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OT2.2 Law and Narrative Assignment Titles

OT2.2 Law and Narrative

For Wesley: This unit explores the range of meanings of the word 'law' in the OT and the different types of legal material including the Decalogue. Attention is paid to the way in which Christians have appealed to bibliucal law in addressing ethical issues. The main substance of the course will be the study of selected individual biblical narratives and the way in which they relate to one another.

On this page you will find sample assignment titles for Wesley Students. Assignment titles are changed from time to time so these titles may not mirror exactly the actual lists given in class. Do not take a title from this web site unless you are sure that it is the same as your class list. If there are major differences please notify me and I will update this page.

Law & Narrative - Assignment Titles 2003

Criteria for Assessment

At Level One students should be able to:

show an outline knowledge of the subject and methodology
present material in a coherent and intelligible manner
structure and develop an argument, appropriately supported

At Level Two students should be able to:

show an awareness of the history of thought upon an issue, together with the state of contemporary debate, with some knowledge of the main literature
identify issues, clarify concepts and show some competence in discrimination and analysis
relate theological study and practice, faith and spirituality (those on Theology & Ministry route)

The Assessment

The assessment will consist of

6 class preparation assignments due week 2-7
a 500-750 word summary (one page) of the project presentation due in on 24th June
and a 2000 word essay chosen from the topics over the page, due in at the end of term.

Presentation

Either:

Choose a short section of obscure Old Testament Law and explore the purpose and aim of the laws encapsulated there. Draft a modern equivalent to those laws
Or:
Choose a short narrative passage and analyse it under the literary headings used in class e.g. character, narrator, plot twists, structure, style. What insights does the close literary reading give into the message of the passage?

The aim of the presentation is to get you started in applying the material of the course to selected texts. Polished presentations and long book lists are NOT expected, this is a presentation of initial thoughts & trial insights. These thoughts and insights are to be presented in the first half of class on the 24th June. You will have 10 minutes (max.) for the presentation and 5 min. for the group to discuss and make comments. The project does not relate directly to the essay questions but most students find that it provides useful background to the essays. A one page summary of your presentation (which may be in the form of a handout) is due in after the presentation.

Please note that the essay titles are different from the Presentation titles.

It is recommended that you do not complete your essay until you have received feedback from your presentations. In marking the essays I will be looking to see that you have taken note of what is said. You are welcome to submit other material relating to your essay with your presentation for feedback.

Essay Topics

1. 'I am the Lord your God, be holy for I am holy" Lev 11:45
Is it fair to say, that in the Old Testament the Law (Torah) defined, enabled and created holiness? Does this Old Testament concept of law based holiness have any relevance to Christians today?

You will need to briefly explore what holiness is but should primarily concentrate on the relationship between the Law and holiness in Old Testament thought. The last section on Christian relevance should be no more than a quarter of the essay. While you may need to refer to Jesus & Paul's attitude to the law, a long exposition of this disputed subject is not relevant. Rather this section should be related to the application of the first part of your essay.
For reading: see individual class lecture handouts

2. '[In Jewish tradition the Torah is] intransigently normative and yet enormously open to adaptation... to transform "there" to "here", and "then" to "now".' Brueggemann Theology of the Old Testament p595-596
Choose a short portion of Old Testament law that appears to be culturally irrelevant today and examine whether it is possible to understand, interpret and adapt that law so that it has some relevance without doing injustice to its original culture, context and normative meaning.

The portion(s) of law chosen should all be on the same or similar topics and around 10-15 verses and must be approved by me before starting. They need not come from the same chapter e.g. the dietary laws in Leviticus 11 & 17 could have been studied if we had not done them in class! You will need to spend some time establishing what the laws meant in their original culture & context before applying the laws and you will need to justify your application as good exegesis.
For reading: see individual class lecture handouts

3. Jonah super hero or anti hero? Explore the direct and indirect characterisation of Jonah given in chapters 3 & 4 of the book and the many ways that material might be interpreted. Analyse which interpretations of character, in the light of the whole book, you think are most valid and draw conclusions about the sort of hero Jonah seems to be.

You will need to analyse the characters in the same way that we analysed Jonah & Jacob in class (direct, indirect characterisation - attach the chart as an appendix) with the help of books like Bar Efrat. Be careful to distinguish raw data and possible interpretations. You should give at least two different possible interpretations for the data on character, thinking creatively about all the biblical material before weighing and choosing between them. You may need to refer to character material from chapters 1 and 2 but should only go into detail on the final chapters. The following commentaries and articles will give you a feel for different interpretations:

Cooper "In Praise of Divine Caprice" in Davies P. R. & Clines D. Among the Prophets Sheffield: JSOT Supp. Ser. 1993
Dennis T. Lo & Behold: The Power of OT Storytelling London: SPCK 1991 p133-195
Good E Irony in the Old Testament Sheffield: Almond Press 1981 p39-55
Gunn D. Fewell D. Narrative in the Hebrew Bible Oxford: OUP 1993. p129-146
Jenson P. Reading Jonah Cambridge: Grove Books Ltd 1999. p9-18
Sherwood Y. "Cross currents in the Book of Jonah" Biblical Interpretation Vol. 6 No 1 1998 p49-79

4. Choose a brief narrative passage (around 8-10 verses) from the Pentateuch or Deuteronomistic history (Genesis - 2 Kings). Comment on how the passage works as an individual narrative (narrator, character, plot, time & space, style etc.) and the different possible interpretations that might arise from these elements. Then explore how this small narrative fits within the rest of the larger narrative (the cycle of stories and/or the canonical book). Does this canonical context modify in any way the options for reading discovered in the first part of the essay?

You will need to analyse the passage in the same way that we analysed Jonah & Jacob in class, with the help of books like those of Bar Efrat & Gunn & Fewell. Most stories when read this way, open up several different possibilities for interpretation. This may be intentional, to open the way for a future plot twist or to enable the story to speak in different ways to different readers, or it may be accidental. Often the wider canonical context will rule out certain interpretations and modify understandings.
Your passage should be approved by me before work commences.
For reading: see individual class lecture handouts and ask if there are any books related to your area.

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Resources Last updated: 01 February 2004 at 11:34pm Copyright 2008 E. Harper and W. McDougall
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