Bibliography for Old Testament Ethics

This is a working bibliography on Old Testament ethics. I would be very happy for anyone to suggest additions or corrections to this list.

Alt, A. "The Origins of Israelite Law." In Essays on Old Testament History and Religion, 79-132. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966.

Barker, W. S. and W. R. Godfrey, eds. Theonomy: A Reformed Critique. Grand Rapids: Academie, 1990.

Barton, John. "Approaches to Ethics in the Old Testament." In Beginning Old Testament Study, ed. John W. Rogerson, 113-130. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1983.

Barton, John. "The Basis of Ethics in the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 11-22.

Barton, John. Ethics and the Old Testament. London: SCM Press, 1998.

Barton, John. "Ethics in Isaiah of Jerusalem." JTS 32 (1981): 1-18.

Barton, John. "Natural Law and Poetic Justice in the Old Testament." JTS 30 (1979): 1-14.

Barton, John. "Prophecy as Ethical Instruction." In Oracles of God: Perceptions of Ancient Prophecy in Israel after the Exile. New York: Oxford University, 1988.

Barton, John. "Understanding Old Testament Ethics." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 9 (1978): 44-64.

Bellinger, W. H. Jr. "The Old Testament: Sourcebook for Christian Ethics." In Understanding Christian Ethics, ed. William M. Tillman Jr. Nashville: Broadman, 1988.

Birch, Bruce C. Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testament, Ethics, and the Christian Life. Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1991.

Birch, Bruce C. "Moral Agency, Community and the Character of God in the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 23-41.

Birch, Bruce C. "Old Testament Narrative and Moral Address." In Canon, Theology and Old Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honour of Brevard S. Childs, ed. Gene M. Tucker, David L. Petersen and Robert R. Wilson, 77-91. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1988.

Boecker, H. J. Law and the Administration of Justice in the Old Testament and Ancient East. London: SPCK, 1980.

Bowman, R. G. "The Complexity of Character and the Ethics of Complexity: The Case of King David." In Character and Scripture, edited by W. P. Brown, 73-97. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

Bruce, W. S. The Ethics of the Old Testament, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1909.

Bruckner, J. K. "Ethics." In Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, 224-240. Downers Grove and Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 2003.

Brueggemann, Walter. "The Rhetoric of Hurt and Hope: Ethics Odd and Crucial." Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics 9 (June 1989): 73-92.

Bunting, Harry. "Ethics and the perfect moral law." Tyndale Bulletin 51.2 (2000): 235-260.

Childs, Brevard S. "The Ethics of the Old Testament." In Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflection on the Christian Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Childs, Brevard S. "The Theological Context of Old Testament Ethics." In Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflection on the Christian Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

Clements, R. E. "Christian Ethics and the Old Testament." The Modern Churchman 26 (1984): 13-26.

Collins, John J. "The zeal of Phinehas: the Bible and the legitimation of violence." Journal of Biblical Literature 122 no 1 (Spring 2003): 3-21.

Colwell, J. E. Living the Christian Story: The Distinctiveness of Christian Ethics. Edinburgh and New York: T. & T. Clark, 2001.

Crenshaw, James L. and John T. Willis, ed. Essays in Old Testament Ethics: J Philip Hyatt, In Memoriam. New York: KTAV, 1974. [Includes Georg Fohrer, "The Righteous Man in Job 31." 1-22; James L. Crenshaw, "The Eternal Gospel (Eccl. 3:11)." 23-55; Herbert G. May, "Aspects of the Imagery of World Dominion and World State in the Old Testament." 57-76; Hans Walter Wolff, "Problems between the Generations in the Old Testament." 77-95; Dennis J. McCarthy, S. J. "The Wrath of Yahweh and the Structural Unity of the Deuteronomistic History." 97-110; Sheldon H. Blank, "The Prophet as Paradigm." 111-130; William F. Stinespring, "A Problem of Theological Ethics in Hosea." 131-144; John T. Willis, "Ethics in a Cultic Setting." 147-163; Brian W. Kovacs, "Is There a Class-Ethic in Proverbs?" 171-189; Lou H. Silberman, "The Human Deed in a Time of Despair: The Ethics of Apocalyptic." 191-202; Walter Harrelson, "The Significance of "Last Words" for Intertestamental Ethics." 203-213; Samuel Sandmel, "Virtue and Reward in Philo." 215-223; Millar Burrows, "Old Testament Ethics and the Ethics of Jesus." 225-243; J. A. Sanders, "The Ethic of Election in Luke's Great Banquet Parable, 245-271]

Davidson, Robert. "Some Aspects of the Old Testament Contribution to the Pattern of Christian Ethics." Scottish Journal of Theology 12 (December 1959): 373-387.

Davies, Eryl W. Prophecy and Ethics. Isaiah and the Ethical Traditions of Israel. JSOTSup 16. Sheffield, 1981.

Davies, Eryl W. "Ethics of the Hebrew Bible: The Problem of Methodology." Semeia 66 (1994): 43-54.

Davies, Philip R. "Ethics and the Old Testament." In The Bible in Ethics: The Second Sheffield Colloquium, ed. John W. Rogerson, Margaret Davies and M. Daniel Carroll R., 164-173. JSOTSup 207. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.

Day, John N. The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics (Ph. D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 2000.

Day, John N. "The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics." Bibliotheca Sacra 159 (April-June 2002) 166-86.

