A survey of biblical theology, including methodological issues of debate during the last two centuries. Emphasis on the Bible's storyline, examining how the books and corpora of the Bible contribute to the unfolding history of redemption. Attention is given to themes of temple, sacrifice, priest, rest, kingship, exile, idolatry, promise, messiah, wisdom, and others. Finally, the relationship of biblical theology with other disciplines, especially exegesis and systematic theology, is considered. Required for all MA in CM, MA in MHC, and MDiv students. Should be taken during first year of enrollment. Offered fall and spring. Three hours.
ID 5000 culminates in a project that allows you to use and demonstrate the theological skills that you will learn this term. This research guide suggests an approach to this assignment that some students may find helpful.
Students will begin by choosing a Biblical theme from an approved list. Past themes have included Temple, Exodus, Marriage, Clothing, Mannah/Bread, among others. Your professor will give you a list of approved themes. If you want to research a different theme, be sure to get your professor's approval before submitting your proposal.
We suggest you begin your study of the theme with a Bible Dictionary. Two good ones are:
The Anchor Bible Dictionary by
Contains over six thousand alphabetically arranged entries that provide information about developments and issues associated with the study of the Bible, covering people and places, versions of the Bible, methodologies of Bible scholarship, and historical and archaeological subjects, and includes illustrations, cross-references, and bibliographies.
New Dictionary of Biblical Theology by
The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology will quickly establish itself as an essential building block of every library of basic biblical reference books. Building on its companion volumes, the New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary, this work takes readers to a higher vantage point where they can view the thematic terrain of the Bible in its canonical wholeness. In addition, it fills the interpretive space between those volumes and the New Dictionary of Theology. At the heart of this work is an A-to-Z encyclopedia of over 200 key biblical-theological themes such as atonement, creation, eschatology, Israel, Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, redemption, suffering, wisdom and worship. Students and communicators of the Bible will be well served by articles exploring the theology of each biblical book. And for those interested in the wider discipline of biblical theology, major articles explore foundational issues such as the history of biblical theology, the challenges raised against biblical theology, and the unity and diversity of Scripture. Over 120 contributors drawn from the front ranks of biblical scholarship in the English-speaking world make the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology a work of distinction and a benchmark of evangelical biblical theology at the turn of the twenty-first century. Bibliographies round out all articles, directing readers to research trails leading out of the Dictionary and into crucial studies on every subject. Cross-references throughout send readers through the varied maze of reading pathways, maximizing the usefulness of this volume. Comprehensive, authoritative and easily accessible, the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology is certain to establish itself as an essential resource for students of the Bible and theology. - Publisher.
Electronic versions of these books are also available via Rolfing Library.
New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (link)
The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (link)
Use these entries to gain a foundational understanding of your theme. The Bible dictionaries are also a good place to find the scripture passages that relate to your theme. You may also find in the dictionary references to other sources that you might use in your study.
After completing your foundational work and selecting your Bible passages, you will want to consult commentaries to study the passages you selected more deeply. You can find commentaries at the library by searching the catalog (link). Use the word "commentary" along with the book of the Bible you are studying. For example, if you're examining Genesis 3, you'll search for: commentary Genesis.
This search will produce a lot of results! At the time of this writing, we get 492 items on the list! You may want to use the filters on the left side of the display to refine your search.
Online students may be especially interested in the "Available online" filter. This will limit the result list to items that you can access online. The "Available online" filter is under the "Availability" heading.
A librarian can also help you find the resources you need. You just have to ask!
Access the Atla Religion Database at this link.
In this guide, we will focus on using the database for scripture searching. We have a detailed Research Guide explaining the Atla Religion database if you would like to learn more about this valuable resource.
Here's how to search Atla by scripture passage:
As always, librarians are available to help you if you run into trouble. Please reach out to us.
For more details about using the Atla database, please explore our guide at this link. And as always, our librarians are eager to assist.
You will be required to format the paper using TEDS format, and your citations should follow Chicago Manual of Style. For an in-depth look at these requirements, click here to see our Citation and Formatting guide.
From SBL Handbook of Style 8.3:
Use the following abbreviations without periods. Example: 1 Cor 13:1
| Old Testament abbreviations: | New Testament abbreviations: |
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