| CODE | SHG3321 | ||||||
| TITLE | The Wisdom Books: Exegetical Approaches | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Sacred Scripture, Hebrew and Greek | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit commences with a brief overview of the different methods and approaches available for the study of any piece of scripture. Students are then offered a concise presentation of various types of wisdom genres. The main part of the study-unit consists in the precise exegetical analysis of wisdom texts selected from different books within Sapiential Literature. Various approaches are applied in order to show how particular texts can be read in different manners that can be complementary. The texts selected are studied in Biblical Hebrew (though reference to other languages would be employed too) in order to explicate their meaning as intended by the authors. They are analysed, not only from a historical-critical point of view, but also hermeneutically from synchronic and existential perspectives. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit is offered in the fourth year of the programme of studies and so requires a solid grounding in the biblical languages. It takes the students deeper into wisdom texts of various types so that they may learn how to carry out biblical exegesis of a text with significant expertise. This would be done by employing the original versions of the scriptures, which is why a working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew is a sine qua non. The aim of this study-unit is to help students read and interpret sapiential texts. This study-unit, therefore, constitutes the practical application of linguistic and hermeneutical tools. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recognise distinct pericopes of the Bible; - define the different types of wisdom genres; - apply the historical-critical method of exegesis to particular wisdom texts; - illustrate the impact of different approaches to a particular text; - analyse texts in their original language. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - compare and contrast different wisdom texts; - detect later insertions in biblical texts, particularly those done by redactors; - critique the import of wisdom discourse on the intended audiences; - judge the value of wisdom literature for later times; - appraise different methods and approaches to the analysis of biblical texts. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Crenshaw, James Lee. Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. - Gorman, Michael J. Elements of Biblical Exegesis. A Guide for Students and Preachers. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010. - Weeks, Stuart E. 鈥溾�楩ear God and Keep His Commandments鈥�: Could Qohelet Have Said This?鈥� In Wisdom and Torah. The Reception of 鈥淭orah鈥� in the Wisdom Literature of the Second Temple Period, edited by D. Andrew Teeter, 101鈥�18. Leiden 鈥� Boston, Mass.: Brill, 2013. - Bartholomew, Craig G. Reading Ecclesiastes. Old Testament Exegesis and Hermeneutical Theory. Analecta Biblica. Vol. 139. Roma: Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1998. - Weeks, Stuart. Ecclesiastes 1-5: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary. Vol. 1. London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2020. - Ecclesiastes 5-12: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary. Vol. 2. London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2021. Supplementary Readings: - Perdue, Leo G. 鈥淪ages, Scribes, and Seers in Israel and the Ancient near East: An Introduction.鈥� In Scribes, Sages, and Seers. The Sage in the Eastern Mediterranean World, edited by Leo G. Perdue. Go虉ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2008. - Fox, Michael V. 鈥淔rame-Narrative and Composition in the Book of Qohelet.鈥� HUCA, no. 48 (1977): 83鈥�106. - Gerhard von Rad. Wisdom in Israel. Translated by James D Martin. London: SCM Press, 1972. - Lohfink, Norbert. Qoheleth: A Continental Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003. - Longman III, Tremper. The Book of Ecclesiastes. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2007. - Onwukeme, Victor. The Concept of Hebel (Vanity) and the Meaning of Life in the Book of Qoheleth. If Everything Is Hebel, What Is the Meaning of Life? Rome: Pontificia Studiorum Universitas a S. Thoma Aq. in Urbe, 2004. - Zlotowitz, Rabbi Meir. Koheles, Ecclesiastes a New Translation with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources = Megi虃llat Qo虅he虅let. New York: Mesorah Publications, 1997. - Soulen, Richard N, and R. Kendall Soulen. Handbook of Biblical Criticism. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Study-units: SHG1035 Hermeneutics; Methods and Approaches of Interpretation; 2260 Prophetic Apocalyptic and Wisdom Literature; SHG1010 Biblical Hebrew: Introduction; SHG2010 Biblical Hebrew: Intermediate; and SHG3010 Biblical Hebrew: Select Texts | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
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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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