Delhaye, P. "Le recours à l'Ancien Testament dans l'étude de la théologie morale." ETL 31 (1955): 637-657.

Dempsey, Carol J. Hope Amid the Ruins: The Ethics of Israel's Prophets. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2000.

Dempsey, Carol J. "Micah 2-3: Literary Artistry, Ethical Message, and Some Considerations about the Image of Yahweh and Micah." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 85 (1999): 117-128.

Douglas, Mary. Purity and Danger. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.Duesberg, H. Les valeurs chretiennes de l'Ancien Testament, 1948.

Duff, Archibald. The Theology and Ethics of the Hebrews. New York: Charles Scribner, 1902. xvii + 304 p. [microform].

Du Preez, Ron. The State of Old Testament Ethics: An Annotated Bibliography 1978-1987 (term paper), Andrews University, 1989. [35 pp.]

Dyrness, William. "Ethics." In Themes in Old Testament Theology, 171-188. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

Dyrness, William A. "Aesthetics In The Old Testament: Beauty In Context." JETS 28 (December): 421-432.

Eichrodt, Walther. "The Law and the Gospel: The Meaning of the Ten Commandments in Israel and for Us." Interpretation 11 (1957): 23-40.

Eichrodt, Walther. Theology of the Old Testament. vol. 2, London: SCM Press, 1967. Pp 316-379.

Elmslie, W. A. L. "Ethics." In Record and Revelation: Essays on the Old Testament by Members of the Society for Old Testament Study, ed. H. Wheeler Robinson, 275-302. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1938.

Epstein, Louis M. Marriage Laws in the Bible and the Talmud. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1942.

Epsztein, L. Social Justice in the Ancient Near East and the People of the Bible. London: SCM Press, 1986.

Fager, Jeffrey A. Land Tenure and the Biblical Jubilee: Uncovering Hebrew Ethics through the Sociology of Knowledge. JSOTSup 155. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. Hebrew Law in Biblical Times: An Introduction. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2001.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. Religious Law and Ethics: Studies in Biblical and Rabbinical Theonomy. Jerusalem: Mesharim, 1991.

Falk, Zeev Wilhelm. "Law and Ethics in the Hebrew Bible." In Justice and Righteousness, ed. H. G. Reventlow and Y. Hoffmann, 82-90. JSOTSup 137. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Feldman, E. Biblical and Post-Biblical Defilement and Mourning: Law as Theology. New York: Ktav, 1977.

Firmage, E. "The Biblical Dietary Laws and the Concept of Holiness." In Studies in the Pentateuch, ed. J. A. Emerton, 177-208. VTSup 41. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1990.

Fischer, James A. "Ethics and wisdom." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (July 1978): 293-310.

Flesseman, Ellen. "Old Testament 'Ethics'." Student World 57 (1964): 218-227.

Fletcher, V. H. "The Shape of Old Testament Ethics." SJT 24 (1971): 47-73.

Fletcher, Verne H. "How Shall We Use the Bible in Christian Ethics?" Near East School of Theology Theological Review 13 (1992): 107-129.

Forster, G. Christian Ethics in the Old Testament. Grove Booklet on Ethics, 35, Grove Books, 1980.

Friedmann, D. To Kill and Take Possession: Law, Morality, and Society in Biblical Stories. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.

Fuller, R. H. "The Decalogue in the New Testament." Interpretation 43 (1989): 243-255.

Gammie, J. G. Holiness in Israel. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1989.

Gehman, H. S. "Natural Law and the Old Testament." In Biblical Studies in Memory of H. C. Alleman, ed. J. M. Myers, et al., eds. New York: Augustin, 1960.Gelin, A. Morale et l'Ancient Testament. 1952. 71-92.

Gemser, Berend. "The Object of Moral Judgment in the Old Testament." Homiletica en Biblica 20 (1961): 2-9, 35-39. Reprinted in Adhuc loquitur: Collected Essays by Dr. B. Gemser, A. van Selms, and A. S. van der Woude, eds., 78-95. Pretoria Oriental Series 7. Leiden: Brill, 1968.

Gentry, Kenneth L. God's Law in the Modern World: The Continuing Relevance of Old Testament Law. Phillipsburg: P&R, 1993.

Gnuse, R. "Jubilee Legislation in Leviticus: Israel’s Vision of Social Reform." BTB 15 (1985): 43-48.

Gnuse, R. You Shall Not Steal: Community and Property in the Biblical Tradition. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1985.

Goldberg, Michael L. "The Story of the Moral: gifts or Bribes in Deuteronomy." Interpretation 38 (January 1984): 15-25.

Goldingay, John. Theological Diversity and the Authority of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. Reprinted in Biblical and Theological Classics Library, Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995.

Goldingay, John. "The Old Testament as a Way of Life." In Approaches to Old Testament Interpretation, 38-65. Leicester: InterVarsity, 1990.

Gowan, D. E. "Wealth and Poverty in the Old Testament: The Case of the Widow, the Orphan and the Sojourner." Interpretation 41 (1987): 341-353.

Green, G. L. "The Use of the Old Testament for Christian Ethics in 1 Peter." Tyndale Bulletin 41 (1990): 276-93.

Green, Ronald M. "Abraham, Isaac, and the Jewish Tradition: An Ethical Reappraisal." Journal of Religious Ethics 10 (Spring 1982): 1-21.

