Course Description

As an introductory course, the overall goal of the course is to help students along on their journey to become more competent biblical interpreters for the twin purposes of (1) personal spiritual formation and (2) greater effectiveness of service to the Church and the world.

To this end, the course has the following objectives:
1. To introduce students to some key spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual issues in the interpretation and application of biblical texts.
2. To supply students with a simple, user-friendly framework for interpreting and applying any biblical text.
3. To train students in the basic skills necessary for the close reading of biblical texts.
4. To familiarise students with the main types of text (“genres”) found in the Bible, and their different interpretative rules.
5. To provide students hands-on practice in the handling different biblical texts.

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Instructor

Dr Sun Jiani

Lecturer

Jiani finished her DPhil in Theology/Hebrew Bible at the University of Oxford. Her dissertation is on the Wisdom of Solomon in which she argues that scriptural interpretation enables the reading community to re-experience God’s saving acts in history. Originally from Shanghai, China, she has spent six years in the US before she comes to Oxford. She received her BA in Biblical Studies and Philosophy from Wheaton (IL) in 2018 and then completed an MAR at Yale Divinity School in 2020. She enjoys reading, cooking, and hosting people with her husband.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    HE101 Biblical Hermeneutics and Interpretation

    • HE101 Biblical Hermeneutics and Interpretation

    • Course Synopsis HE101- PS

    • Orientation Course & Library Access
  • 2

    Lecture 1 & 2 Basic Issues in Hermeneutics

    • Lecture 1: Introduction to the course; The Interpretative Journey

    • Lecture 2: How to read the book – Sentences, Paragraphs, Discourses

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 01

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 02

    • HE101 Lecture 1

    • Lecture 2a

    • Lecture 2b

    • Lecture 2c

    • Lecture 1 part 1

    • Lecture 1 part 2

    • Lecture 2 part 1

    • Lecture 2 part 2

    • Lecture 2 part 3

    • MCQ 1 & 2

    • One 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hays-1
  • 3

    Lecture 3-4

    • Lecture 3-4

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 03

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 04

    • HE101 Lecture 3

    • HE101 Lecture 4

    • Lecture 3 part 1

    • Lecture 3 part 2

    • Lecture 3 part 3

    • Lecture 3 part 4

    • Lecture 4 part 1

    • Lecture 4 part 2

    • MCQ L3 & L4

    • 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hays-2
  • 4

    Lecture 5 & 6

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 05

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 06

    • HE101 Lecture 5

    • HE101 Lecture 6

    • Lecture 5 part 1

    • Lecture 5 part 2

    • Lecture 5 part 3

    • Lecture 6 part 1

    • Lecture 6 part 2

    • Lecture 6 part 3

    • MCQ L5 & L6

    • 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hay-3
  • 5

    Lecture 7, 8 & 9

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 07

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 08

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 09

    • HE101 Lecture 7

    • HE101 Lecture 8

    • HE101 Lecture 9a

    • HE101 Lecture 9b

    • Lecture 7 part 1

    • Lecture 7 part 2

    • Lecture 7 part 3

    • Lecture 8 part 1

    • Lecture 8 part 2

    • Lecture 8 part 3

    • Lecture 9 part 1

    • Lecture 9 part 2

    • Lecture 9 part 3

    • MCQ 7, 8 & 9

    • 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hays-4
  • 6

    Lecture 10, 11 & 12

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 10

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 11

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 12

    • HE101 Lecture 10

    • HE101 Lecture 11

    • HE101 Lecture 12

    • Lecture 10 part 1

    • Lecture 10 part 2

    • Lecture 10 part 3

    • Lecture 11 Part 1

    • Lecture 11 Part 2

    • Lecture 11 Part 3

    • Lecture 12 Part 1

    • Lecture 12 Part 2

    • MCQ 10, 11 & 12

    • 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hays-5
  • 7

    Lecture 13 & 14

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 13

    • HE 101 (Online) Lecture 14

    • HE101 Lecture 13

    • HE101 Lecture 14

    • Lecture 13 Part 1

    • Lecture 13 Part 2

    • Lecture 13 Part 3

    • Lecture 14 Part 1

    • Lecture 14 Part 2

    • Lecture 14 Part 3

    • MCQ 13 & 14

    • 1000-word assignment from Duvall & Hays-6
  • 8

    Course Evaluation

    • Course Evaluation
  • 9

    Assignment Submission

    • Exegesis paper/ Essay