Old Testament: Pentateuch and Historical Books [ LTHEO1211 ]

To achieve this, the course introduces current research and debates on the composition history of the Pentateuch and the deuteronomistic history, including outlines of the Chronist work. The course also provides a brief survey on the main literary genres of this literature and stimulates the reflection on their interest for history and theology. Finally, the course involves the reading of some important OT texts, using the actual exegetical methods and pointing out a number of axes of theological and anthropological interest. A part of this course consists in practical reading exercises of texts.

By the end of this course, the student should be able to read texts of the Pentateuch and the historical books of the OT on the basis of a general knowledge of this literature.

Evaluation (part 1 and 2): oral exam with written preparation.

1. A Reading of the primary history of Israel (Gen ' 2 Kgs) (1st  semester ' Prof. A. Wénin) :
The first part of the course will be dedicated to the reading of the long biblical story from the origins in Genesis to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile in Babylon, particularly in its canonical form (MT).
This cross reading will be guided by the exploration of some central themes (election, alliance, law, monarchy et prophetism). Some texts which are important for the understanding of the whole corpus will be studied more in detail (Gen 2'4; 12; 37; Exod 14'15; 19-20.24; 32; Deut 30; 1 Sam 8; 16'18; 2 Sam 11'12; 1 Kgs 3; 17'19 and 21). These texts will be analysed in interaction with the students. The exegetical method applied will be 'narrative analysis'.
Moreover, some considerations about the rereading of this story in the Books of Chronicles will be presented.
Students will receive a file with various documents in order to complete the work done during the classes; some other readings will be requested.
2. Historical approach (2nd semester ' Prof. H. Ausloos) :
The second part of the course will deal with a close reading of some texts from the corpus of the Pentateuch and the Historical books. These pericopes will be analysed as 'historical' texts, which means that they are witnesses of some important periods within the history of ancient Israel. The following texts can be studied: Gen 1,1'2,4 ; legislative texts from the 'Book of the Covenant' (Exod 20,22'23,33); Num 22'24 ; Deut 12. Moreover, the problematic issue of the Deuteronomistic literature will be analysed. In this respect, 2 K 1'11 will be taken as point of departure.
Evaluation (part 1 and 2): oral exam with written preparation.