Greene, William Brenton. "The Ethics of the Old Testament." Princeton Theological Review 27 (1929): 153-193, 313-366. Reprinted in Classical Evangelical Essays in Old Testament Interpretation, Walter C. Kaiser Jr., ed., 207-235. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1972.

Haas, Peter J. "The Quest for Hebrew Bible Ethics: A Jewish Response." Semeia 66 (1994) 151-159.

Hamilton, Jeffries M. Social Justice and Deuteronomy: The Case of Deuteronomy 15. SBLDS 136. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992.

Harrelson, Walter. The Ten Commandments and Human Rights. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980.

Hempel, Johannes. Das Ethos des Alten Testaments. 2nd ed. Beiheifte zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 67, Berlin: Verlag Alfred Töpelmann, 1964.

Hempel, Johannes. "Ethics in the Old Testament." In Interpreter's Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, ed. George A. Buttrick, 153-161. Nashville: Abingdon, 1962.

Hettema, Theo L. Reading for Good: Narrative Theology and Ethics in the Joseph Story from the Perspective of Ricoeur's Hermeneutics. Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1996.

Hodgson, Leonárd. "Ethics in the Old Testament." The Church Quarterly Review 134 (1942): 153-169.

Hofmann, Justin. "Religion, Ethics and Moral Education in Judaism." Religious Education 77 (January - February 1982): 57-68.

Houston, W. Purity and Monotheism: Clean and Unclean Animals in Biblical Law. JSOTSup 140. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Howington, Nolan Patrick. "Toward an ethical understanding of Amos." Review & Expositor 63 (Fall 1966): 405-412.

Hubbard, David Allan. "OT Ethics." In The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Vol. 2, ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 165-169. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Hugenberger, G. Marriage as a Covenant: a Study of Biblical Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed from the Perspective of Malachi. VT Sup 52. Leiden: Brill, 1994.

Hughes, H. Maldwyn. The Ethics of Jewish Apocryphal Literature. London: Charles H. Kelly, [1909?]. xii, 340 p. [microform].

Jacob, E. "Les basis théologiques de l'éthique de l'Ancien Testament." Congress Volume: Oxford 1959 (VTSupp 7, 1960), 39-51.

Janzen, Waldemar. Old Testament Ethics: A Paradigmatic Approach. Louisville: Westminster / John Knox Press, 1994.

Jarrel, W. A. Old Testament Ethics Vindicated. Greenville TX: privately published, 1883. v + 275 pages. [microform].

Jensen, P. P. Graded Holiness: A Key to the Priestly Conception of the World. JSOTSup 106. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Johnston, L. "Old Testament Morality." CBQ 20 (1958): 19-25.

Johnston, Robert K. "Our Ecological Dilemma." In Studies in Old Testament Theology: Historical and Contemporary Images of God and God's People, ed. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Robert K. Johnston and Robert P. Meye. Dallas: Word, 1992.

Kaiser, Walter C. "God's Promise Plan and His Gracious Law." JETS 33 (September 1990): 289-302.

Kaiser, Walter C. "New Approaches to Old Testament Ethics." JETS 35 (September 1992): 289-297.

Kaiser, Walter C. Toward Old Testament Ethics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,1983.

Kaiser, Walter C. Towards Rediscovering the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Karlberg, M. W. "Reformation Politics: The Relevance of OT Ethics in Calvinistic Political Theory," JETS 29 (June 1986): 179–191.

Kevan, E. F. Keep His Commandments: The Place of Law in the Christian Life. Tyndale Press, 1964.

Kinlaw, Dennis F. "Old Testament Ethics." In Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. Carl F. H. Henry, 469-472. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973.

Klawans, Jonathan, "The Impurity of Immorality in Ancient Judaism." JJS 48 (1997): 1-16.

Knierim, R. "The Problem of Ancient Israel's Prescriptive Legal Traditions." Semeia 45 (1989): 7-27.

Knight, Douglas A. "Introduction: Ethics, Ancient Israel, and the Hebrew Bible." Semeia 66 (1994): 1-8.

Knight, Douglas A. "Jeremiah and the Dimensions of the Moral Life." In The Divine Helmsman: Studies on God's Control of Human Events, ed. James L. Crenshaw and Samuel Sandmel, 87-103. New York: Ktav, 1980.

Knight, Douglas A. "Moral Values and Literary Traditions: The Case of the Succession Narrative (2 Samuel 9-20; 1 Kings 1-2)." Semeia 34 (1985): 7-23.

Knight, Douglas. "Old Testament Ethics." Christian Century 100 (20 January 1982): 55-59. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1276

Kornfeld, Walter. "Old Testament Ethics." In Sacramentum Mundi, ed. Karl Rahner. New York: Herder and Herder, 1969.

Kurz, William S. "Genesis and Abortion: An Exegetical test of a Biblical Warrant in Ethics." Theological Studies 47 no 4 (December 1986): 668-680.

Lalleman-de Winkel, Hetty. Van Levensbelang: De Relevantie van de Oudtestamentische Ethiek. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 1999.

Lalleman, Hetty. Celebrating the Law? Rethinking Old Testament Ethics. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2004.

Lehmann, Paul. "The Commandments and the Common Life." Interpretation 34 (October 1980): 341–55.

