the Text. Exegesis for Students of Greek and Hebrew (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2001). Acts of the Apostles - BEN WITHERINGTON III, The Acts of the Apostles. A socio-rhetorical commentary, Grand Rapids/MI 1998 [BS2625.2 .W58]. - BOCK, Darrell L., Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007). - FITZMYER, Joseph A., Acts of the Apostles. A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AncB 31; New York: Doubleday, 1998). - PERVO, Richard I. Acts. A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2009). - PETERSON, David, The Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI 鈥� Cambridge: Eerdmans 鈥� Apollos, 2009). The Catholic Epistles - FITZMYER, Joseph A., "Introduction to the New Testament Epistles," in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown 鈥� Joseph A. Fitzmyer 鈥� Roland E. Murphy, Englewood Cliffs/NJ 1990, #45, 768-771 [BS491.2 .B7]. - HARTIN, Patrick J., James, (= Sacra Pagina Series 14), edited by Daniel J. Harrington, Collegeville/MN 2003). - PAINTER, John, 1, 2, 3 John, (= Sacra Pagina Series 18), edited by Daniel J. Harrington, Collegeville/MN 2002. - SENIOR, P. Donald 鈥� HARRINGTON Daniel J., 1 Peter 鈥� Jude and 2 Peter, (= Sacra Pagina Series 15), edited by Daniel J. Harrington, Collegeville/MN 2003. Supplementary Readings: Acts of the Apostles - FERNANDO, Ajith, Acts. The NIV Application Commentary, Grand Rapids/MI 1998. - FITZMYER, Joseph A., The Gospel according to Luke (I-IX), (= The Anchor Bible 28), New York 1981, 1-283 [BS2593 .F5]. The Catholic Epistles - BEUTLER, Johannes, Le Lettere di Giovanni. Introduzione, versione e commento (= Testi e Commenti), Bologna 2009. - ELLIOTT, John H., 1 Peter, (= The Anchor Bible 37B), New York 2000. - JOHNSON, Luke T., The Letter of James (= The Anchor Bible 37A), New York 1995. - AKIN, Daniel L., 1, 2, 3 John (The New American Commentary 38; Nashville, TN: Broadman, 2001). - PAINTER, J., 1, 2 and 3 John (Sacra Pagina 18; Collegeville, MN: Glazier, 2002). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Paul Sciberras |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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