Updated: 6.19.2003
BBH233
Betrayal
and Healing: 1 and 2 Samuel
An Online Course
Email: jhan@nyts.edu
To send an email to Dr. Han
directly from this page: click here.
Fax/Voicemail: 1-206-984-1228
Course Web: https://nyts475.tripod.com/samuel.htm
(Please do not add www after http://)
Course Description:
The major focus of the course is on the two books
of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible commonly known as the Old Testament. These two books are replete with
captivating stories that revolve around the theme of betrayal and healing. The
cases in point include the adoption of monarchy in spite of Samuel's warning,
the conflict between Saul and David, the massacre at Nob, the choice of
Abigail, the Bathsheba affair, the rape of Tamar, and the revolt of Absalom. As
we explore the situations in life that pitted the nation and the family against
one another, we venture to study what it means to be loyal in the biblical
sense of the word.
Preliminaries
n This is an online course. Contact hours,
course assignments, and work load are comparable with any traditional
course. The major difference is
that you will be participating in class over the internet at hours you
choose. Students matriculated in
other ATS seminaries are advised to check with their advisor before they
register. Standard rules of
add/drop apply, and students who withdraw from the course are expected to
remove from their electronic storage any non-public-domain material they have
acquired in connection with this course.
Some parts of the course are password access only.
n You will need (1) a computer with internet
access and (2) a working email address.
Be sure to leave your email address with the Registrar, and send to the
instructor an email that contains your name and phone number. Students registering from other ATS
seminaries must also include the name of their school and their academic
advisor. Please note that this
course will generate a large number of emails. Be sure to have enough space in your email account, and
refrain from sending emails on topics remotely related to this course.
Required Textbooks
(You can purchase these
books at the UTS bookstore. You
may also order them through online bookstores at Augsburg Fortress Online Store,
Cokesbury, Amazon, etc.)
l
Walter
Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel. Interpretation.
l
Joyce G. Balwin, 1
and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 8.
l
David
Jobling, 1 Samuel. Berit Olam.
l
Baruch
Halpern, David¡¯s Secret Demons: Messiah,
Murderer, Traitor, King.
Sessions
and Assignments
Please read the following
section very carefully. The design
is intentional and is part of the covenant that governs this course.
¡¤ Keep up with the reading assignment as directed by the instructor via emails. Each student is responsible for generating at least one email that deals with the reading material. Please send it to the entire class, asking for their response. The instructor will be more interested in generating discussion than assuming the role of a dispenser of answers. Indicate on the subject line which part of the reading assignment that your email is responding to. An email without a subject line will not be opened. Refrain from asking a fact-type question for which you can find an answer on your own, but concentrate on your own thoughts and observations.
¡¤ During the period of June 1 to 15, plan to log on at least once a day for at least 10 days, and respond to study questions (click on it) for the passages listed below. The following contains the guidelines of completing this part of the course assignment.
1. Log on, and get your study questions at the course discussion board (click on it).
2.
Write a
paragraph of 125-150 words for each question. You can work on as many
3. Please avoid posting partial answers. Be sure to formulate complete sentences for each posting.
4.
Incidentally,
please be aware that the banner right below the title of the
¡¤
Come back
to the course discussion board
regularly, read other students¡¯
postings to the study questions, and respond with a paragraph of 75-100
words. Try to avoid general
comments like ¡°terrific¡± or ¡°terrible¡± or ¡°I love it!¡±
¡¤
Prepare
an online presentation of 650-700 words on one of the articles listed
below. Start working on it as
early as possible, but wait until you are asked to send your presentation via
email. Ordinarily, you can expect
to bring your presentation when the relevant
You will find the complete citation for each article below,
so that you can locate it easily.
For your convenience, the articles have been scanned and are available
to the members of the class only (to honor the fair use code of copyright
laws). A few students of NYTS
volunteered to have them scanned, and the readability of scanned images varies,
as they had to limit the size of the files. If you have difficulty reading any of the articles, please
use the hard copy in the library.
Also, note that a complete set of the articles is found on reserve at
the circulation desk of the NYTS library.
