NT 631 - Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

NT 631: Exegesis of Colossians and Philemon
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—South Hamilton
Summer Session III 2012
Instructor: Dr. Joel White
Course Dates: MTuWThF, July 23-August 3, 2012
Course Times: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Course Description:
Competency in New Testament Greek and exegesis skills will be honed by means of a
close look at Paul’s epistles to the Colossians and Philemon. Careful attention will be
given to introductory issues, both those of a general nature (these are similar for both
letters), and more particular issues such as the religious-historical background of the socalled
Colossian Heresy and slavery in the ancient world. Since the letters are brief we
will exegete them in toto, using the standard tools of the historical/grammatical
method, while at the same time analyzing the text from a textpragmatic standpoint (i.e.,
we’ll be considering what Paul wished to accomplish by means of what he wrote).
Throughout the course, we will have one eye out for continuing relevance of these
letters for the Church and society today.
Course Prerequisites and Relation to the Curriculum:
One year of New Testament Greek plus the course Interpreting the New Testament (or
its equivalent at another seminary) are required. NT 631 satisfies the requirement for
all degrees that stipulate successful completion of an exegesis course in the epistles.
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of the course students will:
• have a good grasp of recent scholarship on Colossians and Philemon and be able
to assess the contribution of various historical, literary, and socio-rhetorical
approaches to these books.
• have gained competency in exegeting the Greek text of Colossians and Philemon
based on understanding of the interpretive issues in particular passages and
knowledge of common scholarly interpretations.
• understand the theological issues raised by Colossians and Philemon and their
implications for church and society today.
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Course Textbooks:
Recommendation to buy:
Barth, Markus, and Helmut Blanke. The Letter to Philemon: A New Translation with Notes
and Commentary. Eerdmans Critical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
Beetham, Christopher. Echoes of Scripture in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians. BIS 96.
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008
Francis, Fred, and Wayne Meeks. Conflict at Colossae: A Problem in the Interpretation of
Early Christianity Illustrated by Selected Modern Studies. Missoula: Scholars Press,
1975.
Moo, Douglas. The Letters to the Colossians and to the Philemon. PNTC. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2008.
Readings will also be taken from the following:
Fee, Gordon. Pauline Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Study. Peabody:
Hendrickson, 2007.
Wright, N. T. The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.
Course Requirements:
1. Successful completion of the Greek competency quiz:
There will be a brief quiz on the first day of class to determine students’ proficiency in
basic Koine Greek. Specifically the quiz will test students’ ability to translate a short
passage and describe the morphological (i.e. parsing) and syntactical functions of
various terms. Students must pass the quiz in order to take the class for credit.
2. Attendance:
A total of 3 hours of class may be excused for a legitimate reason. Missed class time
over 3 hours must be made up through additional reading or assignments at the
discretion of the instructor. Students will be called upon in class to translate the
Greek text directly from the Greek NT without the use of notes.
3. Preparation of a personal study guide:
This study guide will consist of two parts:
a. a brief presentation (max. 3 pages) of the student’s position on the following
issues:
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• Authorship, date, and place of the letter to the Colossians
• The nature of the Colossian heresy
• the status of Onesimus at the time of the writing of Philemon
The discussion of the latter two points should reveal interaction with the works
of Francis and Meeks as well as Barth and Blanke, respectively (see required
reading on the course schedule).
b. an independent translation from Greek into English of the text of Colossians and
Philemon. This should be completed without the aid of an English Bible or translation
software (electronic dictionaries may be used, but reference should not be
made to any translation while translating). Important lexical and syntactical information
should be noted below the translated text. Group work on translation
is encouraged, as long as this consists of work together on individual texts rather
than dividing up texts and exchanging results. Students should compare their
translation to Moo’s, note where there are significant differences, read Moo’s
commentary on these passages, and make any necessary changes (but only
where they find Moo’s arguments convincing). Translations should be further
corrected in class. Corrections should be transparent. In other words, changes
to be made should be stricken through (rather than deleted), either
electronically (in soft copy) or with a pencil or pen (in hard copy), using different
colors of ink for corrections from Moo’s commentary and those made during
class. Study guides should be submitted as a PDF File that must be received by
the instructor as an email attachment by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on
Aug 17, 2012 in order to avoid penalties for late work.
