Sacrifice, praise and wisdom

Level 5 - DT2014-03

This module will enable students to build upon and develop an existing awareness and understanding of the field of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholarship.

This module will enable students to build upon and develop an existing awareness and understanding of the field of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholarship by means of a study of three core texts studied in English, namely:

The Book of Leviticus
The Psalms
The Wisdom Literature of Job, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.

Topics covered

Method in biblical study

Leviticus

The shape of the book of Leviticus: a meaningful organisation?
The concept of ‘holiness’: Purity and Impurity in the book of Leviticus
Understanding Ritual in the book of Leviticus and contemporary issues

Psalms

The poetry and shape of the canonical book of Psalms
Psalms in worship

Wisdom

Wisdom Literature in Israel and the Ancient Near East
Proverbs: linking creation and moral order
Job and the limits of theodicy
Ecclesiastes: A Crisis of Wisdom?

Assessment

Forum participation (10%); a two thousand-word essay (40%) and a 1.5-hour unseen written examination (50%).

Susannah Rees

Susannah Rees is currently working on her PhD at King’s College London. Her research focuses on the role that cosmetics play in the construction and performance of identity in ancient Israel. Susannah has an MPhil (specialising in Hebrew Bible) and a BA from the University of Oxford. She is also a Research Associate on the Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible Project for the volume on Psalms 101-150.