History of the Bible: Book and Text

podstawowy

STL_U04;

STL_U06;

STL_U09;

STL_U10;

STL_K04;

Preliminary requirements: no.

Openness to new information.

The aim of the course is to present the long history of the Bible. The Bible as we know today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the Xth century BC and lasts for 1000 years (the Hebrew Bible) and about a century (the New Testament). That process was very complex, preceded by the long story of oral traditions. And followed by the process of the transmission of the Biblical text in various linguistic and textual versions, both Jewish and Christian.

The merits:

The lecture will discuss several themes:

Introduction

1) Introduction. “The Biblical story” and “the story of the Bible”.

2) Brief introduction to the history of ancient Israel.

3) What is “the Bible”. Jewish and Christian Bibles.

OT

4) The history of the Old Testament. The beginnings of the Hebrew Bible – from cult religion to text religion. From oral to scribal traditions.

5) The history of the Old Testament. The oldest books of the Bible. From Early Monarchical Period to the Destruction of Israel and Its Implications for Judah. The Scriptural Prophecies. The Legal Traditions.

6) The history of the Old Testament. Babylonian Exile and Its Production. The Emergence of Judaism and its implications for Biblical traditions.

7) The history of the Old Testament. The Second Temple Period and its Literature. Apocalyptic Literature. The linguistic diversity. Rewritten Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls.

8) The history of the Old Testament. The Greek Bible – Creation of the Septuagint. The oldest translation of the Bible and much more than a translation.

9) The canons of the Old Testament.

NT

10) The history of the New Testament. The Bible Jesus knew. The Old Testament of the authors of the New Testament (quotations of the Old in the New; Christological interpretation of the OT in the NT).

11) The history of the New Testament. The Formation of the Christian Bible. From preaching to writing. Bible in liturgical tradition. St Paul’s Letters.

12) The history of the New Testament. The Gospels.

13) The history of the New Testament. Other writings of the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament.

Conclusion

14) The history of the transmission of the Bible Text. Manuscripts. From scrolls to codices. The oldest texts of the OT. The oldest texts of the NT.

15) The most translated book of all time. The history of the Bible translations (both OT and NT).

Bibliography:

- K. Schmid, J. Schröter (translated by P. Lewis), The Making of the Bible From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture, 2021.

- R. V. Huber, S. M. Miller, The Bible: A History: The Making and Impact of the Bible, 2019.

Methods of evaluation:

Presence on lectures !!!

Oral exam at the end of semester.