Pricing options


Credit Course students are required to complete all the course assignments by the stated deadline. They will receive grades that are transferable to any BGST postgraduate programmes.


Audit students do not have to fulfil the assignment requirements. However, they are encouraged to do class exercises and assignments to get the maximum benefit from the courses. They will not receive grades that are transferable to BGST Postgraduate Programmes.

Course Description

OT The experience of exile has left a lingering impact on the Jewish community. It is a central turning point in Israel’s construction of the past as it is recorded in the Old Testament. More than a mere event, exile evolved into a potent theological theme, intertwined with concepts of suffering, alienation from God, and the engendering hopes for a future redemption. In this course, we’ll examine exile through two lenses:

1) through a textual analysis of its theology within the historical context of biblical books such as Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Haggai-Zechariah; and

2) through modern Christian theological reflections on exile as a theme.

Building upon a careful examination of the biblical texts in their immediate contexts, we’ll further investigate how they inform and shape contemporary Christian faith and practice.



[1.5 AU, Elective]



Closing Date for Registration:
9 Jan 2026

Register

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.

  • Dates : 2026

    (Thursdays)

    Feb: 12, 26
    Mar: 12, 26
    Apr: 16, 30

  • Timing:

    7:15-10.00pm

  • Location:

    Online via Zoom

    First and last sessions are in-person at:

    BGST
    2 Kallang Avenue
    #11-02, CT Hub
    Singapore 339407

Course curriculum

  • 1

    General

    • Orientation Course & Library Access

    • Syllabus
  • 2

    Session 1 Introduction and Orientation to the History of Exile

    • Pre-Class Readings
  • 3

    Session 2 Exile and Suffering: Grief, Lament, and Hope

    • Pre-Class Readings

    • Garber, Trauma Theory and Biblical Studies

    • Frechette and Boase, Defining “Trauma” as a Useful Lens

    • Mintz, The Rhetoric of Lamentations

    • Janzen, Lamentations and the Failure of Collective Trauma

    • Joyce, Ezekiel and Moral Transformation

    • Poser, No Words
  • 4

    Session 3 Reimagine Identity: History and Liturgy

    • Pre-Class Readings

    • Trinka, Migration and Refugee Studies

    • Straub, Telling Stories, Making History

    • Newman, Neh 9 and Scripturalization of Prayer

    • Buster, Praying History in the Wilderness

    • Harkins, Retelling Foundational Events in Ps 106

    • Brettler, Those Who Pray Together

  • 5

    Session 4 Insider and Outsider: In Relation to the Other

    • Pre-Class Readings

    • Southwood, Introduction

    • Kaminsky and Steward, God of All the World

    • Blenkinsopp, Second Isaiah

    • Tollington, Israel, YHWH, and the Nations

    • Finitsis, The Other in Haggai and Zechariah

  • 6

    Session 5 The Unended Exile

    • Pre-Class Readings

    • Halvorson-Taylor Introduction

    • Neusner, Exile and Return

    • Stott, Exile and Self-Understanding of Diaspora Jews

  • 7

    Session 6 Recap and Reflection on Exile Theology

    • Pre-Class Readings

    • Brueggemann, Preaching to Exile

    • Smith-Christopher, Exile

    • Tumeinski, Sent into Exile

  • 8

    Assignment submission

    • Assignment formatting

    • How to Upload Assignments

    • Assignment Submission

  • 9

    Course Evaluation

    • Course evaluation