WESTERN SEMINARY

Portland, Oregon 97215

BLS 550 Biblical Manners and Customs

Fall Semester, 2003

J. Carl Laney, Th.D.

Course Description

An understanding of cultural background is essential to accurate exegesis. In this course, selected elements in the cultural backgrounds of both Testaments are considered with emphasis upon the customs, institutions, and manners that bear most directly upon the interpretation of the Scriptures. The objective of the course is to help the student reconstruct the cultural settings of biblical events and thereby more accurately interpret Scripture.

Course Textbooks

Ralph Gower, The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times (Moody)

Course Goals

1. The student shall gain an awareness and appreciation of the importance of cultural background in biblical studies.

2. The student will be able to use cultural insights in the practice of exegesis and interpretation.

3. The student will gain a greater understanding of the biblical culture through reading, lectures and reports.

4. The student will become a specialist in one aspect of biblical culture and background.

Course Requirements

1. Read the required textbook (Gower, Manners & Customs). A reading report will be submitted on the last class day of the semester (December 12th). 10 hours

2. Complete a course project. This may take the form of a research paper, a PowerPoint presentation, or a model. The project must be selected and approved by the professor by the end of the second week of class. 25 hours

a. In the research paper, the student will investigate thoroughly a biblical custom or cultural institution. The student will then relate his or her study to relevant biblical passages, demonstrating the value of cultural understanding to a proper interpretation of the text. A bibliography will be included.

b. A student may choose to present research on a custom or cultural institution by means of a 10 to 15 minute PowerPoint presentation. The script accompanying the pictures must be based on careful research. A bibliography will be submitted with the presentation. A copy of the script, list of images, and bibliography will be submitted.

c. A model may be used to present the student's research. The student will submit a bibliography and a written description of the model.

d. Suggested areas of research include:

Messianic Ideas in Judaism

Role and place of women

Craftsmen (ie. potter, textile, tanner, etc)

Merchants and trade

Apparel in the OT (or NT)

Property ownership and sales

Music and musical instruments

Scribes

Travel and transportation

Animals and their domestic use

Greek and Roman Market (agora)

Roman forum

Private dwellings

Roman baths

Roman theatre

Education (Hebrew or Greco‑Roman)

Greco‑Roman religion

Egyptian religion

Penal systems

Roman law and legal system

Greek architecture

Adoption

Books and libraries

Coinage

Trade‑guilds

Water‑supply

Childbirth and care of children

Medicine and surgery

Hospitality

Vineyards

Mediterranean Sea travel

Superstitions and magic

Jewelry and ornamentation

Athletics

3. Student will present the results of their research in class. Approximately twenty minutes will be allowed for each presentation. A two-page summary of the research (with bibliography) will be prepared for class distribution. 10 hours

4. Final Exam. Students will participate in an exam which will be based on class lectures and student presentations. 7 hours

5. Th.M. Students are required to read Josephus' Jewish War and write 5 page paper discussing how this book illuminates the background of the New Testament. 20 hours

6. Synagogue Visit. Arrangements are being made to schedule a Friday evening synagogue visit at Congregation Beth Israel. We will car pool from the seminary and meet at the Laneys for refreshments afterwards. The date and details will be announced.

Course Evaluation

Four items will be considered in determining the student's grade:

Project 40% Reading 20%

Presentation 20% Exam 20%

A = 95‑100 B = 90‑94 C = 85‑89 D = 80‑84

Course Schedule

September 2 Class Introduction; Background Resources

September 9 Feasts of Passover & Unleavened Bread

September 16 Jewish Calendar; Spring Jewish Festivals

September 23 Fall Jewish Festivals

September 30 Non-Mosaic Festivals

October 7 Gods and goddessess

October 14 Ancient Agriculture

October 21 Fishing the Sea of Galilee

October 28 Roman Army

November 4 Sanhedrin and Trial of Christ

November 11 Crucifixion; Jerusalem Temple

November 18 Burial Practices; Student Reports

November 25 Mealtime Customs; Student Reports

December 2 Synagogue and the Early Church; Student Reports

December 9 Final Exam

Bibliography

Arnold, William Thomas. The Roman System of Provincial Administration. Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1971.

Barrett, C. K. The New Testament Background: Selected Documents. NY: Macmillan Company, 1957.

Bouquet, A. C. Everyday Life in New Testament Times. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953.

Carcopino, Jerome. Daily Life in Ancient Rome. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1940.

Cary, M. and Haarhoff, T. J. Life and Thought in the Greek and Roman World. London: Meuthuen & Co. Ltd, 1961.

de Vaux, Roland. Ancient Israel. 2 vols. New York: McGraw‑Hill Book Company, 1965.

Edersheim, Alfred. Sketches of Jewish Social Life. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974.

______________. The Temple: Its Ministry and Services. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950.

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987.

Grant, F. C. The Economic Background of the Gospels. New York: Russell & Russell, 1973.

Grosvenor, Melville Bell, and Vosburgh, Frederick G., eds. Everyday Life in Bible Times. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1967.

Grosvenor, Melville Bell, ed. Greece and Rome: Builders of Our World: Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1969.

Gower, Ralph. The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times. Chicago: Moody Press, 1987.

Harris, Harold Authur. Sport in Greece and Rome. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1972.

Hoehner, Harold. Herod Antipas. Cambridge: At the University Press, 1972.

Jeremias, Joachim. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.

Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews, The Jewish War, Loeb Classical Library.

Lyall, Francis. Slaves, Citizens, Sons: Legal Metaphores in the Epistles. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Matthews, Victor H. Manners and Customs in the Bible. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988.

Neveg, Avraham, ed. Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Publishing House, 1972.

Pedersen, Johannes. Israel: Its Life and Culture, 2 vols. London: Oxford University Press, 1953.

Sherwin‑White, A. N. Romand Society and Roman Law in the NT. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978.

Teringo, J. Robert. The Land And People Jesus Knew (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985.

Vegetius Renatus, Flavius. Military Institutions of the Romans. Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1966.

Webster, Graham. The Roman Imperial Army, 2nd ed. NY: Barnes and Noble, 1979.

Wright, Fred H. Manners and Customs of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody, 1953.

Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 2 vols. NY: McGraw‑Hill, 1963.

Wright, G. Ernest. Great People of the Bible and How They Lived.Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1974.

Consult also the resource material available in such journals and encyclopedia articles: Biblical Archaeology Review, Biblical Archaeologist, and Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible

READING REPORT FOR BLS 550 - Biblical Manners and Customs

Due December 9th Name________________

Box: _____

Textbook:

Record the date completed or the portion completed by December 9th.

Gower's The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times: ____________

Please list other books and articles read in connection with your work for this course: