[version 2023.05]

NT1000 Introduction to the New Testament

This course introduces students to the literary and historical context, as well as major theological themes of the New Testament. Students also learn how to interpret a New Testament text.

NT2000 Gospel According to Matthew

The Gospel according to Matthew, with its focus on Jesus as the teacher of Israel, provides an important contribution to the Gospel tradition. It contains some of the most famous passages of the NT, such as the Sermon on the Mount. This course takes an exegetical approach to the composition history of the Gospel and the function and content of the text in its final form.

NT2001 Gospel According to Mark

The Gospel according to Mark, with its focus on the ministry of Jesus as the suffering Messiah and Son of God, provides a short and vivid account of the life and deeds of Jesus. This course takes an exegetical approach to the composition, structure, and content of this Gospel.

NT2002 Gospel According to Luke

The Gospel according to Luke is the first part of the grand narrative of the two-volume work of Luke-Acts. Assuming the text as an ancient communicative event between narrator and first readers, this course emphasizes the messages of discipleship addressed to its first readers, who were relatively rich and socially superior in the 1^st century Mediterranean world. In particular, through analyzing the macro design, unique ways of story-telling of the narrator, Lukan narratives and parables, co-relations of narrative and parables, and the socio-cultural situation of first readers (probably Gentiles or Diaspora Jews Christ-followers), this course seeks to figure out how Christ-followers from different social ladders can be united together to follow Christ, proclaiming as one group the repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. These messages are so universal as to transcend Jews/Gentiles, male/female, rich/poor and powerful/powerless dichotomies. Finally, the relevance of these messages to churches today may be discussed.

NT2003 Gospel According to John

The Gospel according to John has been described as a stream in which a child can wade and an elephant swim. Challenging the reader with its richly symbolic language, it offers perspectives on Jesus as the Eternal Word, the Holy Spirit as the advocate of each believer, and the followers of Jesus as a community where each can hear the voice of the shepherd individually. The Gospel poses many fascinating riddles regarding its compositional unity, narrative design, dialogue styles, character portraits, and more. This course explores message, structure, and context of this gospel, as well as its meaning for contemporary church and society.

NT2004 Acts

Acts is the second part of the grand narrative of the two-volume work of Luke-Acts. Assuming this long discourse as an ancient communicative event between narrator and first readers, this course emphasizes the ways of reading Acts as a story of urban mission, starting from the city of Jerusalem, the center of Jews, to the city of Rome, the center of the Roman Empire. In particular, through analyzing the unique presentation of story-telling by the narrator and the echoes of Jewish scriptures and the first volume Gospel of Luke, we seek to figure out the messages of this long discourse as conveyed to its first readers. This course will take into account the Mediterranean culture in particular the Diaspora Jewish culture and polytheistic religious culture, of the first readers, to determine the significance of the messages to them. Besides the echoes of Jewish scriptures, this course will also analyze the character and characterization of Acts and derive theological lessons from it. Finally, challenges of these messages to urban churches today will be discussed.

NT2007 Pastoral and Catholic Letters

This course provides an exegetical introduction to the Pastoral Letters, First and Second Peter, James and Jude; exploring their administrative, organizational, pastoral, doctrinal and teaching roles in the period when the churches became an indigenous part of state and society.

NT2008 Romans

This course provides an introduction to the historical background of the Roman church and Paul’s situation when writing the letter. The course also seeks to relate Paul’s aim of writing the letter to his arguments. Special attention is paid to Paul’s understanding of the Jews in salvation history and his teaching on justification by faith.

NT2009 Revelation to John

This course aims to investigate the meaning of the book of Revelation to first-century Christians, as well as its meaning in the contemporary church. The course includes an introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature.

NT2010 Letter to the Hebrews

This course introduces Hebrews as exhortation, and emphasis will be put on its use of quotations and motifs from the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the philosophical thoughts behind the text and the message to its first audience.

NT2011/OT2012/DK2000 Biblical Perspectives on Diakonia

See DK2000.

NT2013 Paul and His Letters

This course provides an introduction to the study of Paul and the Pauline letters, except for the Pastorals, Romans and 1 Corinthians. Pauline letters testified to the earliest emerging Christ-believing communities in cities dominated with polytheistic religions. The course takes an exegetical approach to the life and ministry of Paul, explores the literary and rhetorical design of the author, the distinctive urban social contexts of the first readers of each letter, and examines theological, ethical, literary and historical issues related to the letters and the first readers, who were urban Christians. As a result, some topics about recent Pauline studies will be introduced and evaluated. For instance, new/old perspectives on Paul and beyond, and Paul within Judaism/apostate Jews. Finally, the relevance of these messages to urban churches today may be discussed.

NT2014/OT2014/JS2000 History of Classical Judaism

See JS2000.

NT2015/OT2018/JS2001 Jewish Life, Sabbath and Festivals in Biblical and Classical Times

See JS2001.

NT2017 1 Corinthians

This course seeks to interpret this longest Pauline Epistle (in terms of number of verses) from four perspectives: rhetorical purposes; echoes of Jewish Scripture by the author; the social contexts of the first readers; and the core values conveyed to them. Special attention is paid to investigate how Paul’s four definitions of the “Church of God” in 1 Cor.1.2 function as overarching themes of the whole letter.

