Historical Context of Ancient Sources WT-SSTA-HC

1. Ancient Texts as Historical Sources
The concept of a historical source. Literary sources from Antiquity. Authorship, audience, genre, purpose, and historical setting. Problems of textual transmission, manuscript traditions, redaction, and preservation.
2. The Ancient Near Eastern Context of the Hebrew Bible
The political and cultural environment of ancient Israel. Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia. The Hebrew Bible as a historical source: possibilities, methodological problems, and limitations.
3. Israel and Judah: Biblical Narrative and Historical Reconstruction
The monarchy, the divided kingdoms, the Babylonian Exile, and the Persian period. Comparison between biblical narratives, extra-biblical written evidence, and archaeological material.
4. Judaism in the Second Temple Period
The development of Judaism from the Persian to the Roman period. Temple, Torah, and community. Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and other Jewish groups. Jewish apocalyptic traditions.
5. Judaism and the Hellenistic World
Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Hellenization of the eastern Mediterranean. The Septuagint. The Maccabean revolt and the Hasmonean dynasty.
6. Judaea under Roman Rule
Herod the Great and the Herodian dynasty. Roman administration in Judaea. Pontius Pilate. Political, economic, social, and religious conditions in first-century Palestine.
7. The Historical Context of the New Testament
The chronological and historical framework of the life of Jesus. The Gospels as historical sources and texts produced within communities of faith. Acts, the Pauline letters, and other New Testament writings within their first-century contexts.
8. Non-Biblical Sources for Judaism and Early Christianity
Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger. Inscriptions, papyri, and archaeological evidence. Methodological principles for comparing biblical and non-biblical evidence.
9. The Emergence of Early Christian Communities
Jerusalem, Antioch, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. Pauline missions. The formation of Christian identities. Relations between Judaism and emerging Christianity.
10. Early Christian Literature as Historical Evidence
Patristics and patrology. The chronology and development of early Christian literature. The Apostolic Fathers and Christian apologists. Problems of authorship, dating, genre, audience, and historical reliability.
11. Christianity and the Roman Empire in the Second and Third Centuries
The legal and social position of Christians in the Roman Empire. Persecution and its representation in Christian and non-Christian sources. Martyrdom as a historical phenomenon and literary construction. Christian apologetics and interaction with Graeco-Roman culture.
12. The Church Fathers and Classical Culture
Christianity and Greek philosophy. Christian reception and transformation of classical intellectual traditions. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and other early Christian authors.
13. The Constantinian Transformation
Christianity during the reign of Constantine. The so-called Edict of Milan and changes in Church–Empire relations. Eusebius of Caesarea as historian, theologian, and witness to the Constantinian period.
14. The Fourth and Fifth Centuries: The Age of the Great Church Fathers
Councils and doctrinal controversies within the political context of the Late Roman Empire. Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Jerome, John Chrysostom, and Augustine as authors and witnesses to Late Antiquity.
15. The Bible and Patristic Literature as Historical Sources: Methodological Conclusions
The possibilities and limitations of historical reconstruction based on religious texts. History, theology, collective memory, and literary representation. Source criticism, contextualization, and interdisciplinary approaches to ancient evidence.

(in Polish) Grupa przedmiotów ogólnouczenianych

(in Polish) nie dotyczy

Course coordinators

Mirosław Mejzner

(in Polish) Opis nakładu pracy studenta w ECTS

Participation in classes – 30 hours Preparation of presentation on chosen topic – 20 hours Preparation for the final examination – 10 hours Total: 60 hours – 2 ECTS

Subject level

elementary

(in Polish) Punkty ECTS

Learning outcome code/codes

STLA_W03; STLA_W06; STLA_W07; STLA_U02; STLA_U03; STLA_U05; STLA_K05

Type of subject

obligatory

Preliminary Requirements

Students should possess a basic knowledge of ancient history and European cultural history. General familiarity with the structure and contents of the Old and New Testaments is recommended. Knowledge of ancient languages is not required, although elementary knowledge of Greek, Latin, or Hebrew may be useful when discussing selected sources.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge
Upon successful completion of the course, the student:
W01 – knows the principal stages in the history of ancient Israel, Second Temple Judaism, early Christianity, and Late Antiquity;
W02 – understands the political, social, religious, and cultural contexts in which selected biblical and patristic writings originated;
W03 – knows the principal non-biblical sources relevant to the history of Judaism and early Christianity;
W04 – understands the distinctive character of biblical and patristic texts when used as historical sources;
W05 – knows the fundamental principles of historical and literary source criticism.
Skills
The student:
U01 – is able to place a biblical or patristic text within its appropriate chronological, historical, and cultural context;
U02 – is able to conduct a basic critical analysis of an ancient literary source;
U03 – is able to compare information contained in biblical, patristic, Jewish, and Graeco-Roman sources;
U04 – is able to identify how literary genre, authorship, intended audience, and purpose influence the presentation of historical events;
U05 – is able to use modern scholarly literature in the study of biblical and early Christian history.
Social Competences
The student:
K01 – recognizes the necessity of applying critical and methodologically sound approaches to ancient sources;
K02 – understands the importance of distinguishing between historical reconstruction, theological interpretation, and later traditions of reception;
K03 – is prepared to evaluate different scholarly interpretations and to develop independent, evidence-based conclusions.

Assessment criteria

Assessment Criteria
The final grade will be based on the assessment of the written assignment (presentation) and the final oral examination based on the provided theses.

Active participation in lectures (attendance and participation in discussions) – 20%
Independent mid-semester written assignment (presentation), submitted to the lecturer and, following the lecturer’s approval and the incorporation of any required corrections, presented to the class as an oral presentation during the semester – 30%
Final oral examination based on the provided theses – 50%

Assessment evaluates the student's:
• knowledge of the basic historical chronology;
• ability to contextualize ancient sources;
• knowledge of the principal ancient authors and texts;
• ability to conduct critical source analysis;
• ability to distinguish primary evidence from later interpretation;
• appropriate use of historical and patristic terminology.

One unexcused absence from class is permitted. If the total number of absences from lectures, including absences supported by a medical certificate, exceeds five, the student will be required, in order to receive credit for the course, to complete an additional individual written assignment on a topic specified by the lecturer.

Grading Requirements

Very Good:
A very good grade for the mid-semester presentation and an in-depth response to all of the theses included in the general examination.

Good:
A good grade for the presentation and an in-depth response to six theses from the general examination.

Satisfactory:
A good grade for the presentation and an in-depth response to four theses from the general examination.

Bibliography

Lester L. Grabbe (Anthology Editor), The Hebrew Bible and History: Critical Readings, London: T & T. Clark 2018.
Barton John, A History of the Bible. The Book and Its Faits, Penguin Books 2020.
Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians, Penguin Books, 1988.
Frances Young, Lewis Ayres, and Andrew Louth (eds.), The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Term 2026/27_Z:

Obligatory Literature:
Lester L. Grabbe (Anthology Editor), The Hebrew Bible and History: Critical Readings, London: T & T. Clark 2018.
Barton John, A History of the Bible. The Book and Its Faits, Penguin Books 2020.
Robin Lane Fox, Pagans and Christians, Penguin Books, 1988.
Frances Young, Lewis Ayres, and Andrew Louth (eds.), The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Secondary Literature:
Davies, Philip R. Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History Ancient and Modern. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2008.
Dever, William G. What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know it? What Archaeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
Grabbe, Lester L. Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? London: T & T. Clark, 2007.
Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vols. 1–4, Christian Classics / Spectrum Publishers. 1950-1986.
Judith M. Lieu, Christian Identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman World, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of WT-SSTA-HC in USOSweb