HB 3115: Exodus and the Life of Moses

Fall 2025: Offered Online (Synchronous)

Course Description

Who is Moses? How does his story shape Israel’s story in Egypt and at Sinai? This course will examine the life of Moses in the context of the book of Exodus, with special attention to the book’s canonical shape and historic reception. Students will also become familiar with some of the current debate about the formation of the Pentateuch, particularly as it relates to different accounts of Israel’s origins in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

  • Prerequisites: BF 1001; RM 1000 or GTR 6000.
  • Requirements: Weekly readings, weekly discussions, in-class presentations, two papers.
  • Syllabus for Fall 2025 (v. 2.0): to be posted here in late August 2025.

Required Texts (Fall 2025)*

Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa. The Life of Moses. Translated by Abraham J. Malherbe. New York: Paulist, 1978, rev. 2002; repr. New York: HarperOne, 2006.
Order it in either recent edition, Paulist (ISBN 978-0809121120) or HarperOne (ISBN 978-0060754648).
Sommer
Benjamin D. Sommer. Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015.
ISBN: 978-0300234688.
Von Rad
Gerhard von Rad. Moses. Translated by Stephen Neill. Edited by K. C. Hanson. Second Ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011.
ISBN: 978-1606087718. Order from Amazon or the publisher, Wipf & Stock.

* Please note that textbook selections for my courses often change with each iteration of the course.

Buber
Martin Buber. Moses. Oxford: East and West Library, 1946.
Childs
Brevard Childs. The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1974.
ISBN: 978-0664229689.
Schmid
Konrad Schmid. Genesis and the Moses Story: Israel’s Dual Origins in the Hebrew Bible. Translated by James D. Nogalski. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2010.
ISBN: 978-1575061528.
Making Sense
Northey, Margot, Bradford A. Anderson, and Joel N. Lohr. Making Sense in Religious Studies: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing. 3rd ed. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2019.
This title includes basic advice on things like reading religious texts, writing essays and book reviews, making oral presentations, and learning languages. It should help you master fundamental tasks in nearly any course in religion or theology.
SBLHS2
The SBL Handbook of Style, 2nd Edition, is the definitive style manual for biblical studies and related disciplines.
A blog (sblhs2.com) and free Student Supplement (PDF) should cover the issues most common to term papers. The AST library copy is in the reference section at PN 147 S26 2014.
Serious students of biblical studies will want a copy of their own. Order one from SBL Press or elsewhere online. ISBN 978-1589839649.
See my resources page for further advice on writing, style, and research.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Further Bibliography

The following bibliographies, compiled and annotated by Thomas B. Dozeman, are very useful. Depending on your current location, you may need to log on to a proxy server to get access.

  • “Book of Exodus.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Biblical Studies. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195393361-0038
  • “Moses.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Biblical Studies. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195393361-0175
  • “Pentateuch.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Biblical Studies. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195393361-0092