In this course students hone their craft of Hebrew exegesis by working through a diverse range of Old Testament texts connected by the theme of the Missio Dei. These texts are rigorously at an advanced level using commonly accepted exegetical tools to better appreciate their linguistic, literary, canonical, and theological dimensions.
Students gain increased competence in rigorous, independent interpretation of Scripture as well as increased awareness of the rich manifold ways in which the Old Testament witnesses to the single theme of the mission of God.
The People of God as a missional community needs independent and creative thinkers who are deeply grounded in and answerable to the plain sense of Scripture. This course is an exercise in such grounding related to the key theme of God’s mission.
The Bible is the basis of Christian theology. This course is an exercise in taking that basis seriously on its own terms so that students can be more faithful to it when formulating their theology.
The texts to be exegeted are linked by the theme of God’s mission. As such, students are challenged to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of that mission through intensive exegesis.
Context is key to meaning - as such this course trains students to identify the best contexts for interpreting Biblical passages, allowing them to speak with their own voice into the students’ distinct contexts.
Culture is an important context of the meaning of Biblical texts - this course trains students to enter into the distinct cultural worlds of the Bible in order to better understand them “from within", and so allow them to speak to their own distinct cultural contexts.
This course sharpens the key life skills of contextualized, cross-cultural interpretation for the sake of better grasping the truth.
Encounter with God through reading Scripture is a key motor of personal transformation, which in turn makes us better interpreters of his Word. This course facilitates such encounters. Students discuss the exegesis of these texts in groups, select texts that they think illuminate the missio dei, and present their own independent exegeses of them, all the while thinking about how their interpretations fit into the big theological picture of God’s calling.
