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BBST 690 - Formerly BIBST 190 - Dream Interpretation & Healing Dreams in the Biblical World (3)
Dreams play an important role in divine communication and involve also the divine gift of dream interpretation. One class of dreams of particular interest is Healing Dreams, rare in the Bible but prominent in the ancient world and the early Christian world. The course will survey the dreams and their interpretation in the ancient world, with special attention to healing dreams, as featured in the tradition of Aesculapius and parallel healing in the early Christian world.

Basic Courses

BBST 520 - Formerly BIBST 120 - Sacred Conversations: Teaching the Bible (3)
What does one need to know/to do to better study the sacred text so that the mind is engaged and the soul is freed? What does it mean to teach bible study in a way that both the exterior and the interior life might be nurtured and fed? What are the ways of study that cultivate mature faith and generate communal insight and transformation? Through discussion and hands-on skill development, we will explore approaches and practices for teaching the bible as a spiritual practice.

Basic and Introductory Bible Classes

BBST 501 - Formerly BIBST 101 - Biblical Literature I: Torah, Prophets, Writings (3)
An introduction to the first testament as a source for understanding and appropriating the religious experiences, insights, commitments, and expectations of the various communities of ancient Israel. The focus is on learning to interpret biblical texts with theological and ethical sensitivity, using the tools and skills of historical-critical, social-scientific, and literary-critical research.
Offered fall semester annually.
BBST 507 - Formerly BIBST 107 - Biblical Foundations of Camp/Retreat Ministry (3)
See CERT+310 for course description
Same as: CERT+310
BBST 511 - Formerly BIBST 111 - Biblical Literature 2: Gospels, Epistles, Apocalypse (3)
An introduction to the history, literature, and religion of earliest Christianity; study of selected passages illustrating historical and theological interpretation; collateral readings in scholarly literature. Required of students in the M.Div. program during the first year of study.
Offered spring semester annually.
BBST 515 - Formerly BIBST 115 - Exegetical Skills I (1)
This course is designed as a companion course to Bibst 101 Biblical Literature I. Course content will include 1) an introduction of the rudimentary features of Hebrew 2) training sessions in the use of biblical studies research tool such as Bible Works 3) guidance in the practices of exegetical analysis. (e.g. comparing and contrasting various translations, exploring the semantic ranges of words and grammatical constructions, formulating critical questions, exploring literary and socio-historical context, learning how to do basic research in the field of biblical studies.
Offered Pass/Fail only. Graded Pass/Unsatisfactory. Corequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101.
BBST 516 - Formerly BIBST 116 - Exegetical Skills II (1)
This course is designed as a companion course to Bibst 111 Biblical Literature 2. Course content will include 1) an introduction of the rudimentary features of Greek 2) training sessions in the use of biblical studies research tool such as Bible Works 3) guidance in the practices of exegetical analysis. (e.g. comparing and contrasting various translations, exploring the semantic ranges of words and grammatical constructions, formulating critical questions, exploring literary and socio-historical context, learning how to do basic research in the field of biblical studies.
Offered Pass/Fail only. Graded Pass/Unsatisfactory. Corequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111