Due Date: August 17, 2012
Percentage of final grade: 40%
4. Preparation of an Exegesis Paper:
This paper will consist of 3,500 (+ or – 10%) word exegesis paper based on a portion
of the Greek text of Colossians or Philemon. The passage should be a self-contained
unit (pericope) roughly six verses in length, and should be approved by the instructor
in advance. In preparing the paper students should consult Fee’s New Testament
Exegesis. The paper should conform to general academic standards for exegesis
papers and follow the SBL Handbook of Style with regard to form. BibleWorks fonts
should be used for Greek and Hebrew characters. Plagiarism in any form, as defined
in the Student Handbook, will result in a grade of ‘F’ for the course. Papers should be
submitted as a PDF File that must be received by the instructor as an email attachment
by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Aug 17, 2012) in order to avoid
penalties for late work.
Due Date: August 17, 2012
Percentage of final grade: 60%
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4. Reading:
In addition to interaction with Moo’s commentary in the course of translating
Colossians and Philemon, students are expected to complete the readings as noted in
the course schedule. A brief email stating the percentage of the reading completed
should be mailed to the instructor by August 17, 2012. Failure to complete at least
90% the required reading will have a negative effect on the final grade (up to one full
grade deduction if less than 50% is completed).
Course Schedule (tentative):
Date Topic Reading
Monday July 23rd Course Introduction
Introduction to Colossians
Tuesday July 24th Introduction to Colossians (cont.)
Wednesday July 25th Col 1:1-14
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Moo, 25-71; Francis and Meeks, 13-121,
161-218 (articles by Lightfoot, Dibelius,
and Francis)
Thursday July 26th Colossians 1:15-20 Beetham, 113-156; Fee, 317-325, 595-
619; Wright, 99-119
Friday July 27th Colossians 1:21-2,5
Monday July 30th Colossians 2:6-23
Tuesday July 31st Colossians 3:1-17
Wednesday August 1st Colossians 3:18-4:18
Thursday August 2nd Introduction to Philemon Moo,361-378; Barth and Blanke, 1-102
Friday August 3rd Philemon 1-25
Taping, Copying, and Exchanging of Computer Files:
Students may tape lectures and discussion for the purpose of individual study only. No
course materials, including handouts and Powerpoints in addition to tapes, may be
given to third parties without the express consent of the instructor.
Contact Information:
Email: jwhite@gordonconwell.edu
Address: Platanenring 44, D-35423 Lich, Germany
Telephone: 01149-6404-928887
Skype: joelwhite1962
Appointments: I am happy to make breakfast or lunch appointments (i.e. before
and after lectures) on the days on which the course meets.
Please note: I am available in person only from July 23 rd to August 3 rd . I will
generally be available via email (except from Aug 8 th to Aug 14 th )
and via telephone or Skype in Germany as of Aug 15 th .

Recent Scholarly Commentaries on Colossians and Philemon
Aletti, Jean-Noel. Epître aux Colossiens. Ébib. Paris: Gabalda, 1993.
Arzt-Grabner, Peter. Philemon. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003.
Barth, Markus, and Helmut Blanke. The Letter to Philemon: A New Translation with
Notes and Commentary. Eerdmans Critical Commentary. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2000.
Barth, Markus, and Helmut Blanke. Colossians: A New Translation with Introduction
and Commentary. AB 34B. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. NICNT.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
Dunn, James D. G. The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. NIGTC. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
Fitzmyer, Joseph. The Letter to Philemon: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary. AB 34C. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
Garland, David E. Colossians and Philemon. NIVAC. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
Gnilka, Joachim. Der Kolosserbrief. HTKNT 10.1. Freiburg: Herder, 1980.
Gnilka, Joachim. Der Philemonbrief. HTKNT 10.4. Freiburg: Herder, 1982.
Harris, Murray, J. Colossians and Philemon. Exegetical Guide to the Greek New
Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
Hübner, Hans. An Philemon, an die Kolosser, an die Epheser. Tubingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 1997.
Lincoln, Andrew T. “The Letter to the Colossians,” The New Interpreter’s Bible.
Nashville: Abingdon, 2000.
Lindemann, Andreas. Der Kolosserbrief. ZBK 10. Zurich: Theologischer Verlag, 1983.
Lohse, Eduard. Colossians and Philemon. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971.
MacDonald, Margaret Y. Colossians, Ephesians. SacPag 17. Collegeville, Minn.:
Liturgical Press, 2000.
Moo, Douglas J. The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. PNTC. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2008.
O’Brien, Peter T. Colossians, Philemon. WBC 44. