This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

ATS2185 - Biblical texts and contexts

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Arts

Organisational Unit

Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation

Coordinator(s)

Dr Nathan Wolski

Offered

Not offered in 2016

Synopsis

The unit begins with a survey of the Hebrew Scriptures as viewed in their ancient Near Eastern historical and cultural setting, and proceeds to examine the Greek Scriptures or New Testament, which are situated in their Jewish, Greek and apocalyptic contexts. Particular attention will be devoted to the Bible as an expression of the religious life and thought of ancient Israel. Topics examined include an exploration of the core beliefs of the Bible regarding creation, revelation and redemption, and the problem of evil and suffering, as well as conceptions of divinity, prophecy, law and cult. The art of biblical narrative and poetry will also be explored, as will issues of authorship and canonisation.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, students will be able to:

understand the foundational beliefs of the Bible.
understand the Hebrew Scriptures in their ancient Near Eastern context, and the Christian Scriptures in their Jewish, Greek and intertestamental contexts.
appreciate the diversity of Biblical literature and demonstrate familiarity with the different genres of Biblical literature.
appreciate the literary sophistication of Biblical texts.
read and interpret select Biblical texts.
demonstrate familiarity with the key institutions of Ancient Israelite religious life.
demonstrate a familiarity with the key debates in modern scholarship concerning the compositional history of the Bible.
demonstrate a familiarity with contemporary approaches to reading the Bible

(e.g., literary, feminist etc.).

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 100%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.