1
BOT 365: Minor Prophets
Spring 2012 (3 credit hours)
Cincinnati Bible College
Jim Lloyd, Instructor
244-8138 (work) Office in library 8:00-4:30 M-F; 451-5840 (home)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a study of the twelve books generally referred to as The Minor Prophets. The course will focus on the Biblical text, examining it in light of Old Testament prophetism, cultural background, and key theological themes. It will also make contemporary application to the prophetic message.
COURSE RATIONALE AND GOALS
The student who satisfactorily completes this course should be able to:
- Understand the historical setting of the prophets
- Appreciate how the cultural background affects the response to the biblical message
- Explain key theological themes found within the prophetic literature and demonstrate how they continue to prove relevant
- Understand how the message of the prophets against the background of the Assyrian and Babylonian Exiles
- Demonstrate how God actively worked through the prophetic messages to fulfill his plan to prepare Israel for the ministry of the Messiah.
TEXTBOOKS
Texts to purchase
- Willem A. VanGemeren. Interpreting the Prophetic Word: An Introduction to the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament. Zondervan, 1996.
- Gary Holloway. Radical Answers from the Minor Prophets, Hillcrest Publishing, 2001
Additional Required Readings in the library or on Moodle.
- The following pages from James E. Smith. Minor Prophets.
”The Minor Prophets: An Introduction,” 13-28
“The Early Prophets: An Introduction,” 29-48
“The Eighth Century Prophets: An Introduction,” 127-142
“The Seventh Century Prophets: An Introduction,” 371-382
“The Post-Exilic Prophets: An Introduction,” 473-492
- James E. Smith.What the Bible Says about the Promised Messiah, pages 219-243, 326-338, 397-501This is probably the best books on the subject of Messianic Prophecy.Smith used to teach at CCU before he went to Florida Christian College. Your professor highly recommends any of the fine books written by Smith (Ph.D. from HUC)
A short list of recommended books on The Minor Prophets
This list contains some old and some new, some academic and some practical titles, and some liberal and some conservative titles.
Christopher R. Seitz. Prophecy and Hermeneutics: Toward a New Introduction to the Prophets. Baker Academic, 2007, 189-219 This book is a sample of the new direction that some Evangelical scholars are taking these days regarding what they refer to the final form of The Minor Prophets. This reading is meant to expose the seminarian to some of the latest ideas in the area of The Minor Prophets. This does not mean that your professor endorses all that is said.
Smith, James E. Hosea and Amos: A Christian Interpretation, 2009.
Smith, James E. Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, Micah: A Christian Interpretation, 2011.
Smith, James E. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: A Christian Interpretation, 2011.
Smith, James E. Postexilic Prophets: A Christian Interpretation, 2007
Dan Schmidt. Unexpected Wisdom: Major Insight from the Minor Prophets. Baker, 2002.
Stuart Briscoe. Taking God Seriously: Major Lessons from the Minor Prophets. Word, 1986.
Gary V. Smith. The Prophets as Preachers: An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets, Broadman and Holdman, 1994.
James D. Bales. New Testament Interpretations of Old Testament Prophecies of the Kingdom, 1950. Great classic word on understanding OT Prophecies of God’s kingdom.
Robert B. Chisholm, Jr. Interpreting the Minor Prophets, 1990
The commentaries in The New International Commentary on the Old Testament series
The commentaries in The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series.
The commentary in the old College Press Textbook Series by Paul T. Butler
The College Press NIV Commentaries, 2 vols.
H. C. Leupold Exposition of Zechariah.
Theo. Laetsch Bible Commentary: The Minor Prophets.
G. Von Orelli The Twelve Minor Prophets.
Thomas McComisky. The Minor Prophets, 2 vols.
The Twelve Minor Prophets, vol. XIV inAncient Christian Commentary on Scripture, 2003
William P. Brown, Obadiah through Malachi in the Westminster Bible Companion Series, 1996.
Michael H. Floyd, Minor Prophets, vol. XXII in The Forms of the Old Testament Literature.
Van Gronigan. Messianic Revelation in the Old Testament.
Writings and Speech in Israelite and Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy, ed. By Ehud Ben Zvi and Michael H. Floyd, 2000.
MAJOR LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND COURSE PROCEDURES
- A major project (options below) worth 50% of the final grade.
- Two exams worth 25% each.
- The readings are part of the course requirements. You must do the readings in order to get all of the points you receive from the project and exams. If the readings are not completed, percentage (1-5%) will be deducted from your final grade depending on how many readings were not completed.
- Attendance and participation. It is assumed that students will be present and on time for each class. It is also assumed that students will be engaged in the classroom. The professor reserves the right to deduct points from the final grade for such things as consistent tardiness, sleeping in class, etc.
COURSE SCHEDULE
The professor reserves the right to change lectures and assignments as deemed necessary. Students must abide by the school’s current attendance policy. Students are expected to be on time for class and stay for the entire class.Notice that I have included the required readings for each week. Smith MP refers to his book on Minor Prophets. Smith WTBS is his book on What the Bible Says about the Promised Messiah.
