Category: 3-Prophets

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The students did a sociogram of the story. I asked them to note who the main character was, and then symbolize that relationship on the white boards. They connected them with dotted lines (for distance), double solid lines (for closeness), etc. We then discussed what they saw. Some were very creative.

Ezekiel

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Using the socrative app, we take a class quiz made up entirely of true/false questions about elements of the Ezekiel text. This became a gateway to deeper conversations about Ezekiel. By this time in the semester, they were reading more thoughtfully and the discussions are much more substantive.

Ezekiel

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Each of the groups has to draw a representation of the call of Ezekiel on the board. After unpacking each groups representation (some of which have been impressive), I look at four artistic renderings of the text. The discussion revolves around “Are these good readings of the text?” which inevitably moves to the difficult nature…

Jeremiah

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Einstein has famously said, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” I gave the students several of the “complications” of Jeremiah’s ministry and asked them to express it, as comprehensively as possible, in a haiku. We unpacked their haikus as a class, and it was a good time…

Nahum

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This exercise is based on my reading of Nahum as (perhaps) an example of satire. After show the students a clip from the Onion from Youtube, I ask them to imagine what a satirical prophet might look like. This worked well. The class had a great discussion. Several students found the satirical prophetic possibility compelling.…

Isaiah

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I show the students the call scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I then ask them to read Isaiah 6:1-12, Jeremiah 1:4-10, and Exodus 3:1-15. I ask them as a group to come up with the shared elements in these passages and the Python scene. As a class we put together their list…

Prophet vs. King

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I ask the groups to make two concept maps relating the following terms: The king, the prophet, God, the populace, the priestly establishment. One concept map was to show the ideal relationship between these groups. The other map was to show the relationship demonstrated in the biblical text. At this point in the semester they had learned that…

Divided Monarchy

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I told the students the story of the Battle of Qarqar, omitting the Israelite king involved in the fighting (Ahab). I then asked the students to compile a brief but imaginative historical profile on this king based on these Assyrian records. What would life under this king be like for Israel for security? military service?…

Solomon

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In their groups, they had to put together a movie pitch based on the biblical narrative of the life of Solomon. All movie options were open to them. They were told to decide: style of movie (drama, animated, modern adaptation, etc) market (children, adults) theme of movie (tragedy, comedy, etc) characterization (what’s Solomon like?) what elements of…

David

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In their groups, the students read the David & Bathsheba narrative. The groups made a sociogram based on the story. I asked them to note who the main character was, and then symbolize that relationship on the white boards. They connected them with dotted lines (for distance), double solid lines (for closeness), etc. We then discussed what they…

United Monarchy

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In their groups, the students read passages from 1 Samuel that read as in favor or against kingship. The students then had to develop a “tweetable” campaign slogan. We then went through each groups slogan and discussed what they were trying to capture in their slogan and why? The activity seemed to work well. They…

Settlement

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The students read the Deborah story, Jael story, Jephthath’s daughter, and the Levite and the concubine. I then asked them to vote on which was the most offensive and seemed furthest from their world today. The vote was publicly displayed on the screen. After the gave their justifications and asked some questions, I showed them…

Settlement

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