Levinson, Bernhard M. The Hermeneutics of Innovation: The Impact of Centralization upon the Structure, Sequence, and Reformulation of Legal Material in Deuteronomy. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1991.

Mafico, Temba L. J. "Ethics: Old Testament." In ABD Vol. 2, ed. David Noel Freedman, 645-652. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Malchow, Bruce V. Social Justice in the Hebrew Bible. Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1996.

Martens, Elmer H. "The Problem of Old Testament Ethics." Direction 6 (1977): 23-37. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?239

McConville, J. G. Law and Theology in Deuteronomy. JSOTSup 33. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984.

McKeating, Henry. "Sanctions against Adultery in Ancient Israelite Society, with Some Reflections on Methodology in the Study of Old Testament Ethics." JSOT 11 (1979): 57-72.

McKeating, Henry. "Old Testament Ethics." In The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. James F. Childress and John Macquarrie, eds., 433-437. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986.

Mein, Andrew. Ezekiel and the Ethics of Exile. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Milgrom, Jacob. "The Biblical Diet Laws as an Ethical System." Interpretation 17 (1963): 288-301.

Miller, J. Gary. Now Choose Life: Theology and Ethics in Deuteronomy. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.

Miller, P. D. Jr. "The Place of the Decalogue in the Old Testament and Its Law." Interpretation 43 (1989): 229-242.

Mills, Mary E. Biblical Morality: Moral Perspectives in Old Testament Narratives.
Aldershot, Hants. and Burlington Vt.: Ashgate, 2001.

Mitchell, Hinckley G. The Ethics of the Old Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1912.

Muilenburg, James. The Way of Israel: Biblical Faith and Ethics. New York: Harper & Brothers; Routledge, 1961. (Republished in 1965. New York: Harper Torchbooks)

Muilenburg, James. "Old Testament Ethics." In A Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. John Macquarrie, 235-237. SCM, 1967.

Neher, André. "Ethics: In the Bible." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 6., 932-943. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1972.

Nielsen, E. The Ten Commandments in New Perspective: A Traditio-historical Approach. SCM, 1968.

Neville, Richard W. "A Reassessment of the Radical Nature of Job's Ethic in Job xxxi 13-15." Vetus Testamentum 53 no 2 (2003): 181-200.

Ollenburger, Ben C. "Response" (to E. Marten's "The Problem of Old Testament Ethics") Direction 6 (1977): 35-37. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?240

Ollenburger, Ben C. "Seeing the Truth: Proverbial Wisdom and Christian Ethics." Direction 9 (April 1980): 23-31. http://www.directionjournal.org/article/?348

Oosthuizen, Martin J. "The Deuteronomic Code as a Resource for Christian Ethics." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 96 (1996): 44-58.

Oßwald, Eva. "Hiob 31 im Rahmen der alttestamentlichen Ethik." In Theologische Versuche, ed. J. Rogge and S. Schille, Vol. 2: 9-26. Berlin: Evangelische Verlangsanstalt.

Otto, Eckart. "Forschungsgeschichte der Entwürfe einer Ethik im alten Testament." VF (1991): 3-37.

Otto, Eckart. "Of Aims and Methods in Hebrew Bible Ethics." Semeia 66 (1994): 161-172.

Otto, Eckart. Theologische Ethik des Alten Testaments. Theologische Wissenschaft 3, 2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1994.

Otto, Eckart. "Town and Rural Countryside in Ancient Israelite Law: Reception and Redaction in Cuneiform and Israelite Law." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 57 (March 1993): 3-22.

Oyen, H. van. Die Ethik des alten Testaments. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1967.

Parry, Robin. "Greeks Bearing Gifts? Appropriating Nussbaum (Appropriating Aristotle) for a Christian Approach to Old Testament Narrative Ethics." EuroJTh 9 (2000): 61-73.

Parry, Robin. Old Testament Story and Christian Ethic: The Rape of Dinah as a Case Study. Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2004.

Phillips, Anthony. Ancient Israel's Criminal Law: A New Approach to the Decalogue. Oxford: Blackwell / New York: Schocken, 1970.

Porteous, N. W. "The Basis of the Ethical Teachings of the Prophets." In Studies in Old Testament Prophecy. Festschrift for T. H. Robinson, ed. H. H. Rowley, 143-156. Edinburgh, 1950.

Porteous, N. W. "The Relevance of the Old Testament as the Rule of Life." In Studia Biblica et Semitica, ed. W. C. van Unnik and A. S. van der Woude, 278-289. Vriezen Festschrift, Veenman, 1966.

Porteous, Norman W. "Ritual and Righteousness: The Relation of Ethics to Religion in the Prophetic Literature." Interpretation (3 October 1949): 400-414.

Porteous. Norman. W. "The Care of the Poor in the Old Testament. In Living the Mystery, 143-155. Oxford: Blackwell, 1967.

Pressler, Carolyn. "The View of Woman Found in the Deuteronomic Family Laws." BZAW 216 (1993): 45-62.

Rodd, Cyril S. "Ethics (Old Testament)." In A Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, ed. R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden, 208-210. London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990.

Rodd, Cyril S. Glimpses of a Strange Land. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2001.

Rodd, Cyril S. "The Use of the Old Testament in Christian Ethics." In New Occasions Teach New Duties?: Christian Ethics for Today, ed. C. S. Rodd, 5-19. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995.

Rogerson, John W. "The Old Testament and Social and Moral Questions." The Modern Churchman 25 (1982): 28-35.

