Mobile Ed: Between the Testaments Bundle (2 courses)

by David A. deSilva; Logos Mobile Education; Joel Willitts

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2015–2022

Overview

The Judaism of Jesus and Paul looked drastically different than the Judaism of Malachi at the close of the Old Testament. Over the 400 years known as the intertestamental period, political power shifted from Persia to Rome—the language, culture, and spiritual conditions of the world changed accordingly.

This tumultuous era, though often ignored, is vitally important to anyone engaging in serious Bible study. Learn the rich history of this period. Discover the writings of the Old Testament Apocrypha and gain insight into the cultural background of the New Testament. Prolific author and scholar Dr. David deSilva focuses his course on the Apocrypha, showing you how these writings influenced the authors of the New Testament and early Christianity. Dr. Joel Willitts, associate professor of biblical and theological Studies, surveys the history and literature of the Second Temple period, helping you read the New Testament in its proper context.

Product Details

• Title: Between the Testaments Bundle
• Instructors: David A. deSilva and Joel Willitts
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts and video resources
• Courses: 1
• Video Hours: 18

BI291 The Apocrypha: Witness between the Testaments

• Instructor: David A. deSilva
• Video hours: 8

In this course, distinguished scholar Dr. David deSilva provides you with an introduction to the Old Testament Apocrypha. Become familiar with the setting and content of books such as 1–4 Maccabees, Judith, Baruch, the Wisdom of Solomon, and more. Understand how these writings influenced the writers of the New Testament and the early church, and how they provide us with valuable insight into the Judaism of the time of Christ.

Contents:

• The Apocrypha: A General Introduction
• The Books of the Apocrypha: 1 Esdras and the Wisdom of Ben Sira
• The Books of the Apocrypha: 1 and 2 Maccabees
• The Books of the Apocrypha: Judith and 2 Esdras
• The Books of the Apocrypha: Tobit, Susanna, and Baruch
• The Books of the Apocrypha: Letter of Jeremiah, Bel and the Dragon, Wisdom of Solomon, and Greek Esther
• The Books of the Apocrypha: 3 and 4 Maccabees
• The Books of the Apocrypha: Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, and More Additions to Daniel
• Sketches of the Impact of the Apocrypha
• The Apocrypha in the Christian Church and Canon

Dr. David A. deSilva is the trustees’ distinguished professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio, where he’s taught since 1995. He’s written over 20 books in the areas of New Testament and Second Temple Judaism.

NT202 A Survey of Jewish History and Literature from the Second Temple Period

• Instructor: Joel Willitts
• Video hours: 10

In this course, Dr. Joel Willitts guides you through key historical moments and literary works of the Second Temple period. Discover the history between Israel’s return from Babylonian exile, beginning in 583 BC, and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70. Develop an understanding of the beliefs of Jewish groups such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Survey a vast array of Second Temple literature, from the Old Testament Apocrypha to the writings of Philo and Josephus.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: History of the Second Temple Period: Persian and Greek Rule

• Overview
• Accessing Second Temple Literature in Logos
• Babylonian Exile
• Persian and Second Temple Period
• Returnees: Zerubbabel and Ezra
• Returnees: Nehemiah and Samaria
• Keeping Track of Second Temple Resources with Favorites
• Alexander the Great and the Rise of Hellenism
• Alexander’s Successors: Seleucids and Ptolemies

Unit 2: History of the Second Temple Period: The Hasmonean Kingdom

• Maccabean Revolt and Rise of the Hasmoneans
• Hasmonean Army
• Early Hasmonean Kingdom
• Middle Hasmonean Kingdom: The Seleucid Connection
• Middle Hasmonean Kingdom: Aristobulus I
• Late Hasmonean Kingdom
• Final Stages of the Hasmonean Kingdom

Unit 3: History of the Second Temple Period: Jewish Sectarian Groups

• Introduction to Jewish Sectarian Groups
• Studying Jewish Religious Groups in Logos
• Pharisees: The Separate Ones
• Pharisees: Respect for Simple Living, Logic, and the Oral Tradition
• Pharisees: Theological Summary
• Sadducees: Derived from a Priestly Family
• Sadducees: Argumentative and Self-Serving
• Sadducees: Pragmatists, Opportunists, Survivors
• Pharisees and Sadducees in the New Testament
• Essenes: Urban Ascetics
• Essenes: Distinctive Practices
• Essenes: Distinctive Beliefs
• Samaritans

Unit 4: History of the Second Temple Period: The Roman Empire

• Roman Annexation of Palestine
• Exploring Second Temple People and Events
• Emergence of the Herodian Kingdom
• Herod’s Building Projects
• Herod’s Death
• Herod’s Successors and Direct Roman Rule of Judaea
• Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate
• First Jewish Revolt

Unit 5: Corpus of Literature from the Second Temple Period

• Introduction to Second Temple Literature
• Old Testament Apocrypha
• Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
• Dead Sea Scrolls
• Philo of Alexandria
• Flavius Josephus
• Ancient Greek Translations
• Aramaic Targums
• Mishnah and the Rabbinic Sages

Unit 6: Texts of the Dispersion

• Introduction to Selected Second Temple Texts
• Tobit: An Outline of the Story
• Tobit: Historical and Theological Observations
• Additions to Daniel: Susanna
• Additions to Daniel: Bel and the Dragon
• Additions to Daniel: Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Young Men
• Letter of Jeremiah
• Studying Idolatry in the Apocrypha, Old Testament, and New Testament

Unit 7: Texts Engaging Hellenism

• Introduction to the Enoch Literature, Part 1
• Introduction to the Enoch Literature, Part 2
• Book of the Luminaries: The Schema of the Cosmos
• Book of the Luminaries: Wrong Calendar Yields Wrong Worship
• Book of the Watchers: Disorder Is Evil
• Book of the Watchers: Judgment and Explanations
• Book of the Watchers: Theological Topics
• Wisdom of Ben Sira: Overview
• Wisdom of Ben Sira: Topics Discussed

Unit 8: Apocalyptic Texts

• Introducing Apocalypticism and Apocalyptic Literature
• Researching Apocalyptic Literature with the Factbook and Sermon Starter Guide
• Jubilees
• Book of Dreams
• Using Reading Plans to Read Second Temple Literature

Unit 9: Texts Engaging the Hasmonean Dynasty

• Baruch
• Judith
• 1 Maccabees
• Finding and Understanding “Zeal” in Scripture
• 2 Maccabees
• Epistle of Enoch

Unit 10: Dead Sea Scrolls

• Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
• Identifying the Dead Sea Scrolls
• What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls?
• Three Basic Beliefs of the Scroll Community
• Finding Information on the Davidic Messiah with Proximity Search

Unit 11: Examples of Sectarian Texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls

• The Rule Scrolls
• The Halakhic Letter
• The War Scroll
• Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice
• The Thanksgiving Hymn
• The Temple Scroll
• The Aramaic Apocalypse
• PesherInterpretation

Unit 12: Texts of the Egyptian Jewish Diaspora

• The Letter of Aristeas and the Septuagint
• Wisdom of Solomon

Unit 13: In the Wake of Herod and the Romans

• 2 Enoch
• Psalms of Solomon
• Psalms of Solomon 17
• Similitudes of Enoch

Unit 14: In the Wake of the First Jewish War

• 4 Ezra
• 2 Baruch
• Mishnah
• Connecting Scripture with Ancient Literature

Conclusion

• Summary

Dr. Joel Willitts is a professor in the biblical and theological studies department at North Park University. He has researched and published several books, essays, and journal articles on the New Testament’s Jewish context.