Intermediate Courses

BBST 603 - Formerly BIBST 103 - Hebrew Biblical Exegesis (3)
An introduction to exegesis and interpretation of related texts: focus varies.
Course may be repeated. Same as: BBST - Formerly BIBST+742
BBST 606 - Formerly BIBST 106 - Biblical Models for Ministry: Priest, Prophet, and Sage (3)
Survey of the distinctive roles within ancient Israel of the priests, the prophets, and wise persons, with reference to their types of authority, their functions, and their ideologies, with continual reference to these roles as they relate to leadership within the church community.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101
BBST 608 - Formerly BIBST 108 - Preaching with the Hebrew Bible (3)
A study of the various genres of texts (e.g., Prophecy, Psalms, Narratives, and Wisdom texts) in the Old Testament and the appropriate ways to utilize these texts in Christian preaching. Enrollment priority given to D.Min. students. Open to M.Div. and M.T.S. students.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101
BBST 613 - Formerly BIBST 113 - New Testament Exegesis (3)
An introduction to exegesis and interpretation of related texts: focus varies.
Course may be repeated. Same as: BBST - Formerly BIBST+743
BBST 649 - Formerly BIBST 149 - Contemporary Hermeneutics for Preaching the New Testament (3)
An overview of the main critical paradigms in New Testament hermeneutics: historical, literary, social-scientific, and ideological criticisms and their application for preaching the New Testament to a postmodern world. Particular emphasis will be given to contextual perspectives.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 650 - Formerly BIBST 150 - Women in the New Testament (3)
A socio-historical study of the role of women in the world of early Christianity through the writings of the New Testament. Feminist methods of interpretation will be studied to help in the analysis and appropriation of selected women's stories from the Gospels and texts dealing with women in the Pauline letters.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 651 - Formerly BIBST 151 - Texts and Topics in the Pentateuch (3)
Literary and historical problems in the interpretation of the Pentateuch; subjects vary.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101
BBST 652 - Formerly BIBST 152 - Texts and Topics in the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible (3)
Studies of historical and literary issues in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Subjects vary.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 Same as: CMFE - Formerly COMFE+152
BBST 653 - Formerly BIBST 153 - Texts and Topics in the Poetic Literature of the Hebrew Bible (3)
Studies in Hebrew poetic style, wisdom, literature, Psalms, Lamentations, and Song of Songs. Subjects vary.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 Same as: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+741
BBST 654 - Formerly BIBST 154 - Texts and Topics: Jeremiah (3)
Studies in social roles, the theological messages, the political concerns, the literary artistry, and the historical contexts of the writing prophets. Subjects vary.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 Same as: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+48 BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+748
BBST 655 - Formerly BIBST 155 - Children, Trauma, and the Bible (3)
Statisticians tell us that millions of children around the globe are suffering physical and psychological traumas. Psychologists tell us that what constitutes "healing" for a child who has undergone trauma is still a mystery. How are religious communities to respond to these children in crisis? How do we create awareness? How do we minister to children and their families? For the church, the Bible has been the book most often turned to for guidance in times of trouble. But does the Bible really address the needs of children? In this course we attempt to explore various dimensions of childhood trauma and how the Bible can be both a weapon and a tool when it comes to the care of children.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 and BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111 and PSTH - Formerly PSTH - Formerly PASTH+504 Same as: PSTH - Formerly PSTH - Formerly PASTH+613
BBST 665 - Formerly BIBST 165 - Topics in Hebrew Bible (3)
Studies in the theological themes and paradigms of the Old Testament and in issues involved in theological interpretation. Subjects vary.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101
BBST 669 - Formerly BIBST 169 - Religions of the Ancient Near East (3)
Study of the religions of Mesopotamia (Sumeria, Babylonia, Assyria), Egypt, Anatolia, and Syria-Palestine (Canaan, Aram) through analysis of literature and archaeological remains. Special attention is given to general religious questions and to the interrelationship of Israel and other ancient Near Eastern cultures.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 Same as: REL+169 BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+739
BBST 670 - Formerly BIBST 170 - Biblical Conceptions of Afterlife (3)
Study of such topics as Sheol, heaven, Gehenna, and Hades, together with other related topics, such as divine reward and punishment, resurrection, and Satan. Emphasis on isolating the origins of each of these concepts and tracing their development through both the Old and New Testaments and other relevant ancient literature.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 and BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 675 - Formerly BIBST 175 - The Synoptic Gospels (3)
Historical, literary, and theological analysis of one or more of the synoptic gospels.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111 Same as: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+715
BBST 676 - Formerly BIBST 176 - The Johannine Literature (3)
Historical, literary, and theological problems in the interpretation of the fourth Gospel and the Johannine epistles; particular attention is given to the religious-historical background of Johannine theology.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 677 - Formerly BIBST 177 - Studies in Pauline Literature (3)
Historical problems in the interpretation of the letters of Paul. Special attention is given to the theology of Paul and the meaning of Paul's theology for the church today.
Course may be repeated. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 678 - Formerly BIBST 178 - The Literature of the Emerging Church (3)
Historical and theological study of the writings of the emerging church: deutero-Pauline Epistles, Pastoral Epistles, Hebrews, Revelation, Apostolic Fathers.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 681 - Formerly BIBST 181 - The Bible and Homosexuality (3)
This course will center on an in-depth exegesis of all the verses in the Bible that deal with or relate to homosexuality, both in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament. The goal throughout will be to situate this material in relation both to the ancient cultural contexts in which it was produced and the present ecclesiastical contexts in which it is interpreted, and to bring these two sets of contexts into creative and productive dialogue.
Prerequisite: (BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 or BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111)
BBST 684 - Formerly BIBST 184 - Judging Judges (3)
Study of what has been a troubling book for many Christians, primarily on account of its violence and God's seeming sanction of, even participation in, that violence. Special attention is given to the book's narrative complexity and moral ambiguity; the ways in which its images continue to permeate contemporary society; and the problem posed by its existence in the biblical canon.
Prerequisite: Prerequisite BBST - Formerly BIBST+101.
BBST 679 - Formerly BIBST 187 - Topics in Biblical Studies (3)
The topic for this course changes and will be announced at the time of registration. This course may be repeated for credit.
May be repeated for credit.
BBST 688 - Formerly BIBST 188 - Cross-Cultural Representations of Jesus (3)
Christianity around the world has produced a myriad of Jesus images. This course explores some of the theological, ideological, pictorial and mass media representations of Jesus that have emerged from the cultural appropriations of the gospels. Special attention will be given to the hermeneutics behind the images as well as their ethical ramifications.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 759 - Formerly BIBST 189 - The Historical Jesus Quest(ion) (3)
A study of the problems of the historical Jesus;, representative lives of Jesus, and the evaluation of synoptic material as a source for historical knowledge of Jesus, as well as the methods, theoretical underpinnings, and ethical-theological interests of the modern quest for Jesus.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+111
BBST 691 - Formerly BIBST 191 - Struggling with Justice Alongside the Bible (3)
This course will examine texts throughout the Bible that provide systems for procedural and distributive justice, retributive responses to lack of justice, and hoped for restoration of the community through acts of reconciliation in response to violence. Beyond the Biblical text the course will examine the contemporary works of restorative justice, truth and reconciliation commissions, Jubilee and debt reduction and other forms of attempts to use the Bible in relationship to contemporary justice issues.
Same as: BBST - Formerly BIBST+747

