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

"But what about you? Who do you say that I am? (Mk 8:29): (Re-)Thinking the Identity of Jesus of Nazareth in the First Two Centuries CE. 

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? What categories, and what imaginaries, were mobilized to make sense of the identity and life experience of a former carpenter who devoted himself to ecstasy, to a wandering existence, and to the renewal of Israel during a time of crisis, at the dawn of Roman rule over Palestine? These questions have always sparked a multitude of conflicting answers, and with them, a wealth of literature. Indeed, the Gospel of John alone can be interpreted as a biography written to bring order to the many portrayals of Jesus that circulated between the late first and early second centuries CE. After a general methodological introduction (first week of the course), in the following four weeks, we will focus on early Christian texts of the first two centuries CE, both 'canonical' and 'apocryphal', 'othodox' and 'heretical', insofar as they can be conceived as literary and ideological projects to adress this question, posed by Jesus himself, according to the Gospel of Mark. A detailed philological, literary, and historical commentary on each selected passage will be provided; on this basis, we will try to contextualize the various responses to the question/provocation posed by the founder, at the beginnings of the literary production of the movement that eventually bore one of his names/epithets.

Readings/Bibliography

a) Essays:

C. Gianotto, Il Vangelo secondo Tommaso e il problema storico di Gesù, in E. Prinzivalli (a cura di), L'enigma Gesù. Fonti e metodi della ricerca storica, Carocci 2008 (e successive ristampe), 68-93;

P. Merlo, Indagine sul «figlio d’uomo»: filologia ed evoluzione di un’espressione riferita alla persona, Lateranum 87 (2021) 273-286;

E. Norelli, "Il Diletto" e l'uso dei titoli cristologici nell'AI, in Id., L'Ascensione di Isaia. Studi su un apocrifo al crocevia dei cristianesimi, EDB 1994, 253-264;

R. Penna, Cristologia senza morte redentrice: un filone di pensiero del giudeocristianesimo più antico, in G. Filoramo - C. Gianotto (a cura di), Verus Israel. Nuove prospettive sul giudeocristianesimo. Atti del Colloquio di Torino (4-5 novembre 1999), Paideia 2011, 68-94;

G.J. Steyn, Addressing an Angelomorphic Christological Myth in Hebrews?, HTS Theological Studies 59/4 (2003) 1107-1128;

b) Monographs:

M. Hengel, Il Figlio di Dio. L'origine della cristologia e la storia della religione giudeo-ellenistica, Paideia 1984 (e successive ristampe);

L.W. Hurtado, Come Gesù divenne Dio. La problematica storica della venerazione più antica di Gesù, Paideia 2010;

M. Karrer, Gesù Cristo nel Nuovo Testamento, Paideia 2011;

R. Penna, I ritratti originali di Gesù il Cristo. Vol. 1: Gli inizi. Inizi e sviluppi della cristologia neotestamentaria, San Paolo Edizioni 2010 (4a ed.);

Teaching methods

Lectures; analysis of literary texts; use of bibliographic and electronic databases; audio- and video resources.

Assessment methods

Oral exam. Students will have to prove their abilities

• to read, understand, and discuss the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course;
• to interpret and profile the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course as historical, literary, and ideological artifacts, supplementing and integrating class notes with the five essays cited supra in the Bibliography;

For the translation and interpretation exercise, non-attending students must prepare the texts collected and annotated in A. Orbe - M. Simonetti (a cura di), Il Cristo. Vol. 1: Testi teologici e spirituali dal I al IV secolo, Lorenzo Valla - Arnoldo Mondadori 1985 (and subsequent editions), pp. 1-207. They will substitute class notes with two essays and one volume from those listed above in the Bibliography under the entry Monographs.

Alternatively, upon agreement with the teacher, attending students can substitute the oral exam as a whole with a written paper focusing on the translation and interpretation of a selected passage from one Greek or Latin text of their choice.

Skills will be assessed according to the following guidelines:
- failing grade (< 18): inability to translate selected passages from the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course; inability to provide a correct interpretation of the texts discussed during the course and/or to comment on the selected critical essay(s).
- passing grade (between 18 and 24): elementary ability to translate selected passages from the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course; inaccuracy and lack of autonomy in providing a correct interpretation of the texts discussed during the course and/or in commenting on the selected critical essay(s).
- positive grade (between 24 and 30): good comprehension of the grammatical and syntactical structures of the selected passages from the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course; interpretation of the texts discussed during the course is correct, but mostly superficial and not entirely autonomous; the critical discussion of the selected essay(s) is vague and cursory.
- excellent grade (30L): in-depth knowledge of the grammatical and syntactical structures of the selected passages from the Greek and Latin texts analyzed during the course; precision and full autonomy in interpreting, contextualizing and critically comparing the texts discussed during the course; the critical discussion of the selected essay(s) is detailed and deep-ranging. 

Every academic year 6 exam sessions are scheduled for the following months: February, April, June, October, November, December - for all students, written/oral mode.

Teaching tools

Computer and projector; bibliographic and electronic databases; fotocopies; texts and segments of texts in PDF format uploaded by the teacher as teaching materials. Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Tripaldi