Rogerson, John W. "Using the Bible in the Debate about Abortion." In Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life, ed. J. H. Channer. Paternoster, 1985.

Rogerson, John W. ed. Theory and Practice in Old Testament Ethics. JSOT Sup 405. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2004.

Rowley, H. H. "Moses and the Decalogue." Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 34 (1951).

Ryrie, Charles C. "Perspectives on Social Ethics: Part II: OT Perspectives on Social Ethics." Bibliotheca Sacra 134 (1977): 33-44, 114-122.

Schluchter, Wolfgang. "Altisraelitische religiöse Ethik und okzidentaler Rationalismus." In Max Webers Studie über das antike Judentum: Interpretation un Kritik, ed. W. Schlchter, 11-77. Frankfurt/Main: Suhrkamp, 1981.

Schluter, Michael and Roy Clements. "Jubilee Institutional Norms: A Middle Way between Creation Ethics and Kingdom Ethics as the Basis for Christian Political Action." EQ 62 (January 1990): 37-62.

Schweid, Eliezer. "The Authority Principle in Biblical Morality." Journal of Religious Ethics 8 (Fall 1980): 180-203.

Shepherd, J. J. "Man's Morals and Israel's Religion." Expository Times 92 (1981): 171-174.

Smend, R. "Ethik III. Altes Testament." TRE 10: 423-435.

Smith, J. M. Powis. The Moral Life of the Hebrews. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1923.

Smith, Neil G. "Family ethics in the Wisdom Literature." Interpretation 4 no 4 (October 1950): 453-457.

Smyth, Newman. The Morality of the Old Testament. London and New York: Cassell, 1886. 131 p. [microform].

Sonsino, Rifat. Motive Clauses in Hebrew Law. Chico: Scholars Press, 1980.

Spero, Shubert. Morality, Halakha and the Jewish Tradition. The Library of Jewish Law and Ethics, Vol. 9. New York: Ktav Publishing House, 1983.

Stamm, J. J. and M. E. Andrews. The Ten Commandments in Recent Research. SBT, 2nd ser. 2. London: SCM / Naperville: Allenson, 1967.

Stone, Lawson G. "Ethical and apologetic tendencies in the redaction of the book of Joshua." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 53 (January 1991): 25-35.

Wenham, Gordon J. "The Gap Between Law and Ethics in the Bible." Journal of Jewish Studies 48 (Spring 1997): 17-29.

Wenham, Gordon J. "Grace and Law in the Old Testament." In Law, Morality and the Bible, ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham, 3-23. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press / Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978.

Wenham, Gordon J. "Law and the Legal System in the Old Testament." In Law, Morality and the Bible, ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham, 24-52. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press / Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1978.

Wenham, Gordon J. Story as Torah: Reading the Old Testament Ethically. Old Testament Studies. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2000.

Westbrook, Raymond. Studies in Biblical and Cuneiform Law. Paris: Gabalda, 1988.

Willis, John T. "Ethics in a Cultic Setting." In Essays in Old Testament Ethics: J Philip Hyatt, In Memoriam, ed. James L. Crenshaw and John T. Willis, 147-63. New York: KTAV, 1974.

Wilson, Robert R. "Approaches to Old Testament Ethics." In Canon, Theology and Old Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honour of Brevard S. Childs, ed. Gene M. Tucker, David L. Petersen, and Robert R. Wilson, 62-74. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1988.

Wilson, Robert R. "Ethics in Conflict: Sociological Aspects of Ancient Israelite Ethics." In Text and Tradition: The Hebrew Bible and Folklore, ed. Susan Niditch, SBLSS, 193-205. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.

Wilson, Robert R. "Sources and Methods in the Study of Ancient Israelite Ethics." Semeia 66 (1994): 55-63.

Wittenberg, Gunther H. "The Significance of Land in the Old Testament." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 77 (1991): 58-60.

Wright Christopher J. H. "Biblical Ethics: A Survey of the Last Decade." Themelios 18 (January 1993): 15-19.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament: A Survey of Approaches." Tyndale Bulletin, 43 (1992): 101-120, 203-231.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "Ethical Decisions in the Old Testament." European Journal of Theology 1 (1992): 123-140. Abridged in 1994. "Ethical Responses to God the Creator." Evangelical Review of Theology 18 (July): 214-221. Reprinted in 1995 as "Ethical Decisions in the Old Testament." In Walking in the Ways of the Lord. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "Ethics and the Old Testament." Third Way 1 (1977): 9-11. [Reprinted 1978. What Does the Lord Require: Reflections on the Old Testament Contribution to Christian Ethics. Nottingham: Shaftesbury Project.]

Wright, Christopher J. H. God's People in God's Land. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans / Carlisle: Paternoster, 1990. [reprinted 1997. Carlisle: Paternoster (Biblical and Theological Classics Library).]

Wright, Christopher J. H. Living as the People of God. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press. = An Eye for an Eye: The Place of Old Testament Ethics Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983. [SBC 221.7 WRI]

Wright, Christopher J. H. Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2004.

Wright, Christopher J. H. "The Use of the Bible in Social Ethics." In Walking in the Ways of the Lord: The Ethical Authority of the Old Testament, 13-45. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Wright, Christopher J. H. Walking in the Ways of the Lord. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Wright, David F. "The Ethical Use of the Old Testament in Luther and Calvin: A Comparison." Scottish Journal of Theology 36 (1983): 463-485.

