DI2014 Reading the Women of the Old Testament B (Hebrew Texts)
Academic year
2025 to 2026 Semester 2
Curricular information may be subject to change
Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.
Key module information
SCOTCAT credits
20
SCQF level
SCQF level 8
Planned timetable
Mon, Tue, Thur 11am
Module coordinator
Dr D G Snoek
Module Staff
Dr D Snoek
Module description
This module examines depictions of women and the feminine in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Topics of study will include named and unnamed female characters in narrative (e.g., the matriarchs; Rahab; Ruth; Esther; Judith), women in legal texts, female characters in Wisdom Literature (“Lady Wisdom”; the “foreign woman”; the “woman of valour”), and the metaphorical depiction of cities as women in prophetic texts. It also discusses the use of female imagery for God, textual depictions of gendered violence, the gendering of religious disobedience, and the religious roles of women in ancient Israel. This module will enable students not only to explore the dialogue and intersection of gender, otherness, and religion, but also the complexity artistry of biblical texts themselves. Students will read and prepare certain primary texts in Biblical Hebrew.
Relationship to other modules
Pre-requisites
BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST PASS DI1003 AND PASS DI2002
Anti-requisites
YOU CANNOT TAKE THIS MODULE IF YOU TAKE DI2015
Assessment pattern
Coursework - 70%, Written exam - 30%
Re-assessment
Written exam - 100%
Learning and teaching methods and delivery
Weekly contact
3 lectures (X11 weeks), 1 tutorial (x11 weeks)
Scheduled learning hours
44
Guided independent study hours
156
Intended learning outcomes
- Identify, describe and understand key themes and approaches to women and the feminine in the Old Testament/Hebrew bible.
- Analyse a range of Hebrew texts from Old Testament/Hebrew Bible in terms of their significance for the study of ancient cultural and literary systems of sexuality and gender.
- Discuss and critique examples of exegesis, and analyse select texts in Hebrew on women from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
- Construct nuanced, wide-ranging and critically aware arguments, both oral and written, based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources.
- Plan, research, and complete a structured and reasoned essay on a biblical text, presented in word-processed form.