OT Exegesis: Exodus

Catalog description

Taught by CDSP. This course will focus on historical, literary, and ideological themes in and around the book of Exodus. The class will attend to the various social, cultural, and religious practices that influenced the construction of narrative, law, and poetry within Exodus. In addition, students will be exposed to Ancient Near Eastern literature that provide a parallel literary and ideological framework to the biblical text. Further, students will be asked to think critically about how Exodus has functioned throughout history, focusing on various kinds of reader-response, post-colonial, discursive criticism of the text. In exploring the range of hermeneutical issues at play with the text, students will be asked to contend with complex issues of how the book of Exodus functioned as both positive and pernicious for both its ancient and contemporary audiences.