Syllabi: Pentateuch

PENTATEUCH                    

First Semester School Year 2017-2018

Instructor: Rev. Joseph Pham Tuan Nghia, SJ

Class Hours: 8:00 – 11:00 Mon, Tue, Thur and Fri.

Course duration: 45 hours

Course Description

The Pentateuch, the first five books (Genesis to Deuteronomy), is an essential part of the Holy Scriptures, recognized as such by Jews and Christians. The Pentateuch has a wide range of contents. It starts with the so-called Primeval History (Gen 1-11), followed by the story of Abraham’s family (Gen 12-50). It continues with the story of God’s delivery of the Israelites, now as a people, from their slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land, as a free people, in which God manifests Himself as their own God, who establishes a covenant with them, giving them the laws, and demanding them to be faithful to Him (Exodus to Deuteronomy).

This course focuses on some important aspects of the Pentateuch as follows:

1. The Creation of the World (Gen 1:1 – 2:24)
2. Human Sins and and Divine Promises (Gen 3:1-24; 4:1-16; 6:1-8; 6:9 – 9:17)
3. The story of Abraham and the Blessings of the Nations (Gen 11:27 – 12:9; 12:10-20; 13:1-18; 14:1-24; 18:1 – 19:38; 21:1-21; 22:1-24)
4. The Lord God as revealed to Moses (Exod 1:1- 2:25; 3:1 – 4:23; 4:24-31)
5. The Passover (Exod 12:1-41; 12:42-50; 12:51 – 13:16; 13:17-22; 14:1-31)
6. The Covenant at Sinai (Exod 19:1 – 24:11)
7. The Sacrificial System (Lev 1:1 – 7:38; 16:1-34; 17:1-16)
8. Holiness and Uncleanness (Lev 11:1-47; 12:1-8; 13:1 – 14:57; 15:1-33)
9. Grumblings against God and His human leaders (Exod 15:22-27; 16:1-36; 17:1-7; Num 11:1 – 12:16; 13:1 – 14:45; 16:1-35.41-50; 20:2-13; 21:4-9; cf. rebellion of Israel in the camp – Exod 32:1 – 33:6)
10. Love and Loyalty to God (Deut 6:1-9.10-19.20-25; 7:1-26; 8:1-9.10-20)

Recommended Literature

1. BOORER SUZANNE, The Promise of the Land as Oath: A Key to the Formation of the Pentateuch (Walter de Gruyter, 1992)
2. BROWN RAYMOND E. – FITZMEYER JOSEPH A. (eds.), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice-Hall, 1993)
3. CLINES DAVID J.A., The Themes of the Pentateuch (JSOTSup 10; Sheffield, 2004)
4. EMERTON JOHN A., Studies in the Pentateuch (Vetus Testamentum Supplements 41; Brill, 1990)
5. GESUNDHEIT SHIMON, Three Times a Year: Studies on Festival Legislation in the Pentateuch (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 82; Mohr Siebeck 2012)
6. GOUDER MICHAEL D., The Psalms of Asaph and the Pentateuch: Studies in the Psalter III (JSOTSup 233; Sheffield, 1996)
7. NICHOLAS ANDREW D., The Trickster Revisited: Deception as a Motif in the Pentateuch (SBL 117; Peter Lang, 2009)
8. SAILHAMER JOHN, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical Theological Commentary (Zondervan, 1992)
9. SETERS JOHN VAN, The Pentateuch: A Social Science Commentary (Sheffield, 1999)
10. SKA JEAN-LOUIS, Introduction to the Reading of Pentateuch (Einsenbrauns, 2006)
11. WATTS JAMES W., Reading Law: The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch (Biblical Seminar 59; Sheffield, 1999)
12. WHYBRAY NORMAN R., Introduction to the Pentateuch (Eerdmans, 1995)
13. Other Biblical Commentaries available in the Library