BCS 100 BIBLE LANDS AND LIFEWAYS
Dr. Sara
Early WeekFall 2011(513) 244-8445 -Office: Presidents Hall
August; 10:00 Monday morning
The mission of CCU is “to teach men and women to live by biblical principles and to equip and empower them with skills, insight, and vision to lead the church and impact society for Christ.” The Bible Lands class is designed with this mission in mind to meet competencies of the bible department: “place biblical literature into historical, cultural, and theological contexts” as well as “to conduct biblical research and present findings responsibly.”
Course Description
This class is a survey of environmental, cultural, and social issues which add perspective to biblical interpretation. This foundation is viewed as essential for developing solid skills in biblical interpretation.
Course Objectives
The student who satisfactorily completes this course will be able to [Bible outcomes #s 3, 5]:
a)locate and identify modern states associated with the Mediterranean and the Middle East;
b)locate, identify, and describe various geographical regions of Palestine, including major terrain units, climate, roadways, and significant settlements;
c)demonstrate the relationship between the physical environment and its cultural setting(lifeways);
d)illustrate how living in a “land between” impacted the faith of biblical characters and how the application of such an analogy may impact faith today.
Required Materials
Course Pack & Exercise Workbook with color markers, syllabus
Beitzel, Barry, The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody Press. 2009.
Brand, Chad, Charles Draper, Archie England. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2004.
Recommended Materials
King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in biblical Israel.Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
De Vaux, Roland. Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997.
Major Learning Experiences and Course Procedures
Reading
This class addresses two areas of biblical studies. One is focused on the geography of the land. It looks at the topography, which includes rivers, valleys, mountains, settlements, and roads. We will also look at the climate and how all these elements affect those who live here. The second area of our study is customs (lifeways). We will look at how those living on this land made their living and built their homes and families.
Select readings from The Moody Atlas of the Bible(by Beitzel), and the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (HBD)are suggested to enhance and illustrate class lectures. These readings should be completed according to the schedule outlined in the Course Pak and will prove useful for a successful completion of the Exercise
Course Pack Notebook
A Course Pak Notebook is available to the student in the CCU Bookstore. This notebook contains maps, outlines, helps for exams and other needed information for the student.
Quizzes
Quizzes will be given throughout the week to encourage students to review the day’s material.
Map Work
Each Day the class will take time to fill in maps. This is to reinforce our geographical studies and help the student to become familiar with the locations of cities and regions of the Heartland for better understanding of the biblical stories. This will help the student to visualize where the story took place and how the land formation may have affected the outcome.
Geography Exam
At the end of Early week students will take a geography exam. This exam will ask students to locate cities, regions, and bodies of water that have been covered in class.
Rubric for grading the final exam
CharacteristicGeographical content
Cultural content
Map work
References (4)
Writing style/grammar/length
Calculation of Final Grade
The final grade for the course will be derived from the following categories according to the assigned weights:
Daily maps (25%)
Quizzes (25%) taken during early week
Final Geography Exam (25%)due Tuesday August 23
Integration Exercises (25%) due Friday September 2
Attendance
Classroom attendance is mandatory and will be strictly enforced. Three tardies (up to 10 minutes late) equal one absence; more than 10 minutes is considered an absence as well as leaving early or sleeping in class (they may negatively affect your grade). Seven absences (one hour slots) will trigger an automatic drop from the class. Since reinstatement is rare, this situation should be avoided at all costs.
Academic Support
Students who require academic accommodations due to any documented physical, psychological or learning disability should request assistance from the Academic Support Director within the first two weeks of class. The Academic Support Office is located in the Lower Level of the Worship and Ministry Building (room 153), (Marie Reeves, 244-8420).
This syllabus may be adjusted or revised at the professor’s discretion.