Wright, David P. "Unclean and Clean (OT)." Anchor Bible Dictionary VI: 729-741.

Zlotnik, H. Dinah's Daughters: Gender and Judaism from the Hebrew Bible to Late Antiquity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2001.

Writing an OT Theology Paper

By Walter McConnell

We do not write essays because we know everything about a subject, but because we want to know more. The discipline of writing essays will help us learn more about a subject than we could have otherwise.

Writing a paper on OT theology is in many ways similar to writing any other paper. But since many students find the whole concept of writing an academic paper daunting, it is good to have some guidance that will help us through the whole process. First and foremost, essay writing should not be seen as something to fear, but as part of the learning and stretching process that goes on at SBC. The reason you are required to write essays is so that you will have an opportunity to improve the way you think about a subject and learn how to express your thoughts in words that someone else can read and from which they can benefit.

Do not think that any of your lecturers expect you to be able to write an article so good that it could be printed in a Bible dictionary or published in a theological journal. Some of you may one day get to that level, but you are not expected to be there at this point. Most of you still have a lot to learn about your subject, the discipline of research, and expressing your ideas in written form before you will be able to produce "heavy weight" scholarship. Do not think that we will expect too much of you, but at the same time, do not think that we do not want you to work! All writers know that their craft is made up of a lot of hard work. Like many other things, it is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

It has been said that there were two kind of writers — intelligent ones and stupid ones. The "intelligent authors" are those who write because they know all about their subject. The stupid authors are those who write because they want to know all about their subject but do not yet fully understand it. Even though we may not really like the terminology, most of us fall into this second category. And for this reason, you do not need to know everything before you begin writing. Instead, you should see writing an essay as a way to learn more about your subject.

Selecting a topic

By picking a topic that is of interest to you and that relates to the course you are taking, you will be able to maintain your interest while researching and writing your paper.

The first thing to do when writing an essay is to pick a topic. It is best to chose a topic that you are interested in and want to know more about. Although it is not always possible to find a topic that perfectly suits your interests, you should try to find one that is interesting to you. There is usually a direct correlation between your interest in a subject and the job you will do studying it. However, your subject must also be suitable for the course you are taking. You may be fascinated by patristic arguments about the natures of Jesus Christ or with the practical outworking of spiritual gifts in the local church, but these topics (as important as they are) have very little to do with OT theology. This is why your instructor gives you a number of different potential topics from which to choose.

The syllabus for OT Theology 1 included a number of different topics that would be good to research. These include: the image of God, land, rebellion against God, Yahweh’s presence, Yahweh’s providence, Yahweh and the nations, blessing and cursing, election, Day of Atonement, the tabernacle, the priesthood, sin and sacrifice, worship, and the precedence of the younger son. You may find that one of these topics appeals to you at first sight. You may have other ideas about what you would like to study. Either way, it would be good to get together with your instructor and talk to him about the paper you would like to write. Supposedly he knows a bit more about OT theology than you do, so he would probably be a fairly good reference person. At any rate, he will do his best to help you choose a topic and give you some tips about doing your research and writing your paper. Whether you believe it or not, he is actually here to help you succeed in your studies! If there is anything you do not understand about the process of researching and writing a paper, do not hesitate to ask for an explanation.

Begin researching your topic

Begin your research by getting an overview of your topic in a theological dictionaryand by building an adequate bibliography.

Once you have chosen a topic or been assigned a topic, the next thing to do is to begin building a bibliography and then reading some material that relates to the subject. This may include books or articles suggested by your instructor, and it should include some more that you find by yourself. One of the best places to begin your search is in the library where you will find several different dictionaries of biblical theology as well as other Bible and theological dictionaries. These books offer broad discussions of most major topics. They also contain bibliographic material on some of the other important works that you might want to consult. The library also contains some bibliographies of OT theology that might prove helpful.

After you have consulted the dictionaries of biblical theology, you should look at various OT theologies to see if they have anything to say about your topic. You would not want to write about the theme of promise without consulting Walter Kaiser’s Toward an Old Testament Theology, to see what he has to say on the topic. Neither would you want to write something about the covenant apart from some reference to Walter Eichrodt’s Theology of the Old Testament. A quick glance through the table of contents and the index of an OT theology should be enough to indicate whether a particular book will discuss the passage or theme that you wish to study. This will help you limit your study so that you do not have to read the entire book.

Although you may find yourself drawn to the commentaries, you should probably approach them with a bit of a caution. Many commentaries were not written to discuss matters of biblical theology. Writing an OT theology paper is not the same as writing an exegetical paper, as OT theology is only one of the steps of the exegetical process. For the most part you should ignore the other aspects of exegesis unless it is essential for your understanding and explaining of the theological meaning. Your purpose is not to come to grips with the structure of the text or of the meaning of words used in it. Rather, your goal will be to see how a theological theme is developed in the text. A commentary is mainly useful only where and if it discusses the theology of a book or section. As this is not the major purpose of most commentaries, it will prove more useful to consult other reference material first.

One more type of literature which should be mentioned is academic journals. These are the basic means by which scholars present their ideas and findings for the benefit of other scholars. Do not think that they are only written for professional scholars. Although some journal articles are so full of jargon and technical language that they are almost unintelligible, most well-written articles will be almost entirely within the capability of someone studying for a first degree in theology. Journal articles are important as they represent real front line research. You may have to access the ATLA CD-ROM in order to find journal articles on the subject you want to research.