NT2018/OT2015/JS2003 The Land and the People of the Bible

See JS2003.

NT2019/OT2016/JS2004 Jewish Faith and Life - Window to the Biblical World

See JS2004.

NT2020/OT2019/JS2005 The Messianic Ideas in Hebrew Scriptures

See JS2005.

NT2023/OT2021/JS2006 Atonement and Forgiveness in the Bible and Jewish Traditions

See JS2006.

NT2024/OT2022/JS2007 Let My People Go! Jewish and Christian Interpretations on Exodus

See JS2007.

NT2025/OT2023/JS2008 Jewish Prayer and Worship

See JS2008.

NT2029/OT2026/JS2010 The Dead Sea Scrolls Texts in Context

See JS2010.

NT2031/OT2027/JS2011 The Jewish "Trinity": God, People, Land

See JS2011.

NT3001/PT3007/RC3000 Discipleship in the New Testament

In the New Testament the disciples of Jesus are called to follow His example “not to be served but to serve” and to “let the same mind be in them that was in Christ Jesus.” This course studies the concept of discipleship in the New Testament and its implications for mission, commitment, spirituality, and diakonia in a first-century setting, as well as for contemporary church and society.

NT3003 Text Centered New Testament Studies

With the help of narrative and literary approaches, this course leads students to study narrative and argumentative texts in the New Testament methodologically, as well as to understand their rhetorical function, communication situation, and inter-textuality.

NT3006/MC3004 Mission in the New Testament

This course studies the teachings on and practices of mission in the New Testament. It also explores some of the implications for Christian mission in contemporary church and society.

NT3007/OT3005 Biblical Hermeneutics

This course will be taught on an interdisciplinary basis and is designed to give students familiarity with the entire process of textual interpretation through their own experience from work with selected texts in both the Old and New Testaments. It will also introduce the students to different models and theories of interpretation of biblical texts and familiarize them with exegetically-relevant questions raised in the quest for understanding the biblical message in our time.

NT3008 The Old Testament in the New Testament

This course explores the use of Jewish Scripture within the New Testament, especially the ways in which the Jewish Scripture and its literary context, as well as its reception history in Jewish traditions, function as an interpretive lens for the New Testament, and vice versa, including the ways in which New Testament writers re-interpret the Jewish Scripture in light of the Christ event.

NT3009 Four Gospels - One Jesus?

This course focuses on the different narratives of the four canonical Gospels, as well as on the question of the historical Jesus. It explores the varieties of narrative design, theologies, dialogue styles and character portraits. It investigates the social and narrative world of each of the canonical Gospels and their portraits of Jesus of Nazareth as teacher and savior of his people and the world. The analytical approach is historical, literary, and theological.

NT3012/OT3010/CE3015 Bibliolog

See CE3015.

NT3013/OT3014/JS3006 Second Temple Literature

See JS3006.

NT3014/CH3011/JS3000 Beginnings of Judaism and Christianity and the Parting of the Ways

See JS3000.

NT3015/OT3011/JS3001 Formation and Transmission of Scripture

See JS3001.

NT3016/OT3012/JS3002 History, Archaeology, and the Bible

See JS3002.

NT3017/OT3013/JS3003 Judean Nationalism from the Maccabees to Bar Kochva

See JS3003.

NT3018 Reading New Testament in its Social Contexts

Taking the insights of Audience Criticism, this course leads students to “put their feet into the shoes” of first readers in order to understand the New Testament. This course mainly explores three areas of social contexts of first readers: a. Honour and Shame and Group-oriented culture in the Mediterranean society; b. social networks, such as patron-client, kinship relation, ethnic relations and voluntary associations as cultural minority groups in cities; c. social, economic and political lives. Through identifying ourselves with first readers, this course explores how first readers were transformed by the renewal of their minds by reading the New Testament, and how churches situated in different cultures today can avoid being conformed to the world.

NT3019/OT3015/JS3005 Rabbinic Literature: A Primer

See JS3005.

NT3020/OT3016/SW3017 Bible and Spirituality

See SW3017.

NT3021/OT3017/JS3004 Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus

See JS3004.

NT3022 Christology in the New Testament

This course takes the composition dates of the 27 books in the New Testament as points of departure to explore the trajectories of early Christology development. It also includes the topic ‘how Jesus became God’ among R Buckram, B. Ehrman and L.W. Hurtado.

NT3024/DM3019 Holy Spirit in the New Testament

This course explores the discourse and description of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament and investigates the understanding of the early followers of Christ on the role and function of the Holy Spirit. It also includes modern debates on baptism between Evangelicals and Pentecostals.

NT4000/OT4000/JS4000 Study Tour: The Bible Land

This course offers theoretical and practical opportunities to learn about the history and geography of Israel, the cultural and religious environments of the Gospels, Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity in the holy land. It includes a study trip to Israel with excursions to ancient sites, on-site and classroom lectures, and exposure to worship in synagogues, churches and mosques.