■ Course Description:

This MOOC on The Bible as Literature (The Old Testament) will enable students to read excerpts from the Old Testament of the Bible with understanding and appreciation. The Bible is a book-making book and literature which provokes literature. English and American literature do not exist without the Bible. “A student,” says Northrop Frye, “who doesn’t know what is in the Bible doesn’t know what is going on in English literature.” This MOOC on reading the Bible as literature will explain key words and sentences, interpret main characters and events, illustrate literary affiliations, shed light on the charm of biblical literature, and bring to light the true meaning of life as presented in the Bible.

The course consists of 125 short video lectures on the ten weekly topics: The Bible as Literature, The Creation of the World, Life in Paradise, The Fall, The Flood, Biblical Epic, Biblical Poetry, Biblical Story, Hero Story, and Biblical Tragedy. Starting with introductions to the course in the first week from such perspectives as the Bible as cultural influence, as a literary work, a literary anthology, a story, a literary text, a literary style, literary archetypes and a literary course,this MOOC then attempts to focus on one particular archetypal story in Genesis from the second to the fifth week of the course before exploring a more general overview of major genres of literature in the last four weeks of the course, revealing some hidden meanings and neglections between form and content in the Bible, thus explaining some prototypical yet essential features of literature in the Bible.

We also expect to find the usual literary qualities of delight and wisdom in the Bible. The Bible was not written primarily for entertainment, yet it exhibits almost all the usual literary techniques and features that constitute the entertaining side of literature. The wisdom embodied in the Bible provides endless intellectual inspiration to the biblical readers in all places at all times. Like reading any literary classic, reading the Bible as literature may be difficult, but readers inevitably find it intensely rewarding.

课程简介：“圣经文学”，顾名思义，是把圣经当作一部文学作品进行文本释读的课程，可作为大学生人文素质教育选修课和英语专业选修课。那么，为什么我们应该阅读圣经呢？我们又应该如何阅读圣经呢？其答案首先是圣经的文学形式决定了它的文学阅读方式。圣经是西方文化的根基，具有其普遍意义，对西方文明以及语言文学的影响不容置疑。从公元7世纪留下姓名的英国最早的盎格鲁•撒克逊诗人凯德蒙到当代英语作家，圣经对催生英语文学的形式与内容以及对推动英语语言的发展都起到了举足轻重的作用。

该在线开放课程分为10个单元：“圣经文学”、“创世记”、“天堂”、“堕落”、“洪水”、“圣经史诗”、“圣经诗歌”、“圣经故事”、“英雄故事”和“圣经悲剧”；每周播放1个单元，期末复习考试2周；每个单元包括单元导入、文体界定、原文诵读、文本释读、难点讲解、主题评论、问题讨论、客观测试等教学环节，包括125个主讲人教学视频，总时长1022分钟左右；课程充分利用现代网络信息技术，有效地建立起了一个跨文化、跨学科、多层次、师生互动、学员共享、自主协作、互动交流的学习平台，充分体现了大规模在线开放课程的特点和优势。

目标之一：夯实文本释读能力。文本释读是中国学生英语综合语言能力的集中体现，也是夯实英语语言基本功的最佳手段；该课程通过英文圣经文本释读，注重“解释圣经关键词句、解读圣经人物事件、揭示圣经文脉关联、挖掘圣经文学魅力、窥见圣经人生意义”；力求通过文本释读来挖掘圣经文学主题以及表现主题的艺术形式，讲解力求精炼而不失其精要，给学生一种豁然开朗又丝丝入扣的圣经文本审美体验，提高语言感受力，强化批判性思维能力，批评性地学习西方文明的核心元素，提高学生的人文素养。

目标之二：培养跨文化沟通能力。随着我国改革开放进入深水区，国际关系日趋复杂，在我们提倡民族文化自信和弘扬社会主义核心价值观的同时，我们仍然需要坚持以一种文化包容的姿态和心态去了解和研究西方文化。教育部《大学英语教学指南》（2017）指出，“跨文化交际课程旨在进行跨文化教育，帮助学生了解中外不同的世界观、价值观、思维方式等方面的差异，培养学生的跨文化意识，提高学生社会语言能力和跨文化交际能力”。圣经与希腊罗马神话是构成西方文明的两大源头，因此将英文版圣经作为一部文学作品进行文学释读，不仅可以了解众多西方文化与文学读本中常见的原型意象、人物和主题，拓展当代大学生的文化视野，培养跨文化沟通意识，提高人文素养，又能够通过释读英文圣经文本，感受英语语言魅力，提高英语读写能力和跨文化沟通能力，让学生在阅读经典的同时，获得“学以致用”的启示。

学习起点：★ ★ ★ ★

作为一门大学英语通识教育选修课，该课程还可以作为高校英语专业选修课以及研究生公共英语选修课。

Classification：

Designed to meet the demands of general education in English among colleges and universities around the world, this MOOC on The Bible as Literature can be regarded as an elective course for English majors, non-English majors and graduate students.

课程教材（Textbooks）:

Huang, Zongying. Ed. A Literary Introduction to the Bible. 2nd Ed. Beijing: Higher Education

Press, 2015. (“十二五”普通高等教育本科国家级规划教材)

参考书（Reference Books）:

Barker, Kenneth. Ed. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids (Michigan):

    Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1985.  

Grudem, Wayne. General Ed.  EST Study Bible. Wheaton (Illinois): Crossway, 2014.

Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible.  

    New York: Hendrickson Publisher, 1997.

Jeffrey, David Lyle. General Ed. A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature.

    Grand Rapids (Michigan): William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.

Jeremiah, David. JEREMIAH STUDY BIBLE. NIV. Worthy Publishing Com.

Marks, Herbert. Ed. The English Bible. King James Version. Vol.One. The Old Testament.

    New York and London: Norton, 2012.

Ryken, Leland and Philip Graham Ryken. General Eds. The ESV Literary Study Bible.

    Wheaton (Illinois): Crossway, 2007.

Ryken, Leland. Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible.

    Grand Rapids (Michigan): Baker Book House, 1992.

Ryken, Leland. A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible.

    Wheaton (Illinois): Crossway, 2014.

Ryken, Leland. A Literary Introductions to the Books of the Bible.

    Wheaton (Illinois): Crossway, 2015.

Ryken, Philip Graham. Exodus: Saved For God's Glory.

    Wheaton (Illinois): Crossway, 2015.

The Living Bible. Carol Stream (Illinois): Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.

《圣经》（和合本，新国际版，中英文对照），香港：国际圣经协会，1998年。

黄宗英、张艳、崔鲜泉、石晓佳、封婧超译：《圣经全书文学导读》（作者：Leland Ryken），北京：宗教文化出版社，2022年。

黄宗英译：《圣经文学导论》（作者：Leland Ryken），北京：宗教文化出版社，2022年。

黄宗英译：《圣经文学形式手册》（作者：Leland Ryken），北京：宗教文化出版社，2022年。

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