Old Testament Survey: Poetry and Wisdom

Students will enhance their wisdom, virtue, and knowledge through a study of the Old Testament Scriptures, focusing on analysis of history, wisdom, poetry, and prophetic literature. The class will be divided into five categories: Scriptural Reading and Discussion, Memorization, Interpretation, Poetry Analysis, and Timeline Study. Students will read through Scripture in chronological order, learning background information and keeping maps and a timeline to develop a contextual foundation of Israelite history. They will perform an in-depth study of Biblical poetry and wisdom literature, examining the rich beauty of God’s Word to His people that is right beneath the surface of the English translation. Along with this, students will understand the importance of a good translation and learn about the art of interpretation.

This 32-week course consists of 4, 8-week quarters. Each week, students will be assigned Bible reading and a section in one of our secondary texts. Our weekly class will consist of a lecture and Socratic discussion. Students will complete 4 essays, a map, 2 imitative psalms, and an Old Testament timeline project that will be due at the end of the year. There will be an exam at the end of each quarter.

Course Objectives:

1. Consider how God works in and through history to accomplish His purposes.
2. Understand the basics of parallelism and repetition, and identify and recreate them in the study of Biblical poetry.
3. Examine the nature of God - illuminate Old Testament verses that describe His Trinity, Covenant Love, and Mercy and Justice.
4. Gain an understanding of types of Christ and identify foreshadowing and prophecies of His coming.
5. Demonstrate methods of interpretation through exegesis and hermeneutics.

Texts:

• The Art of Biblical Poetry by Robert Alter (Selections will be provided)
• The Prophets by Abraham Heschel (Selections will be provided)
• Zondervan’s Handbook to the Bible 978-0310331186
• How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart 978-0310517825
• Study Bible with detailed notes, such as The MacArthur Study Bible or The Apologetics Bible (ESV, NASB, HCSB, KJV, or NKJV recommended)

Required Materials:

• Paper and colored pencils or markers for creating maps and timelines
• Bible highlighter (or yellow crayon)