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DR453F: WISDOM AND THE GOOD LIFE IN THE HEBREW BIBLE AND BEYOND (2024-2025)

Last modified: 23 Jul 2024 11:09


Course Overview

Wisdom – both everyday reasoning about the good life and theological speculation about the figure of Wisdom – inspired the imagination and the faith of many religious men and women in ancient Israel and Judah. This course is dedicated to understanding the lives of these people, the texts which they produced (most of which we find in the Old Testament), and the effects they had on contemporaries and on later generations.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Nathaniel Greene

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The Wisdom literature in the Old Testament and in other collections of ancient Israelite and Judaean writings are amongst the most consequential ethical and religious texts produced in antiquity. This course will explore biblical books like Proverbs, the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sira in order to demonstrate the perception of reality which drove their authors to write them and their readers to read them and apply them to their lives. It will provide fascinating insights into the world of the books and their authors and will offer opportunities to study them in depth, as well as some later texts that make use of them (e.g., in the New Testament).


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Oral Presentation: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Oral and written feedback.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstanding and analysis of the historical environment and context of OT wisdom texts.
ConceptualAnalyseReflection on literary and historical perspectives of ancient text corpora.
ConceptualEvaluateReflection on OT wisdom literature as a bridge towards the New Testament
ConceptualEvaluateCritically evaluate primary sources and critically apply different historical methodologies.
FactualUnderstandKnowledge about and deepened understanding of Old Testament wisdom literature

Exam

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseReflection on literary and historical perspectives of ancient text corpora.
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstanding and analysis of the historical environment and context of OT wisdom texts.
ConceptualEvaluateReflection on OT wisdom literature as a bridge towards the New Testament
ConceptualEvaluateCritically evaluate primary sources and critically apply different historical methodologies.
FactualUnderstandKnowledge about and deepened understanding of Old Testament wisdom literature

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

In week 5 of teaching. Oral and written feedback in week 8 of teaching.

Word Count 2500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseReflection on literary and historical perspectives of ancient text corpora.
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstanding and analysis of the historical environment and context of OT wisdom texts.
ConceptualEvaluateCritically evaluate primary sources and critically apply different historical methodologies.
ConceptualEvaluateReflection on OT wisdom literature as a bridge towards the New Testament
FactualUnderstandKnowledge about and deepened understanding of Old Testament wisdom literature

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstanding and analysis of the historical environment and context of OT wisdom texts.
FactualUnderstandKnowledge about and deepened understanding of Old Testament wisdom literature
ConceptualEvaluateReflection on OT wisdom literature as a bridge towards the New Testament
ConceptualEvaluateCritically evaluate primary sources and critically apply different historical methodologies.
ConceptualAnalyseReflection on literary and historical perspectives of ancient text corpora.

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