Advanced Courses

BBST 658 - Formerly BIBST 158 - Proverbs in the Bible and African Literature (3)
Proverbial wisdom as a part of the larger corpus of wisdom Literature, with its concern with issues of ethical and savoire-faire, practical know-how, plays an important role in the creation, critique, and maintenance of social, religious, and political structures in Africa and in the Bible. The course will explore how theoretical issues about the nature, content, and function of proverbial wisdom in African literature can impact and contribute to the interpretation of biblical proverbs. Accordingly, the course will combine rhetorical criticism and reader-response analyses in exploring these issues. A central focus will be on Proverb Performance: the purposeful transmission of a proverbial saying in a particular context in order to provoke and evaluate responses in both oral and literary contexts.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101. Same as: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+750
BBST 659 - Formerly BIBST 159 - Women, Wives, and Wenches in the Bible (3)
Reading women's stories, demographics, and activities as portrayed in ancient sacred, historical, classics, and novels. We will compare these with classical and contemporary discourses that contained the ideological framework by which classical womanhood is constructed.
BBST 703 - Formerly BIBST 703 - Readings in Hellenistic Texts: Ancient Novels--Jewish, Christian, Pagan (3)
A study of the historical emergence of the novel in the pluralistic cultural context of ancient Mediterranean peoples, double colonized by the culture of hellenism and the empire of Rome. Considering the effects of linguistic stylization and hybridization, irony and appropriation, the course tracks the novel's tendency to disrupt stable boundaries between places, times, and literary genres and explores how perceptions of difference--measured across ethnicity, class, gender, cultic affiliation--are sharpened even as identity is made more complex, malleable, and permeable.
Signature of instructor required for registration.
BBST 710 - Formerly BIBST 710 - Law and Ethics in and Beyond the Biblical Traditions (3)
A study of the legal materials of the Hebrew Bible and the ethical issues that emerge in the narratives and discourses of both testaments. The course includes attention to the ethics of biblical interpretation and the issues surrounding the use of the Bible as a resource for reflection on contemporary ethical issues.
Signature of instructor required for registration.
BBST 718 - Formerly BIBST 718 - The Bible After Postmodernism (3)
Explores the outer limits of contemporary biblical scholarship through immersion in some of the more innovative and challenging developments in the neighboring field of literacy studies, a field that, more than any other, has shown what postmodernism might mean in academic terms and through attempting, creatively and imaginatively, to bring these developments into dialogue with biblical studies.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: (BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 or BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111)
BBST 725 - Formerly BIBST 725 - Late Ancient Judaism (3)
This course will cover the history of Judaism from the Maccabean revolt through Late Antiquity, with emphasis on historiographic issues, e.g., strategies of periodizations, the usefulness of concepts such as "sectarianism" or "hellenization," the emergence of Rabbinism, and the "parting of the ways" between Christianity and Judaism.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: (BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 or BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111) Same as: CMFE - Formerly COMFE+790
BBST 726 - Formerly BIBST 726 - Gender, Difference, and Election in Israel's Primary Story (3)
Re-examination of the primary story of Israel with attention to the concerns of "others" (women, children, aliens, slaves, the physically challenged, et al.), and exploration of how such a shift in emphasis might invite revisions of commonly held notions of covenant, salvation history, and election.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+101
BBST 727 - Formerly BIBST 727 - The Bible and the Body (3)
Examines biblical understandings and depictions of bodies, both human and divine, and explores how these representations have shaped, and might shape differently, theological and ethical responses to embodied existence. Special attention is given to such topics as gender, sexuality, violence, disease, infertility, physical challenge, and the problems involved in representing the body of God.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: (BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 or BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+111)