As you begin your research, you should be aware that for any given topic there may be more material than you could read in several years’ work. For a 2500-3000 word essay (or even a Ph.D. Dissertation) you will not want to read every book in the library or every journal article listed on the ATLA CD-ROM. You will, however, want to build a good bibliography to be sure that you properly understand the subject and different views held about it. Even so, you will also need to limit your reading to that which is most closely related to your topic. Again, if you have any problems, do not forget to ask your instructor for help. Whereas he will not want to write the essay for you, he will want to be sure that you know what you need to do in order to succeed.

One more word about your bibliography. Obviously a bigger bibliography looks more impressive. However, when you write your paper, be sure only to include the books or articles that you actually read and used. The point is not to show that you know of the existence of a lot of books and articles, but to show that you have consulted the books listed, and have responded to them thoughtfully as you bring together your information and draw your own conclusions about the topic.

Make notes on your reading

Anytime you take notes on a book or article, be sure to write down the full bibliographic information. If you take down the author’s ideas word for word, be sure to include quotation marks. Always cite your sources properly in your paper.

While you are reading, take notes on what you read. You may want to do this on a sheet of A4 paper, on file cards, or on a computer. As your time is limited, you will want to make sure that your notes will help answer the major questions in your paper. Keep focused on that question the whole time you are reading and taking notes. It will help you in the long run.

Your notes are to help you to remember what you read and where you read it. They should help you organize your thoughts as you compose your paper. Be sure to include bibliographic information with your notes.

Example of note

Canonical approach, support for

"It is a source of frustration common to most readers of commentaries that so much energy is spent on the analysis of the pre-history of a text as to leave little for a treatment of the passage in its final form. The complaint is certainly justified. Ultimately the use of source and form criticism is exegetically deficient if these tools do not illuminate the canonical text."

Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus, OTL (Louisville: Westminster, 1974), 149.

Make an outline

While you are reading about your subject and taking notes on what you are reading you should begin to put together an outline that will help you develop your ideas so that you can answer the question. The purpose of an outline is to help you structure your thoughts. It provides a means of bringing your ideas together. Although you will probably amend your outline as you write, it is still a good idea to write an outline early on so that you know where you will be going and what pieces of information you need at each point so that you can get to your conclusion smoothly.

You will need some kind of method to connect your notes to your outline. Some people use some kind of number or colour system for this. What this means is that all notes that pertain to a particular major point on the outline will be coded with the same number or colour. It is also possible to collect your notes topically as they relate to the different parts of your outline. The reason for doing this is that you can quickly see how much information you have about each part of your paper. This helps you see where you have too much information and where you need some extra study.

Outline for OT Theology Paper

1. Introduction to Paper
2. Methodology
3. Development of theme in the passage
4. Development of theme in Scripture
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography

Write your essay

Finally, you will want to write your essay. When you begin writing, be sure that you are writing about the topic that you chose or that was assigned to you. I can tell you, your instructor will not be very impressed if you were assigned to write an OT theology paper on the Day of Atonement, and you write on something that your pastor said about the death of Jesus on the cross and how that relates to the book of Hebrews! This is not to say that you should ignore what your pastor or the book of Hebrews has to say. But if you are told to write a paper on OT theology, most of what you say should deal with the way the OT deals with the topic. Where your pastor or someone else may help you better understand the OT, use their ideas (properly footnoted, of course), but make sure that you only use their thoughts to answer the question that is before you.

When writing your paper, keep in mind the total number of words that you need to write. From this you will also need to consider how many words you need in each section of the paper. For a 2500 word paper, you will probably want to use about 500 words to introduce the paper, 1800 words for the main part of the paper, and 200 words for a conclusion. The numbers are for a general guideline. Remember that the body, the main part, of the paper is the most important part. For this reason you should make sure that neither your introduction nor conclusion is too long or you will not have enough space to write the body of your paper.

A paper on OT theology should begin with your goals in writing the paper and your methodology for writing. If you are writing on the theme of worship, you will have to explain what aspect of this theme you are going to handle, as 2500 words is not enough to fully exhaust the subject. Where will the paper go? What is its point? How does it fit into the world of OT theology? This requires that you indicate how your approach compares with other approaches to OT theology. If you do not do this you will be marked down.

The main part of your paper will present your major thoughts on your topic. It should follow the outline you used to organize your thoughts. For this reason it may be divided into several sections, each of which may be given a heading. The notes you took while researching the topic will be of utmost importance at this time. Use them to answer your questions in a relevant way. In other words, if an idea does not help your paper, no matter how good it may be, ignore it. You may want to quote one of the authors you read or to use their ideas in your own words. If you do so, be sure to use a footnote or end note to show that you are doing so. If you do not, you are guilty of plagiarism, an idea that I will mention at the end. You may also use footnotes to explain something that is relevant to the paper, but outside of the main argument. When you interact with the ideas of various scholars, be sure to critique their viewpoints and explain why you agree with them or not. Do not simply quote their views.

