Reading Biblical Narrative and Poetry
with
Jan P Fokkelman
2005

We are pleased to welcome back Dutch scholar Jan Fokkelman, who spent a couple of weeks with us at PBCC in January 2001. He will give several talks, some for the general public, others for specialized audiences. The general talks assume no knowledge of Hebrew.

Jan P Fokkelman

J P Fokkelman was born in 1940 in what was then Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, but is now Jakarta, Indonesia. He studied Semitic languages at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, and taught Hebrew and Aramaic there 1963-2001. He is the author of several books on the narrative and poetry of the Old Testament (see Bibliography below).

Schedule

A. Lamplighter Lectures, sponsored by Bay Area Theological Library

Friday Feb 25, 7:00–9:30 pm. Reading Biblical Narrative
   Lecture 1. Jacob Becomes A Different Person, or, A Bad Conscience Becomes A Good Conscience (Genesis 32–33:11)
   Lecture 2. Tamar’s Lesson For Judah: Pain and Spirituality, or, How Does This Fit Into The Joseph Story? (Genesis 38)

Saturday Feb 26, 9:00–11:30 am. Reading Biblical Poetry
   Lecture 3. God, Time, and Space: Psalms 113–114
   Lecture 4. Psalm 103: In Search of the Correct Division

Location: Peninsula Bible Church, 3505 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto.
Cost: $30. Register online at www.batl.org.

B. Two open talks at PBCC

Sunday, Feb 27, 7:00–9:00 pm. PBCC room 202
  Reading Biblical Narrative: A Portrait of Jacob
Monday, Feb 28, 7:00–9:00 pm. PBCC Fellowship Hall
  Reading Biblical Poetry: Hannah’s Song (1 Sam 2:1-10)

C. Other sessions at PBCC

1. Interns. Tuesday, March 1, 7:30–9:30 am. The three major poems of 1-2 Samuel.
2. Men of Wednesday Morning. Wednesday, March 2, 6:30–8:00 am. Psalm 132.
3. Twenties. Wednesday, March 2, 7:15 pm. Judah and Tamar (Gen 38).
4. Hebrew reading group. Thursday, March 3, 7:00–8:30 am. Psalms 113–114.
5. Adult Elective. Sunday, March 6, 9:45–10:55 am. Psalm 132.

Questions? Ask Bernard Bell:

Bibliography

Narrative Art in Genesis: Specimens of Stylistic and Structural Analysis (1975; repr. Sheffield: JSOT, 1991; repr. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2004). Based on his doctoral dissertation.
Narrative Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel: A full interpretation based on stylistic and structural analyses (Assen, Netherlands: van Gorcum, 1981-1993). NAPS is 2400 pages in 4 volumes:

1. King David, 2 Sam 9-20; 1 Kgs 1-2 (1981)
2. The Crossing Fates, 1 Sam 13-31; 2 Sam 1 (1986)
3.Throne and City, 2 Sam 2-8; 21-24 (1990)
4. Vow and Desire, 1 Sam 1-12 (1993)
Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (Leiden: Deo, 1999; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000); translated by Ineke Smit from the original Dutch version (1995). Written for the non-specialist. Has been translated into French, Italian, Chinese.
Reading Biblical Poetry: An Introductory Guide (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001); trans by Ineke Smit from the original Dutch version (2000). Also written for the non-specialist.
Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible: At the Interface of Prosody and Structural Analysis (Assen, Netherlands: van Gorcum, 1998-2004). 4 volumes:

1. Ex. 15, Deut 32, and Job 3 (1998)
2. 85 Psalms and Job 4-14 (2001)
3. The Remaining 65 Psalms (2003)
4. Job 15-42 (2004)