Resources

Required Study Bible 

The following NRSVue study Bible is required for the course:

• The SBL Study Bible: Including Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books (HarperOne, 2023)

This is a very newly-released (November 2023) updated version — including the updated edition of the NRSV as well as with revised notes and essays — of the following, which remains an adequate substitute for students who already own a copy:

• The Harper Collins Study Bible: Including Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books with Concordance (HarperOne, 2006)

Please ensure you have this study Bible with you for all class sessions.

Other Bible Versions

Together with the above study Bible, our main reference texts for Old Testament will be the following:

Septuagint

• A New English Translation of the Septuagint (Oxford, 2007) — available online through the U of T library

Tanakh (Jewish Bible)

• Jewish Study Bible (Oxford, 2014) — available online through the U of T library
• Robert Alter, trans. The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (Norton, 2019)

Additionally, a Bible software package or online Bible library resource comprising primary sources, interlinear and multiple translations and concordance tools will be helpful.

Course Book

Students may wish to acquire the following text which will be read in its entirety. It is also available to read online through the University of Toronto library system.

• Eugen Pentiuc, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (Oxford, 2014)

A selection from the companion book by Pentiuc, Hearing the Scriptures: Liturgical Exegesis of the Old Testament in Byzantine Orthodox Hymnography (Oxford, 2021), which is also available online through the library, will be assigned for the commentary on liturgical exegesis assignment.

Other Resources

There is obviously an endless amount of literature available for studying the Bible. What follows are a very few recommended materials, curated with the course expectations and assignments in mind, and kept brief enough that we can refer to these together in our class discussions as the need should arise. Beyond this, students are encouraged to follow up on the works listed in the bibliography of the Pentiuc course book listed above, as well as speaking with the research staff at the Graham Library who will be happy to assist in finding good study resources both in print and online for their specific exegetical projects.

Premodernity / Patristic 

For finding patristic texts referencing specific Biblical passages (a jumping off point for further patristic reading):

• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1998-) — available online through the U of T library

For a detailed description of patristic Biblical interpretation:

• Henri de Lubac, Medieval Exegesis : The Four Senses of Scripture, volumes 1 and 2 (Chicago: Eerdmans, 2000) — available online through the U of T library

See also several articles in The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity referenced below.

Modernity / Historical-Critical 

For quick reference to historical-critical approaches and tools:

• Richard Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2011) — available online through the U of T library

For the most comprehensive Biblical commentary, constantly in revision. For each biblical book, the series includes an original translation with translational and text-critical notes, overviews of the historical, critical, and literary evolution of the text, an outline of major themes and topics, a verse-by-verse commentary, treatment of competing scholarly theories, historical background, and more. The commentary available in this series will be sufficient to meet the needs of the short critical methods exegesis paper.

• Anchor Yale Bible Series (before 2007, the Anchor Bible, published by Doubleday) — many volumes in this series, but not all, are available online through the U of T library

Postcritical / Canonical and Narrative Theology

For a critique of Biblical criticism under modernity (the historical-critical schools) and an appeal to narrative theology:

• Hans Frei, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative (New Haven: Yale, 1974) — available online through the U of T library

For a recovery of a properly theological reading of the Bible standing as a canonically established vehicle of a living faith:

• Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1980)
• Brevard Childs, Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1985)

For a thoroughgoing narrative reading of the Scriptures and appreciation of their literary shaping, focusing on type scenes, tracing the impact of themes and even key words throughout different books, and exploring the importance of the juxtaposition of stories for mutual interpretation:

• Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981) — available online through the U of T library

Pre-Course Reading

This course is structured around the explanation of the way the Scriptures are read in Orthodox Christianity given by Fr Eugen Pentiuc in his 2014 book, The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition. 

The approach Pentiuc outlines is assumed in this course from the first class. While we will be exploring and applying what he describes throughout the course, ensuring that what Pentiuc describes will be learned and thoroughly understood in due course, it is important to emphasise that the earlier the terms and methods outlined by Pentiuc are acquired, the greater the learning and application that can ensue.

Ideally, therefore, the entire book would be read before the course. Where practicable, that’s the recommendation.

At a minimum, the following comprehensive book review by Leslie Baynes should be carefully read and digested before the course begins. You might take the review in one hand and the book in the other, only skimming through the book content at this stage, making mental or marginal notes for near future in-depth reading.

• Leslie Baynes, “Review of The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition, by Eugen J. Pentiuc,” Religion, 48:3 (2018), 540-544

You will note that there are no assigned weekly readings from the book in the course outline. It is simply incumbent upon every student to read the book as soon and as thoroughly as possible.

Whilst there are no prerequisites for this course, some familiarity with the overall narrative of the Scriptures is assumed. For those needing a primer (or refresher) in the main Biblical stories and themes, the following book is recommended, both for the skilful way it condenses the text as well as the integration and application of a postcritical, narrative theological approach to the Scriptures.

• Samuel Wells, The Heart of It All: The Bible’s Big Picture (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2019)