Essay

Paper II: Research Paper

On Tuesday, November 20 by 11:59 PM, you will submit a research paper that is a

minimum of 1,500 words in length. This paper will cover one of the topics listed at the

end of this paper. You will be required to consult at least 2 sources aside from Coogan’s

textbook and the Bible itself. Using more than two sources is encouraged. At least the

first two sources you use must either come from Strozier library, or must be from those

which I supply online on our Canvas Learning Management System site. The books listed

below are on reserve at the library. They are recommended for this assignment.

1. Blenkinsopp, Joseph, Ezekiel (1990)

2. Brueggeman, Walter, Tradition for Crisis: A Study in Hosea (1968)

3. Davies, Graham, Hosea (1993)

4. Galambush, Julie, Jerusalem in the Book of Ezekiel: The City as Yahweh’s Wife (1992)

5. Harrington, Daniel J., Invitation to the Apocrypha (1999)

6. Voicu, Sever J., ed., Apocrypha (2010)

Additional books which you may want to consult include commentaries within the

Anchor Bible series, the Hermeneia Series (note: this series gets SUPER technical fyi),

the Old Testament Library series, and the Word Biblical Commentary series, though this

last one is of varied degrees of helpful depending upon the biblical book. For those of

you working on the Pseudepigrapha, for a primary text and very details introductions,

consult The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 Vols.; edited by James Charlesworth),

and, for 1 Enoch, check out the translation by VanderKam and Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch.

Also see the Anchor Bible Dictionary, which contains entries on nearly every relevant

topic in biblical studies. As for articles taken from the JSTOR/ATLA database, I am fine

with sources from here as long as they (1) are NOT written before 1950; and (2) come

from a reputable journal (e.g., Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal for Old Testament

Studies, Vetus Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, etc.) If you

have ANY questions about the validity of a source you want to use, do not be afraid to

consult me.

The main of goal of this paper is to compose a coherent and thoughtful research paper

on one of the topics which I list down below, using some of the sources listed above, and

using the skills accumulated in the first two papers.

The key goal regarding this paper is you trying to make sense of the biblical texts you are

writing on. The secondary sources are to assist you in that goal. Reading them should

help you get a better sense of the topic. The secondary sources themselves should not be

the main focus of your paper. Citations of the secondary sources, as well as any biblical

citations, is expected.

As with Paper I, your essay needs to be organized around a thesis statement—the central

point you want to make in your paper.

Upload your paper via Canvas and, as with Paper I, you do not need to submit a paper

copy. If you experience any problems when uploading your paper, contact me or call

Canvas User Support at 644-8004.

You must append a bibliography to the end of your paper. The bibliography does not

count towards the word length of your essay. When you utilize the ideas found in an

author’s work, you need to make this clear in a footnote giving the text and page number

of the source you consulted (You do not need to give complete information regarding the

sources in the footnotes because these details will be in your bibliography). If you have

any doubts about the legitimacy of your sources, please consult the professor or a

teaching assistant.

Paper Topics

1. Good King, Bad King: What makes a good king? What makes a bad king? Explore the depiction of the king (in both Israel and Judah) found in 1 and 2

Kings and, if helpful, 1 and 2 Samuel. In particular, focus on a few specific kings,

providing examples which prove your idea of the definition of a good and bad

kings. What do good kings do? What do bad kings do? Do all good kings do only

good things? Do bad kings always do bad things? Are there any borderline cases?

How does the picture of a king in 1 or 2 Kings compare to his depiction in1 and 2

Chronicles?

2. Female Imagery in Prophetic Literature: Several prophets imagine Israel as a woman. Why is the covenant between Israel and God imagined as a marriage?

How can this model explain/understand the sins of Israel? Focus your reflection

on these issues by comparing and contrasting Hosea 1-3 and Ezekiel 16. Both of

these texts envision Israel as a woman, using language of love and restoration.

They also imagine violent acts perpetrated against Israel, describing her as a

promiscuous and adulterous wife who is beaten by her husband. How does

Ezekiel use the marriage metaphor differently from Hosea? Do you think that the

use of this metaphor by these prophets is derogatory towards women? Why did

Ezekiel (and to a lesser extent Hosea) feel compelled to use such shocking

imagery?

3. Examine a text in the Apocrypha or Pseudepigrapha: There are a lot of texts important to the study of Judaism which are not found in the Hebrew Bible or the

Protestant Old Testament, many of which we mentioned in class. Pick one of the

following texts (1 Enoch [only The Book of Watchers =1En. 1-36], Jubilees,

Tobit, Judith, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon; if you have another you’d like to do,

let me know). Read the composition closely and do research on it in order to

understand basic issues of the work, such as its main themes, basic structure and

date. In your paper explain what you have learned and express your own

understanding of the text.