If you have difficulty accessing any of these articles, please send an
email to the instructor. When you
are asked to make your presentation, send a copy of your presentation to the
instructor and the members of the class as an attachment to your email, inviting them to respond to you. The presenter¡¯s work will be assessed
by the degree in which they are capable of generating reflections from other
members of the online class. In
the event the article contains non-English
words, you will surely want to find out what the words mean through your own
research. The presence of unfamiliar words in the
article is no excuse for less than adequate response. Articles will be assigned
on a first-come, first-serve basis. As soon as you
register, send your first and second choices via email. An article will be assigned for anyone
who has not signed up by May 18.
¡¤
Prepare a
final research paper on
¡°David and Saul: Who Betrayed Whom?¡±
The maximum length of the paper is five (5) pages, double-spaced, plus a single-spaced bibliography with
8-10 relevant entries. Do not add
a title page! The paper is due by
June 30,
Hours
The total hours of online interaction should be approximately 32 hours. One should plan to spend additional hours on completing reading and written assignments (online and offline). At the close of term be sure to indicate how many hours you have spent on-line and off-line for this course.
Intellectual Integrity and Plagiarism
Plagiarism
will result in dismissal from the online class with a failing grade (F). The instructor reserves the right to
reverse any letter grade at any time.
Evaluation
Study Questions (50%)
Presentation (20%)
Final Paper (20%)
Participation (plus or minus)
Course Schedule
Session I "The
Capture of the Ark of the Covenant" (1 Samuel 4-5)
Articles:
Session II
"Give Us a King" (1 Samuel 8-11)
Articles:
Session III
"Royal Impatience and Trouble for the Land" (1 Samuel 13-14)
Articles:
Session IV "A New King" (1 Samuel
16)
Articles:
Session
V "David and Jonathan" (1 Samuel 19-20)
Articles:
Session VI
"The Massacre at Nob" (1 Samuel 21-22)
Articles:
Session VII
"Bathsheba" (2 Samuel 11-12)
Articles:
Session VIII
"Tamar" (2 Samuel 13)
Articles:
Session IX
"Absalom" (2 Samuel 15-19)
Articles:
Session X
"Rizpah" (2 Samuel 21)
Articles:
Relevant Journals
Bible Review
Biblica
Biblical Theology Bulletin
The Bible Translator
Biblical Archaeology Review
Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Expository Times
Harvard Theological Review
Interpretation
Israel Exploration Journal
Journal of Biblical Literature
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
Journal of Semitic Studies
Literature and Theology
Semeia
Vetus Testamentum
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Core
Bibliogaphy
Alter 1981 The Art of Biblical Narrative
Alter 1999 The David Story
Baldwin 1988 1 and 2 Samuel
Brueggemann 1985 David's Truth
Brueggemann 1990 First and
Second Samuel
Fokkelman 1981-1990 Narrative Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel (3
vols.)
Gordon 1984 1 & 2 Samuel
Gunn 1978 The Story of King David
Gunn 1980 The Fate of King Saul
Halpern 2002 David¡¯s
Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King
Jobling 1998 First
Samuel
Klein 1983 1 Samuel
McCarthy 1980 1 Samuel
McCarthy 1984 2 Samuel
Noth 1981 The Deuteronomistic History
Polzin 1989 Samuel and the Deuteronomist: 1 Samuel
Polzin 1993 David and the Deuteronomist: 2 Samuel
Robinson 1993 Let Us Be Like the Nations: A Commentary on the Books of 1 and
2 Samuel
Rost 1982 The Succession to the Throne of David
Sakenfeld 1983 Faithfulness in Action
Sternberg 1985 The Poetics of Biblical Narrative
Trible 1984 Texts of Terror
After the Term
Course Evaluation (Please cut and paste
the following questions into your word processor, and upon completing it, mail
it as an attachment to your email to the registrar
of NYTS.)
1.
How many
hours have you spent to work on this course?
A.
Online:
B.
Offline:
2.
Which part
of the course worked best? Why do
you think it did?
3.
Which part
of the course created challenges?
What do you think it caused it?
4.
Describe
the role the instructor played in this online learning environment.
5.
Describe
the role the online class members played in this setting?
6.
Was there
any resource you wish you could have had to make this course more meaningful?
7.
Comment on
how the course affected your learning either in biblical studies or general
theological pursuit.
8.
Comment on
how this particular course is related to other courses you have taken in your seminary
education.