NEW TESTAMENT AS GREEK LITERATURE 3006-NTAGL-OG

In recent years, the discovery of many references to ancient Greek literature has greatly changed the way we understand the New Testament as a literary work. This approach was pioneered in modern scholarship by the American biblical scholar and classicist Dennis R. MacDonald. Recent studies, including a series of articles by the course instructor, show that the authors of the Gospels and Paul engage in a dialogue with Homer, Hesiod, Plato, Euripides, and Aratus of Soli. Recognizing these literary references is often essential for understanding what the New Testament authors wanted to communicate. Knowledge of Ancient Greek is not required for this course. However, students should know the Greek alphabet, which will be introduced during the first class. The course will focus mainly on references to ancient Greek authors in the Synoptic Gospels and the Pauline Letters. We will first examine formal, linguistic, and literary parallels between the New Testament and ancient Greek texts. We will then discuss how recognizing these references affects the interpretation and understanding of New Testament passages. A substantial part of the course will also focus on the literary form of New Testament texts, including rhetorical structures, metrical features, and stylistic tropes.