30358 - Philology and Exegesis of the New Testament (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The students will get a deep knowledge on exegetical methods, from introductory notions to guided use of research instruments applied to the text of the New Testament.

Course contents

The Letter to the Colossians (30 hours, 6 cfu)

The program of the course will be developed as follows:

1st part (10 hours):

– the Letter to the Colossians within the whole corpus of the New Testament;

– the Letter to the Colossians within the pauline corpus;

– authenticity, canonicity, date, authorship, literary structure, theological contents.

– the influence of the Letter to the Colossians from the beginnings of Christian literature to contemporary age.

2nd part (20 hours):

– reading of the Greek text of the Letter to the Colossians, translation and commentary.

Readings/Bibliography

a) A short introduction to the New Testament:

G. THEISSEN, Il Nuovo Testamento, Roma, Carocci 2003

b) Commentaries to the Letter to the Colossians:

– J.-N. Aletti, Lettera ai Colossesi (introduzione, versione, commento)
Bologna, EDB, 1994

– M. Barth, Colossians, Doubleday, Yale Univ. Press, 1994;

– F.F. Bruce, The epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, Grand Rapids MI, Eerdmans, 1984;

– J.G. Dunn, The epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. A Commentary on the Greek Text, Grand Rapids MI, Eerdmans – Carlisle, The Paternoster Press, 1996;

– J.B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, London, MacMillan, 1879

– E. Lohse, Le lettere ai Colossesi e a Filemone (testo greco, traduzione e commento), Brescia, Paideia, 1979;

– P.T. O'Brien, Colossians – Philemon, Waco TX, Word Biblical Commentary, 1982.

c) Full reading, in Italian translation, of the Pauline corpus.

Teaching methods

The students will be guided to the exegesis of New Testament texts by means of oral lessons, lectures and seminars.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist of:

— reading, translating and commenting some passages from the Letter to the Colossians (integral reading; for the students of Classics, in the Greek text); the chosen commentary (see Bibliography, [b]) will be the work of reference;

— discussing the texts given by the professor during the lessons and uploaded;

— discussing the full reading of the Pauline corpus in Italian translation; the short introductory handbook will also be considered.

For the students who cannot attend lessons the above program is the same; they will substitute lesson notes with the reading of 3 articles – at their choice – included in the following collections of essays (to be uploaded in the teaching materials:

– L. Bormann, The Colossian Hymn, Wisdom, and Creation, in: M. Bauks, W. Horowitz, A. Lange, Between Text and Text, The Hermeneutics of Intertextuality in Ancient Cultures and Their Afterlife in Medieval and Modern Times, Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements (JAJ.S 6), Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013, 243-256;

– A. Dettwiler, La lettre aux Colossiens: une théologie de la mémoire, “New Testament Studies” 59/1 (2013) 109-128;

– J.A. Kelhoffer, Suppressing Anger in Early Christianity: Examples from the Pauline Tradition, in: Conceptions of "Gospel" and Legitimacy in Early Christianity, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. 1. Reihe (WUNT.1 324), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2014, 317-333;

– J. Kok, Christology in the making: The problem of worshipping and honouring angels in Colossians, in: M. Nel, J.G. van der Watt, F.J. van Rensburg, The New Testament in the Graeco-Roman World, Articles in Honour of Abe Malherbe, Theology in Africa (TiA 4), Wien – Berlin, Lit, 2015, 145-170;

– D. Lincicum, Mirror-Reading a Pseudepigraphal Letter, “Nonum Testamentum” 59/2 (2017) 171–193;

– M.A. Pascuzzi, Reconsidering the Authorship of Colossians, “Bulletin for Biblical Research” 23/2 (2013), 223-246;

– J. Punt, Eschatology in Colossians. ‘At Home in the World’, in: Jan G.van der Watt, Eschatology of the New Testament and Some Related Documents, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. 2. Reihe (WUNT.2 315), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2011, p. 283-301;

– J.L. Wright, La struttura retorica della Lettera ai Colossesi, “Liber Annuus SBF 58 (2008) 99-141.

Teaching tools

Lessons; seminars; bibliographic tools; electronic databases

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Cacciari