Mobile Ed: OT203 Literary World of the Old Testament (6 hour course)
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Join David W. Baker on a whirlwind tour, looking at the Old Testament from many different angles and at how it relates to ancient Near Eastern literature. From creation accounts and stories of destruction to Wisdom literature, discover different biblical literary genres that have parallels in ancient Near Eastern literature. Explore extrabiblical historical texts that mention key events and figures from the Old Testament. Understand how Israel fits into and is impacted by its ancient Near Eastern environment, but also how it is separate and unique, mainly on a theological level, but also by its distinct worldview.
Course Outline
Introduction
- Introducing the Speaker and the Course
Unit 1: Context of the Ancient Near East
- Peoples and Places in the Old Testament
- Influences of Multiculturalism
- Ancient Near Eastern Literacy
- Writing and Authorship
- Ancient Writing Materials and Extant Biblical Texts
- Ancient Writing and Copying Practices
- Value of Ancient Near Eastern Texts
Unit 2: Genesis and Ancient Near East Parallels
- Biblical Views of Creation
- The Enuma Elish Creation Epic
- Comparing Creation Accounts in Genesis and Enuma Elish
- Comparing Humanity’s Role in Creation
- Creation in Egypt and Canaan
- Creative Order
- Sibling Rivalry, Eternal Life
- Mesopotamian Flood Stories
- Comparing the Genesis and Mesopotamian Floods
- Considering Parallel Flood Accounts
- An Egyptian Account of the Destruction of Humankind
- Confusion of Languages, Parallel Customs
- Nuzi Legal Documents
- Shepherding Laws
- Egyptian Elements in Joseph’s Story
Unit 3: Ancient Near East Parallels during Moses’ Leadership
- Moses and the Legend of Sargon
- The Exodus and Ancient Migrations
- Ancient Near Eastern Treaties
- The Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties
- Ancient Law Codes
- Israel’s Laws and Ancient Near Eastern Laws
- Legal Penalties in the Ancient Near East
- Ancient Near Eastern Rituals
- Israel and the Stele of Merneptah
- Balaam and the Fragment at Deir Alla
Unit 4: Reconstructing Ancient Near East History
- Ancient Near East Temple History
- Ancient Near East Cyclical Views of History
- Shaping Historical Events
- Determining Historical Accuracy
- Resources for Reconstructing History
Unit 5: Ancient Near East Parallels during Israel’s Occupation, Monarchy, and Exile
- The El-Amarna Letters
- The Sea Peoples
- Dating Ancient Near East Events
- Inscriptions of Shishak and Shalmaneser III
- Inscriptions of Hazael and Mesha
- Inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II
- Sennacherib’s Third Campaign
- Inscription at Hezekiah’s Tunnel
- Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-Merodach, and Cyrus
- Hebrew Seal Inscriptions
Unit 6: Prophecy and Ancient Near East Parallels
- Divine Communication in the Ancient Near East
- Prophecy and Omens in the Ancient Near East
- Comparing Diviners and Prophets
Unit 7: Hebrew Wisdom Literature and Ancient Near East Parallels
- Poetry and Songs in the Ancient Near East
- Personal Hymns and Prayers in the Ancient Near East
- The Book of Job and Ancient Near Eastern Parallels
- Job and the Song of Solomon and Ancient Near Eastern Parallels
- Proverbs and Ancient Near East Parallels
Conclusion
- Course Summary
About David W. Baker
David W. Baker is a professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio, where he’s taught since 1986, following teaching assignments at the University of Durban-Westville and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He’s also lectured in Argentina, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Baker has a particular interest in pedagogy, constantly exploring new means and media to enhance the learning and teaching experience for both the instructor and the student. He has contributed to, edited, or written over 40 books, including Isaiah in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, The NIV Application Commentary: Joel, Obadiah, Malachi, and Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. Forthcoming books include Genesis 37–50: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text in the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible Series, 1 & 2 Kings in the Teach the Text Commentary Series, Genesis in the Apollos Old Testament Commentary Series, and 1 & 2 Samuel in the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series.
He’s blessed with a wife, Morven, who immigrated to Canada from Scotland—a start that prepared her to support Dr. Baker in his geographical wanderings. Morven is a counselor specializing in women’s issues, specifically sexual abuse and domestic violence. Together, they have two children and three granddaughters.
Getting the most out of Mobile Ed
�������Logos Mobile Education is a highly effective cross-platform learning environment that integrates world class teaching with the powerful study tools and theological libraries available in Logos Bible Software. Every course provides links to additional resources and suggested readings that supplement the lecture material at the end of every transcript segment.
This course was produced with screencast videos. These videos provide tutorials showing you how to use Logos Bible Software in ways that are tied directly into the content of the course. We are now producing Activities resources as a replacement for screencast videos. We plan on updating this course to include this additional Activities resource in the future for no extra charge.