Lecturesin the Course Pack
Introduction ...... 3
I. Regions Outside the Heartland
World Map ...... 4
Mesopotamia ...... 5
Egypt & Sinai ...... 7
Greece & Turkey ...... 9
Rome ...... 11
- Regions Inside the Heartland
Introductory material
Study Hints for Lands ...... 13
Size, Scale &Rhythm ...... 14
Geology-Foundations in the Earth ...... 15
Climate, Flora & Fauna ...... 18
Introduction to Lifeways ...... 21
Jordan Valley Rift
Upper Jordan Valley: HulehBasin...... 24
Lower Jordan Valley ...... 26
Dead Sea & the WadiAravah...... 28
Central Mt. Spine
Upper & Lower Galilee ...... 32
Jezreel Valley ...... 34
Samaria ...... 36
Saddle of Benjamin ...... 38
Judean Hill Country & Wilderness ...... 40
The Negev ...... 42
Coastal Plain
Plain of Acco, Mt Carmel& Plain of Dor ...... 46
Plain of Sharon &Ceasarea ...... 47
Philistine (or Coastal) Plain & Judean Shephelah...... 50
Transjordan
Bashan &Mount Hermon...... 54
Gilead & Ammon ...... 56
Moab, Edom...... 58
III. Lifeways
Agriculture & Husbandry ...... … ...... 61
Reading & Writing ...... 62
Megiddo ...... 65
The Israelite Home ...... 66
Weapons & Warfare ...... 67
Jerusalem ...... 68
Family Institutions ...... 70
Civil Institutions ...... 71
Hebrew Festivals ...... 72
Health & Healing ...... 73
Trade & Transport ...... 74
Time Reckoning...... 75
Class Schedule(this may be revised at the professor’s discretion depending on the needs of the class)
This course is an adaptation of Dr. Mark Ziese’s course in Bible Lands and Lifeways.
Week’s Schedule
Monday: Regions Outside the Heartland
Introduction
World Map
Mesopotamia
Egypt & Sinai
Greece & Turkey
Rome
Tuesday: Regions Inside the Heartland
Introductory Material
Size, Scale & Rhythm
Geology-Foundations in the Earth
Climate, Flora & Fauna
Intro to Lifeways: history, archaeology
Jordan Valley Rift
Upper Jordan Valley: Hula Basin
Lower Jordan Valley
Dead Sea &WadiArabah
Writing & the DDS
Wednesday: Central Mt. Spine
Upper & Lower Galilee
Jezreel Valley
Megiddo
Samaria
Israelite Homes
Saddle of Benjamin
Judean Hill Country & Wilderness
Jerusalem
Negev
Thursday: Coastal Plain
Family I
Family II
Plain of Acco, Mt Carmel & Plain of Dor
Plain of Sharon / Caesarea Maritime
Agriculture & Husbandry
Philistine Plain & Judean Shephelah
Warfare I
Warfare II
Civil Institutions
Friday: Transjordan
Bashan & Mt Hermon
Health & Healing
Gilead & Ammon
Hebrew Festivals
Moab & Edom
Note: Please have all electronic devices turn off during class. No laptops are needed in this class since notes are taken in a notebook.
-Bibliography-
Benjamin, Jules R. A Student’s Guide to History. 5th ed., New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991.
Geography
Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979.
Baly, D. The Geography of the Bible.Revised ed. Harper & Row, 1974.
Beitzel, Barry J. The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands. Chicago: Moody Press, 2009.
Burge, Gary M.The Bible and the Land.Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.
Frank, Harry Thomas. Hammond: Discovering the Biblical World. New Jersey, Maplewood: Hammond Incorporated, 1988.
McGarvey, J. W.Lands of the Bible: A Geographical and Topographical Description of Palestine, with Letters of Travel in Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece. Cincinnati: Standard Publishing Co., 1880.
Rasmussen, Carl G. Atlas of the Bible, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010.
Lifeways/Culture
Borowski, Oded. Daily Life in Biblical Times. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.
Ferguson, E.Backgrounds of Early Christianity.Eerdmans, 1993.
Jeffers, James. The Greco-Roman World of the New Testment Era, Exploring the Background of Early Christianity.InterVarsity Press, 1999.
King, Philip J. and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press,
Matthews, Victor H. Manners & Customs in the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to Daily Life in Biblical Times. Hendrickson Publishers. 2006.
Thompson, J. A. Handbook of Life in Bible Times.Inter-Varsity, 1986.
Vaux, R. de.Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997.
Walton, John H. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary.5 volumes, Zondervan, 2009.
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