Prophets I – OBST 830

CG • Section 8WK • 07/01/2018 to 12/31/2199 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

A study of select portions of the Former Prophets, which include the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The course provides a treatment of introductory issues, aspects of historiography in the ancient Near East, hermeneutical principles regarding narrative literature, and a functional analysis of key interpretive issues in the study of Joshua through Kings. The course engages with current evangelical scholarship on critical issues that relate to the study of the historical books of the Old Testament. Special emphasis is placed on biblical theological motifs within the Former Prophets, and expositional strategies to integrate standard exegesis with biblical theological awareness.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

The rationale for this course is to equip pastors, teachers, and scholars with the tools necessary to do intensive research of issues related to the Former Prophets for the purpose of enhancing both the student's understanding of the Old Testament text and the learning experience of their congregants, students, or readers. 

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion Assignments (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the doctoral seminar courses require discussion and participation, which will be demonstrated both through the Reading Assessments and the Discussion Assignments. For each discussion, the student must create a thread of no fewer than 700 words responding to the prompt. The student must include as many scholarly resources as he/she deems necessary to cover the topic, in current Turabian format. The student must also reply thoroughly to one other student in no fewer than 450 words. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Reading Assessment Assignments (8)

The reading assessment each week is a summary that demonstrates his/her understanding of and interaction with the reading. All of the required readings must be summarized here, not quoted (few quotes are permitted, and no long quotes are permitted). The student must paraphrase and summarize the material to demonstrate competency. The student must provide thorough summaries of the content with his/her own thoughts and interactions interspersed throughout. The assessment must be no fewer than 1,200 words and in current Turabian format. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Short Paper Assignments (3)

The short papers are designed to assess the student’s ability to interact with various issues related to the study of a particular biblical book from the Former Prophets. Each paper must be 1,750 words minimum (not including the footnotes, title page, abstracts, bibliography, etc.). The paper must incorporate at least 6 new scholarly resources from journal articles or books (the student may include resources such as the course textbooks and resources used in previous papers, but he/she must also include 6 new resources for each short paper). All papers must be written following current Turabian format. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Research Paper Assignment

The Research Paper is an assimilation of the Short Papers. It must include an expanded version of the second part of Short Paper 2 that is a minimum of 1,750 words and that includes 6 new scholarly resources (the student may include resources such as the course textbooks and resources used in previous papers, but he/she must also add 6 new resources). Additionally, Short Papers 1 and 3 must be edited, updated, and corrected before adding them to the expanded Short Paper 2. The total length of the project, including introduction and conclusion, must be 7,000–10,000 words with no fewer than 24 scholarly resources. This paper must be written in current Turabian format. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)