BBST 728 - Formerly BIBST 728 - The Books of Samuel and the Politics of Representation (3)
A study of how the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David are told in the books of Samuel, with attention to the possible political and theological drives that may have shaped their narration in the Bible, and their subsequent representations in Western literature and art.
BBST 731 - Formerly BIBST 731 - Unveiling Revelation (3)
Brings the book of Revelation into dialogue with a variety of critical discourses, notably historical criticism, gender studies, postcolonial studies, and ecocriticism.
Signature of instructor required for registration.
BBST 736 - Formerly BIBST 736 - Feminist Interpretations of the Gospels (3)
Surveys critical readings of the biblical texts proposed by feminist biblical scholars from around the world, paying special attention to the methodology they use, the role of their social location and ideological agendas, and the challenge they post to traditional readings of the Bible.
BBST 737 - Formerly BIBST 737 - The Bible, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism (3)
Using the resources of postcolonial studies, this course will examine selected texts from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament in relation to the perennial theme of empire, and the complex patterns of resistance and collusion that empire invariably elicits.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: (BBST 501 - Formerly BIBST 101 - or BIBST+111)
BBST 738 - Formerly BIBST 738 - Earliest Christianities (3)
This course explores the diversity of early Christian beginnings primarily through the writings of early Christians beyond the New Testament canon. Attention is given to diverse interpretations of Jesus and Judaism, the emergence of church structures and rituals, and the construction of the categories "orthodoxy" and "heresy" in the context of the struggle for authority and identity in the Roman Empire as well as at the intersections between historiography and contemporary religious and political debates.
Signature of instructor required for registration.
BBST 740 - Formerly BIBST 740 - Studies in Gnosticism (3)
An exploration of an elusive and eclectic ancient religious phenomenon through a reading of the heresiological sources and the Nag Hammadi corpus, in conjunction with recent scholarly literature.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: CHST - Formerly CHIST+202
BBST 741 - Formerly BIBST 741 - Texts an Topics in the Poetic Lit. of the Old Testament (3)
Studies in hebrew poetic style, wisdom, literature, Psalms, Lamentations, and Song of Songs. Subjects vary.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+101 Same as: BBST - Formerly BBST - Formerly BIBST+153
BBST 744 - Formerly BIBST 744 - Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Christianity (3)
A seminar engaging both women's history and the history of cultural constructions of gender and sexuality through the readings of the New Testament and other Christian texts of Mediterranean antiquity, in combination with recent works of critical scholarship.
Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: (CHST - Formerly CHIST+202 or BBST - Formerly BIBST+111)
BBST 751 - Formerly BIBST 751 - Wisdom in the Biblical World (3)
This course shall examine questions of the origin, development, and use of wisdom (as a theme and as personified) in the ancient world. The course shall briefly survey the history of scholarship on the wisdom tradition in three major periods (ancient Israelite, the Second Temple period, and the NT period, with focus on the Gospels). Greater attention will be given to the forms of wisdom (proverbial wisdom and parabolic narratives), and their relevance and contribution to the social, religious and political institutions (Family, Temple, Palace, Court, Prophecy) of the ancient world.
Signature of instructor required for registration.
BBST 753 - Formerly BIBST 753 - Topics in Hebrew Bible (3)
Studies in the theological themes and paradigms of the Old Testament and in issues involved in theological interpretation. Subjects vary.
Course may be repeated.
BBST 758 - Formerly BIBST 758 - Cultural Identity and the Book of Ruth (3)
The course will examine how theories on cultural identity (including discussions on literature, history, and ethnicity) are assumed, constructed, challenged, and re-imagined in the book of Ruth. With particular emphasis on ethnogenesis in ancient Israel, the course will interpret the book of Ruth as a product of the Persian period, but also expand the discussion to include contemporary interpretations of Ruth. Knowledge of Hebrew is encouraged but not required.
Signature of instructor required for registration.

