Old Testament Theology: The Law

The overall objective of this course is to lay the foundation for a lifetime of work in the Pentateuch, introducing the student to all of the essential processes and resources necessary to frame in a biblical theology of the Pentateuch, and to a process of moving from biblical theology to theology in culture.  Specifically, this means that each person studying the course would:

• Develop an overall understanding of the Pentateuch—including the development of a canonical intent statement that integrates Moses’ intention and literary design for the Pentateuch and the role the Pentateuch plays in relation to the other sections of the Old Testament canon.

• Develop skill in handling the special literature of the Pentateuch—majoring on the unique combination of narrative and legal literature, as well as paying attention to the over-arching role that the covenant forms-of-the-day played in shaping major sections of the Pentateuch.

• Develop an author’s intention statement for each book that pays careful attention to the literary design; develop a theology of each book that develops the author’s emphasis of crafting his theological ideas.

• Develop a theology of the Pentateuch as a whole that, again, respects the literary design of the Pentateuch and identifies the careful crafting of the author’s theological ideas, identifying both themes and rhemes.

• Develop a framework for beginning to use the Pentateuch in both life and ministry—including framing in a couple of future series ideas for preaching from the Pentateuch.