Descriptio N

The course will examine the form and content of Luke’s account of the passion and death of Jesus in Lk 22,1—23,56. The conventional tools of redaction criticism will be used in order to delineate the traditional material incorporated into this section of the Gospel and to interpret the theological implications of the redactional and compositional choices of the author.

Objectives

The course will seek to achieve two objectives: 1) to identify and address the major exegetical issues that emerge from a critical reading of a key section of Luke’s Gospel; 2) to train students in the various skills and methods of analysis currently used by modern exegetes in order to gain a critical understanding of the intended meaning of biblical texts within their proper historical and literary contexts. The course is designed for masters-level students who are already equipped with a facility in the ancient biblical languages and with a general knowledge of the history and literary development of the gospel tradition.

Method

The instruction will be given primarily in the form of lectures in which the practice of scientific exegesis will be exemplified in a close reading and analysis of Luke’s Passion Narrative. After engaging students in the process of identifying the major exegetical issues and questions raised by the text under examination, the instructor will present the several methods of analysis employed by modern exegetes to address these issues. The oral summaries given by the instructor will provide a point of departure for each student’s further study of the scholarly discussion as found in selected commentaries, monographs, and articles indicated on the syllabus. At the conclusion of each of these lecture presentations, students will be invited to participate in a critical evaluation of the several exegetical methods currently used in the modern study of these gospel texts.

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated on the basis of a final written exam (120 minutes), in which they will be asked to demonstrate: 1) a knowledge of the key terms and concepts presented in the lectures and assigned readings; 2) the ability to analyze the text-critical, linguistic, and semantic features of the Greek text of the Gospel; and 3) a well-informed familiarity with the principal methods of exegesis currently applied in the modern study of the Gospels.