One of the main goals in this part of your paper should be to demonstrate where the particular theme being studied is found in the Bible, how it is developed there, and how it relates to the rest of the canon of Scripture. Is the theme introduced in the section of the Bible you are dealing with? Does it build upon something that has been given before? Does it provide a base for what follows? What does it add to our understanding of the Bible? Although you will probably want to say something about the development of the theme in other parts of the Bible, particularly the NT, be sure that your major focus is on the theme in the passage, book or section of the Bible agreed upon with your instructor.

At the end of your paper you will want to write a conclusion. This should be both for summarizing your position and for closing your paper. It should demonstrate that you have accomplished what you said you were going to do in your introduction.

When you are writing, remember that you are writing an essay. This is a particular literary genre that is distinct from a sermon, a letter to a friend, or a list. Do not preach, and do not adopt an overly "chatty" persona in your paper. Be sure that you do not just make a list of ideas. Everything should be organized with a start, a middle and an end. Remember that an essay is a formal literary composition meant to inform and persuade people about some subject. To write a good essay you need to use formal English. You also need to develop and use literary methods of persuasion so that people will want to read what you write and accept what you say.

It is sometimes said that there is no such thing as a good writer — only a good editor. Do not expect that you will "get it right" the first time you write a sentence, paragraph, or paper. Go back over it again and again. If you find English grammar or organizing your thoughts particularly difficult, get someone else to proof read your paper for you. Then, make whatever corrections they suggest in order to improve your work. Try to discover which grammatical and other mistakes you are most likely to make, and work to correct them. Over time your writing will improve and you will have more and more confidence when writing other papers.

Parts of the paper

Title page. Contains the title of the paper, name of author, name of school, name of instructor and/or class, and the date on which you finished or turned in the paper. The title page should not be numbered.

Paper proper. Usually divided into 1) introduction, 2) body, and 3) conclusion. The first page of this section should be numbered "1".

Introduction. The purpose of the introduction is to introduce
what the paper is about. In the introduction you should state the question or
questions you aim to answer, and possibly say how you are going to answer it.

Body. This is the main part of the paper. In this part you should develop
several main points that help you address the problem stated in the introduction.

Conclusion. Here you briefly restate how your argument in the body of the paper helps solve the problem introduced at the beginning. In the conclusion you could also possibly mention some possibilities for further research.

Bibliography. This is a list of books and articles you actually used when writing your paper. See Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), for information on proper style for bibliography entrees. It should be located at the end of the paper on a separate (numbered) page, and titled "BIBLIOGRAPHY".

A few points about style

Since, an essay is a formal literary composition, you should be careful about a number of different technical issues.

Type neatly. All papers should be typed on A4 paper using a 12 point Times New Romans (or equivalent) font. Margins should be set at 2.5 cm or 1 inch. The main text should be double spaced. Block quotations and footnotes (or end notes) can be single spaced. All pages of text should be numbered beginning with the first page of text. The title page should not be numbered, but the bibliography page(s) should be.

Use proper spelling. As Singapore mainly uses British spellings, keep to that standard as much as is possible. If you quote someone who uses non-British spellings, do not "correct" them, but use their spelling. The main thing is to be consistent.

Use proper punctuation.

Do not use contractions. Use "do not", not "don’t", "cannot", not "can’t".

Do not use slang.

Try to avoid repetition.

Do not "pad".

Unless you use quotation marks and footnote the source of a citation, write everything in your own words.

Plagiarism

"You shall not steal." – Ex 20:15

As already mentioned, I need to say a word about plagiarism. Plagiarism is intellectual theft. It is stealing someone’s ideas and saying that they are your own. The way it is usually done in school papers is by taking the ideas someone else had in their book, article, or web site and using it without footnoting where it came from. Simply put, if you quote from someone else’s book or article, put it in quotation marks, and acknowledge in a footnote or end note where it came from. You should also acknowledge the source if one of your major ideas came from somebody else. Now, do not be worried about using other people’s ideas, we all do that, just make sure that you are clear about when the ideas you are writing are not really your own. And be aware, a good reader can tell when your writing style changes abruptly, particularly if English is your second language.

Final word

As I have tried to emphasize in this paper, you are assigned essays to write in order to help you learn. By writing essays you discover what you do not know and develop skills so that you can find information, structure information, and communicate information in a way that demonstrates that you are learning and that you have come to understand your subject better. In the final analysis, the most important thing is not the mark you will receive from doing the paper, but what you learn from it. This learning process does not end once you turn in your paper. After you have turned it in, your instructor will spend a good deal of time reading, evaluating, and commenting on your paper. (Hopefully it will be clear that you spent more time writing the paper than your instructor did marking it!) You should pay close attention to any comments made on your paper. Please do not feel that these comments are there to attack you or belittle you. Rather, they are intended to help you develop your thinking and skills of expression so that you can do a better job in the future. So, read them. Try to understand them. You will learn more if you make the suggested corrections, and that is what the whole process of paper writing is all about. Perhaps, you will even want to rewrite your papers so that you can learn more about the subject.

In conclusion, let me remind you that essay writing is part of the learning and stretching experience that God is bringing into your life at this time. The points I have brought out are intended to make it a little easier, but until you get some practice doing it, many of you will still find it difficult. Do not despair. And do not give up. Remember, God can even use this in order to help you to develop into the person that he wants you to be.

Grading

Methodology: 10%
Contents:
Breadth 30%
Depth 30%
Reading 10%
Creative (critical) Thinking 10%
Grammar, style, and essay structure 10%