Advanced Courses on Biblical and Post-Biblical Religion and Literature

BBST 540 - Formerly BIBST 140 - Coptic: (3)
An intensive study of the basic elements of Coptic grammar, followed by reading the full Coptic text of the Gospel of Thomas.
Prerequisite: Knowledge of Koine Greek.
BBST 752 - Formerly BIBST 752 - Myth and Society in the Acts of the Apostles (3)
If Acts is empirical historiography does creating a sub-category of religious history bring the reader any closer to understanding the identity formation and socio-political issues attendant on the role of angels, auditions, and visions. Angels, auditions, and visions are non-empirical events. This class explores the engagement of a mythic worldview with those characters and events in the Acts of the Apostles. Can a mythic worldview shed further light on non-empirical and empirical passages in Acts and on the relationship between communities of story teller in an ancient empire? In this class we will read selected passages in the Acts of the Apostles in order to begin answering these questions."

Courses on Biblical Languages

BBST 541 - Formerly BIBST 141 - Beginning Hebrew (3)
Basic elements of biblical Hebrew.
BBST 542 - Formerly BIBST 142 - Hebrew Exegesis (3)
Exegesis of selected passages from the Hebrew Bible.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+141 or the equivalent.
BBST 544 - Formerly BIBST 144 - Basic Elements of Egyptian Hie roglyphics (3)
Offerings dependent upon student interest.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+141 or 142 or the equivalent.
BBST 545 - Formerly BIBST 145 - Beginning Greek (3)
Basic elements of biblical Greek.
BBST 546 - Formerly BIBST 146 - Greek Exegesis (3)
Exegesis of selected passages from the Greek New Testament.
Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+145 or the equivalent.
BBST 547 - Formerly BIBST 147 - Readings in the Hebrew Bible (1-3)
Readings of selected passages in the Hebrew Bible with emphasis on facility in the language.
Course may be repeated. Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+141 or 142 or the equivalent. Offerings dependent upon student interest. This course is normally offered as a tutorial.
BBST 548 - Formerly BIBST 148 - Readings in the Greek New Testament (1-3)
Readings of selected passages in the Greek New Testament with emphasis on facility in the language.
Course may be repeated. Signature of instructor required for registration. Prerequisite: BBST - Formerly BIBST+145 or 146 or the equivalent. Offerings dependent upon student interest. This course is normally offered as a tutorial.