DI5231 Prophetic Literature

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 11

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

10-11 Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Dr M A Lyons

Dr M A Lyons
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Michael Lyons

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module examines selections from the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew Bible, with special attention to their literary features, their themes and outlooks, and the socio-historical contexts of their contents. We will discusses prophetic critiques of injustice and political structures, responses to the crises of invasion, destruction, and exile, images of environmental desolation and restoration, the use of analogy to describe history, and how passages from prophetic books are taken up in the history of interpretation. We will also explore the compositional strategies by which individual oracles were assembled into prophetic books (and by which the books were connected to form a larger corpus), and the arguments that arise from this editorial activity. Students will also be introduced to the study of the textual transmission of prophetic books.This module will be taught concurrently with DI4635 Prophetic Books. The text selection will change every year. Students and advisors should confirm there is no repetition of material from a previous version of DI4635 before advising into this module.

Relationship to other modules

Anti-requisites

STUDENTS AND ADVISORS SHOULD CONFIRM THERE IS NO REPETITION OF MATERIAL FROM A PREVIOUS VERSION OF DI4635 BEFORE ADVISING INTO THIS MODULE

Assessment pattern

Coursework - 50%, Written exam - 50%

Re-assessment

Written exam - 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

3x 1hr seminar (X11 weeks), 1 practical class (X11 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

44

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

259

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the phenomenon of prophecy and the social locations of prophets in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia
  • Demonstrate a knowledge of the methods of critical analysis used in biblical scholarship
  • Identify the units within a prophetic text, describe their formal features and arguments, and describe the relationships between them
  • Identify and describe the significant themes in a prophetic text
  • Identify the social and religious problems or crises addressed within prophetic books, and the solutions that are offered