Take Home Two -  Fall 2009 -

Due by Saturday, November 7 via email attachment by 5 PM.  (physical copies accepted in my mailbox in the philosophy office 4th floor Morrill Hall up until 12 noon on Friday, Nov. 6 - office closes at noon).  If you use email, copy yourself to make sure the email and attachment went through. If via email, must be in Word 2007 or below, WordPerfect X3 or below, or a pdf file readable by Adobe Acrobat Reader.  Send with a read receipt if at all possible.

Requirements:

1. Your essays should be word-processed, double-spaced, one-inch to one and one-half inch margins. They should be spell-checked. Pages Numbered. Font no smaller than 12 point.

2. You should staple each essay separately with a cover page  (title, date, Phil/RelS 302, and your name) for each.

3. Number each paragraph.  Bold your thesis.  After the end of the essay, attach an OUTLINE of the essay with the thesis clearly stated and at minimum a line for each paragraph.

4. Each essay should be approximately three to five pages long (not including the title page or Works Consulted page).

5. You must include a Works Consulted/Cited Page for EACH essay.  Any sources you consult must be included in your Works Consulted/Cited and cited in-text or in footnotes/endnotes. CAREFUL AND CORRECT CITATION IS REQUIRED. WHEN IN DOUBT, CITE. Remember that simply paraphrasing or changing every third word is not OK. Quote and cite or radically summarize and cite. Use quotation marks when quoting or indent if quote is five lines or longer. Guessing at where your information comes from is not OK. Use page numbers in your in-text citations, footnotes or endnotes. Book or journal titles are italicized or underlined.  You may consult Citation for Biblical Studies for information related to citing biblical studies sources.

6.  I will grade the essays for both form and content.  Click here for the Grading Rubric. 

50 points each. 100 Points Total

1. Discuss the use of Mosaic/Exodus/Sinai Covenant traditions in at least two of the books of the Neviim we studied (Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Amos, Isaiah (I or  II), and Jeremiah). If the traditions are reinterpreted to meet the needs of a new context, explain how they are reinterpreted.  Illustrate with at least three examples from the biblical texts. In developing your answer you should consider the following questions: What is the focus of the original tradition(s)? How and why are these traditions used to address particular historical or social circumstances? What literary forms do they take? What role do they play in the books as literary wholes? What theological/ideological concerns do they address? 

2. Discuss the use of David and/or Zion traditions in at least two of the books of the Neviim that we studied (Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Amos, Isaiah (I or II), and Jeremiah). If the traditions are reinterpreted to meet the needs of a new context, explain how they are reinterpreted.  Illustrate with at least three examples from the biblical texts.  In developing your answer you should consider the following questions: What are these traditions? How and why are these traditions used to address particular historical or social circumstances? What literary forms do they take? What role do they play in the books as literary wholes? What theological/ideological concerns do they address? 

3. Describe at least two concerns or themes that recur in the Deuteronomistic History. Show how a Deuteronomistic perspective shapes the presentation of the narratives in at least two of the books of the Deuteronomistic History.  Illustrate with at least three examples from the biblical texts.

[A list of Deuteronomic Themes can be found at http://my.execpc.com/~stephwig/dtrnmst.html  In terms of Deuteronomy we discussed  One God - Only YHWH - Covenant Tie; One Sanctuary (Only in Jerusalem?) - One Faith; One People - One Covenant; A Prophet Like Moses; Social Responsibility; Blessing and Curse: Choose Life (promise of land, etc. conditional)]

4. Compare and contrast two of the classical prophets we read (Amos, Isaiah (I or II), and Jeremiah) on three main points.  Illustrate with at least three examples from the biblical texts.  Consider such things as key literary techniques, key aspects of historical and social background, and key theological/ideological themes. Be sure to reread Bandstra's introduction to the prophetic books before you write this question.

1. Describe and evaluate the thesis(es) advocated or interpretations offered in an article that I will supply. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the position(s) taken or the interpretations offered?   Some questions you should consider as you evaluate are:  What are the presuppositions of the author? What methods are used? What is the focus--historical/social scientific, literary/rhetorical, theological/philosophical?  What are the basic categories of analysis? What counts as evidence? Has any evidence been ignored?  Are there equally plausible alternatives, counter-arguments?  You could also check the article against the types of analysis  

Articles include:

One article is available on-line: Phyllis Trible, "An Unnamed Woman: The Extravagance of Violence:  Judges 19:1-30," from Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984): 65-92.  The URL is http://www.ot-studies.com/Documents/trible.htm  You have to click on an endnote number to read the endnote page.  

Several articles will be available through e-reserve: 

Jeanne Kay, "Concepts of Nature in the Hebrew Bible", Environmental Ethics. Vol 10.  Winter 1988 pages 309-327. 

An article by philosopher Michael Walzer and a reply by J.H. Yoder on the issue of holy war:  Michael Walzer, "The Idea of Holy War in Ancient Israel" Journal of Religious Ethics. Fall 1992, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p215, 14p  and the response by John Howard Yoder," Texts that Serve or Texts that Summon?" Journal of Religious Ethics. Fall92, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p229, 7p which also includes Walzer's reply to the reply on p. 235. 

Other articles available through the library's Religion and Philosophy Index are as follows:

Park, Song-Mi Suzie,

"The Frustration of Wisdom: Wisdom, Counsel, and Divine Will in 2 Samuel 17:1-23." Journal of Biblical Literature; Fall2009, Vol. 128 Issue 3, p453-467, 15p - hot off the presses in the Fall 2009 issue of JBL

Wright, Jacob L. "Warfare and Wanton Destruction: A Reexamination of Deuteronomy 20:19-20 in Relation to Ancient Siegecraft." Journal of Biblical Literature; Fall2008, Vol. 127 Issue 3, p423-458,

Ben-Dov, Jonathan "

Writing as Oracle and as Law: New Contexts for the Book-Find of King Josiah.

Journal of Biblical Literature; Summer2008, Vol. 127 Issue 2, p223-239, 17p

 

2. Reread Clines, "Methods in Old Testament Study" online at  http://www.shef.ac.uk/bibs/DJACcurrres/Postmodern1/Methods.html   Discuss at least two ways in which your study of the Torah and Neviim altered and/or enriched your understanding of Clines? Use specific examples to illustrate your answer.  (Another way to ask the question is,  Now that you have read Clines for a second time, what makes more sense to you (even if you disagree with Clines) than it did the first time?  What has happened in your study of the biblical materials since the first reading that makes Clines more intelligible?)  

3.  In Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters Elie Wiesel writes an appreciation/interpretation of Isaiah, "Isaiah:  A Prince of Prophets" (172-187).  In an essay describe the key points of Wiesel’s interpretation and evaluate the interpretation in the light of the biblical text.  Or, another way to ask the question, how does Wiesel move from the world behind the text and the world of the text TO the world in front of the text?  [You may access Wise Men and Their Tales on e-reserve OR in e-book format through the UI Library catalog Internet BS571 .W5485 2003.]

4. Wild Card. Write your own question, but have it approved by the instructor.