Religion Writing

The Hebrew Prophets (REL 3224-01) Florida State University Prof. Matthew Goff Fall 2021

Prompt for Paper 2: I Was There This assignment is designed as an exercise to help you better understand the key, generative social

experience out of which the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible originated—people in ancient Israel

listening and responding to prophets, who were speaking and shouting in public settings.

This is not a conventional academic exercise. This is rather envisioned as a creative work that will be

grounded in research.

The key motif is: You were there. Pick a particular passage or setting in the Hebrew Bible in which a

prophet says and or does something in a public setting. Great examples would include:

• Hosea 1-3 (Hosea’s speech about marriage that involves his own family)

• Jeremiah 7 (the temple sermon)

• Jeremiah 28 (Jeremiah’s conflict with the prophet Hananiah)

• Ezekiel 4-5 (Ezekiel’s strange street theatre)

Imagine yourself as a member of the audience in ancient Israel that just witnessed this prophetic event.

The key issue is not what the prophet did or said—it is how you reacted. You can be shocked. You

can be furious. This can be framed as a work of creative fiction—as if you were there.

Your first step is to choose the passage that your paper will focus on. It should be a text of a speech

included in one of the books of the biblical prophets which the text describes as having been uttered

in a public setting. Next, read the passage carefully. Get a sense of what message the prophet wants

to convey (this often involves the prophet explaining why God is angry and disappointed at the

people). Ask yourself what it would be like to hear such a message.

Critical for this assignment is articulating your own voice—your own reactions and response to what

the prophet did. But it is important for success regarding this assignment that you educate yourself

and ground your response in what we have been learning about prophets and what mainstream biblical

scholars say about them.

Your paper should cite the biblical text at least twice (quoting key parts of the speech that are

important for your understanding of what the prophet says). You should also have at least two

footnotes citing scholarship on the passage you are focusing on. One of them can be from the

assigned reading on that prophet. One of them must be from some other scholarly source. Internet

sources can only be utilized if approved by the instructor beforehand, to ensure it is a legitimate,

academic source.

Some key things to keep in mind:

• The minimum word count is 1,000 words. You may write more if you wish (up to 2,500).

• The due date is Friday, Oct. 15 (at the end of the day, midnight).

• The top score one can receive for an essay is 30 points. The rubric used for grading this assignment is given below. Any student whose response addresses fully the criteria of this assignment will get the full 30 points.

• You will upload your paper via Canvas. Your essay will be scanned by anti-plagiarism software. Instances of plagiarism will be treated as serious violations of the FSU Honor Code.

• This paper comprises 10% of the total grade for the class.

• First person language (“I think that …”) is not prohibited. It is encouraged! I want to hear your voice.

• There will not be a possibility of revision for this assignment.

• The late policy for this assignment is the following—each day it is late, one letter grade will be deducted.

• The rubric used for this assignment is given on the following page.

The “I was there” paper will be graded according to the following rubric:

Criteria Maximum

Number of Points

Length

You have written at least 1,000 words and the paper does not

exceed 2,500 words.

5

Engagement with a Specific Biblical Text

This act of creative writing needs to be clearly based on a

specific text of a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, which is

cited at least twice, and readily understandable as a response to

that text.

5

Footnotes

The paper will have at least two footnotes, as explained in the

prompt, in which secondary sources are cited. One may be

from the assigned reading in the class, and one must be from

another reputable scholarly publication. It needs to be clear

how you used both scholarly sources.

5

Central Idea

Since this is not a conventional academic assignment, a thesis

statement is not required. Your text nevertheless needs to

“present a clearly defined central idea”; that is, the key point

you are trying to express needs to be clear. Ask yourself, if you

were to boil down your response to the prophet into one

sentence, what would that sentence be. That sentence should

be up front in your text.

5

Coherent and Organizational Framework

While creative writing can take on various forms, your text

needs to exhibit a clear structure and framework. It needs to

have a narrative in which there is some sort of progress and

development that is clear to the reader.

5

Clear Writing

Your text has been clearly proofread and it is written in clear

and grammatically correct English.

5

Total Points: 30