Difficult Texts in the Old Testament: A Workshop Approach

Sat Nov 23
9:00 - 11:30 AM
10 (Upper Level West) - Convention Center

Each year this group will examine a difficult passage in the Old Testament from multiple angles. This year we will examine Job 42:5–7, with three brief (5-min) invited presentations. These will focus on Interpretive Problems in Job 42:5–7, Job 42:5–7 in Its Literary Context, and Job 42:5–7 and a Biblical Theology of Lament. Each will be followed by a collaborative audience-driven discussion. We will then conclude with a brief (5-min) response and a final shorter discussion. To facilitate a rich and stimulating dialogue, we encourage attendees to examine the passage ahead of time, considering the questions posted at https://www.ibr-bbr.org/annual-meeting/research-groups/difficult-texts-in-the-old-testament-a-workshop-approach. For more information, contact Brittany Kim ([email protected]), Charlie Trimm ([email protected]), or Traci Birge ([email protected]).

Brittany Kim, BibleProject, Presiding (5 min)

Crystal L. Melara, University of California, Los Angeles
Interpretive Problems in Job 42:5–7 (5 min)

Discussion (25 min)

Ellie M. Wiener, University of Cambridge
Job 42:5–7 in Its Literary Context (5 min)

Discussion (25 min)

Break (10 min)

Charlie Trimm, Biola University
Job 42:5–7 and a Biblical Theology of Lament (5 min)

Discussion (25 min)

M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), Wheaton College and Graduate School
Our Communal Learning on Job 42:5–7 (5 min)

Discussion (10 min)

9:00 to 11:00 am
11/17/2023
Salon G

Each year, this group will examine a difficult passage in the Old Testament from multiple angles. This year we will examine Psalm 82. The session will be divided into two parts, with Part I addressing exegesis and ancient Near Eastern backgrounds and Part II addressing intertextuality as well as theology and ethics. Each part will begin with two brief (5-min) invited presentations to get the conversation started, but the bulk of the time will consist of a more collaborative and audience-driven discussion. To facilitate a rich and stimulating dialogue, we strongly encourage attendees to examine the passage ahead of time with some or all of the following questions in mind (a handout with the biblical text and questions will be provided).

Difficult Texts in the Old Testament: A Workshop Approach 
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
11/18/2022
Plaza Court 1 (Plaza Tower - Concourse Level) _ Sheraton Downtown (SD) 

Each year this group will examine a difficult passage in the Old Testament from multiple angles. This year we will examine Exodus 4:24–26. The session will be divided into two parts with Part I addressing exegesis and social and contextual analysis and Part II addressing intertextuality and biblical theology, along with ethics and teaching. Each part will begin with two brief (5-min) invited presentations to get the conversation started, but the bulk of the time will consist of a more collaborative and audience-driven discussion.To facilitate a rich and stimulating dialogue, we strongly encourage attendees to examine the passage ahead of time with some or all of the following questions in mind (a handout with the biblical text and questions will be provided).

11/19/2021
3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Room: Salons KL - Marriott Rivercenter

In this session, we will examine Genesis 9:20–27 with the help of four invited respondents. To facilitate a rich and stimulating dialogue, we strongly encourage attendees to examine the passage ahead of time with some or all of the following questions in mind (a handout with the biblical text and questions will be provided).

Brittany Kim, Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College, Presiding
Introduction (5 min)

Part I

Charlie Trimm, Biola University – Exegesis (5 min)
1. What does it mean that “Ham...saw the nakedness of his father” (וירא חם … את ערות אביו) in Gen 9:22 (see also vv. 23–24)? Does Lev 18 provide interpretive guidance on this verse?
2. Who is the “youngest son” in v. 24?
3. Why does Noah curse Canaan rather than Ham?
4. How should we evaluate the characters in Gen 9:20–27?
5. What kind of conclusion do these verses provide for the larger flood narrative (Chpts. 6–9)?

J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College – Intertextuality (5 min)
1. Genesis 9:25–27 presents the second curse enacted against a human in the Bible, coming after the curse of Cain in Gen 4:11–12. In what ways is the curse of Canaan similar to the curse of Cain, and in what ways are they different? How might reading these two texts together inform our understanding of Gen 9:25–27?
2. In Gen 5:29 Lamech declares that Noah “will comfort us from our work and from the painful toil of our hands due to the ground that YHWH has cursed” (ינחמנו ממעשׂנו ומעצבון ידינו מן־האדמה אשׁר אררה יהוה). How might we read Gen 9:20–27 in light of Lamech’s proclamation?

Group Discussion (45 min)

Break (5 min)

Part II

Dominick S. Hernández, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – Biblical Theology (5 min)
1. How does Gen 9:20–27 fit into the larger narrative portrait of the Canaanites in the Old Testament?
2. With the first mention of servitude in the Old Testament, how does this passage contribute to biblical-theological reflection on slavery

Quonekuia Day, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary – Ethics (5 min)
1. This passage was often interpreted in the antebellum United States as offering biblical justification for the enslavement of Africans (understood as Ham’s descendants) by European Americans (identified with Japheth’s descendants). How do we guard against these kinds of misuses of the biblical text?
2. What kind of ethical reflection can we derive from this text that is more faithful to the witness of the whole biblical canon?

Group Discussion (45 min)