Biblical Theology: Old Testament
Here are the knowledge, skill, and attitude objectives and the core curriculum for those who wish to pursue the full S.T.M. (32 credits) or a certificate (16 credits) in the area of Biblical Theology: Old Testament.
Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude Objectives
By the end of this program the student will have:
- Demonstrated an ability to read orally and translate, at sight, prose selected at random from Genesis to 2 Kings, as well as selections of simple poetry.
- Named specific insights from linguistics, and from the study of Hebrew as it developed over the biblical period, that bear significantly on the exegesis of OT text.
- Traced what is known about the history of the text from the moment of inspiration to the Masoretic Text as embodied in BHS (4th ed.).
- Evaluated critically the apparatus in BHS (4th ed.) with respect to a segment of text.
- Located significant events of the Old Testament geographically.
- Distinguished between approaches to the relationship between archaeology and biblical studies.
- Located the text of the Old Testament in its Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) historical, literary, and cultural context.
- Identified what is unique about Israel and Israel’s God.
- Distinguished features of the major genres found in the OT (narrative, law, prophecy, psalm, wisdom).
- Explained the significance of genre for OT preachers and expositors.
- Charted the ways in which a book of the OT has been read throughout history, with attention to “pre-critical,” historical-critical, and post-historical-critical approaches.
- Identified objectionable features of these readings where applicable.
- Clearly identified what promotes Christ with respect to every book of the OT under study.
Regularly Repeating Core Courses
- Hebrew Institute
- This course may be taken for credit only once.
- Exegesis of Exodus
- Exegesis of Jeremiah
- Exegesis of Job
- Linguistics for Exegetes
- This course also applies to the core requirements for those focusing on Biblical Theology: New Testament.
- Biblical Geography
- This course also applies to the core requirement for those focusing on Biblical Theology: New Testament.
- Hermeneutics for the Busy Pastor
- This course also applies to the core for those focusing on Biblical Theology: New Testament.
- Preaching Christ from the Old Testament
- This course also applies to the core for those focusing on Preaching & Worship