January 18Introduction to the course and introductory materialon the Minor Prophets
January 23Hosea: Readings due: Smith, MP, 13-28, VanGemeren, 16-99
January 25Hosea: Readings due: Smith, WTBS, 230-243, VanGemeren, 102-120
January 30Hosea continuedReadings due: Smith, MP, 29-48,
February 1Joel: Readings:VanGemeren, 120-127
February 6Joel continued: Readings:Smith, WTBS, 219-229
February 8Amos: Readings: Smith, MP, 127-142
February 13Amos continued: Readings: VanGemeren, 127-140
February 15Amos continued: Holloway Introduction and chapters 1-2
February 20Amos continued: Holloway chapters 3-4
February 22Obadiah: Readings: VanGemeren, 141-146
February 27Obadiah continued:
February 29Midterm Exam
March 5-9 Spring Recess, no classes
March 12Jonah: Readings due: VanGemeren, 146-149
March 14Jonah continued
March 19MicahReadings due: VanGemeren, 150-160,
March 21Micah continued: Smith, WTBS, 326-338
March 26Nahum: Readings due: VanGemeren, 161-168,
March 28Nahum continued: Smith, MP, 371-382
April 2Habakkuk: Readings due: VanGemeren, 168-173
April 4Habakkuk continued
April 6-8 Easter Recess, no classes
April 9Zephaniah: Readings due: VanGemeren, 173-181,
April 11Zephaniah continued: Halloway, Radical Answers, is to be completed by this date.
April 16Haggai Readings due: VanGemeren, 182-193,
April 18Haggai continued: Smith, WTBS, 397-410, Smith, MP, 473-492
April 23Zechariah Readings due: VanGemeren, 193-202
April 25Zechariah continued: Smith, WTBS, 411-459
April 30Malachi Readings due: VanGemeren, 202-244,Smith, WTBS, 460-467, all readings completed by this date.
May 2Malachi continued: Final project due
May 7-10 Semester exams
LEGAL MATTERS
- Grading Policy and Procedures:.
Midterm exam 25%, final exam 25%, semester project 50%. The student's project will be evaluated in the following way: content 25%, extent to which it meets requirements 25%, quality and quantity of the bibliography 25%, overall quality 25%. The student is expected to be present and on time for every class. The teacher may reward the student who has perfect or near perfect attendance by adding from one to five percentage points to the semester grade. The teacher may also deduct from one to five percentage points due to excessive absences. This means that someone with a B+ average may be given an A- or vice versa. The student is expected to take extensive notes in class and to show interest. The teacher maintains the right to add to or subtract from the final grade by taking into account the student's classroom behavior and participation.
- Major Project Choices: Write three five page sermons or lesson plans from passages in The Minor Prophets. Or you may choose to write a formal study (term paper) of no less than 20 pages on some doctrinal theme, some prophecy in the book, or some historical incident. The research paper may also be an exegesis of a passage.
- Term paper. The student who chooses this option is required to present a formal study on a passage (verse-by verse exegesis), cultural matter, theme (e.g. sin, remnant, judgment, etc.), some historical matter, or some prophecy found in the Minor Prophets. It is necessary to have your specific topic approved by the professor. The paper must (1) be at least 15 pages. Anything that deviates from this must be discussed with and approved by the professor in advance. (2) A bibliography of at least 10-15 sources including a mixture of books and journal articles. The bibliography must include sources that are taken from the bibliography listed above. If you list a Bible version or a concordance in your bibliography, it must be done in addition to the required number of sources. The student is expected to interact with the majority of these sources and not just include them in the bibliography. (3) MLA documentation unless you specifically get approval from the professor to use another style manual.
- Sermons. The student who chooses this option is required to submit sermons, which meet the following specifications. (1) Threefull-length sermons of about five to six pages each. (2) The full-length sermons are to be written out word-for-word in manuscript form, including introductions, propositions, major points, illustrations, and conclusions. (3) The sermons are to be newly written just for this class. No used sermons or borrowed sermons are allowed. I leave you to your honor on this. The sermons should reflect ideas you have picked up in class.(4) Passages chosen could represent different aspects of the book. As an example, one might be on a prophet’s warning of coming judgment, another on a prophecy, etc. (5) The student should follow the examples on Moodle. (6) The student should provide a bibliography of sources used to compile this sermon notebook. The bibliography should include any commentaries, sermon books, illustration books, or other sources used by the student to do this project.
- Lesson plans. The student who chooses to do this project is to follow standard lesson plan instructions. Examples can be found on the Moodle course site. The student who chooses this project must meet the following requirements. (1) Three full-length lessons consisting of a total of at least 15 pages (2) All teaching content is to be written out word-for-word. (3) The lessons are to be newly written just for this class. No used lessons are allowed. I leave you to your honor on this. The lessons should reflect ideas you have picked up in class. (4) Each passage chosen could represent different aspects of the book. As an example, one might be on a miracle and the other might be on a prophecy (5) The student must provide a bibliography of sources used to compile these lesson plans. The bibliography should include commentaries, lesson books, illustration books, or other sources which the student used in producing the project.
- Readings: Students will be required to report on what they have read and what they have not read. The report form will be available on Moodle. The readings are part of the course requirements. You must do the readings in order to get all of the points you receive from the project and exams. If the readings are not completed, percentage (1-5%) will be deducted from your final grade depending on how many readings were not completed.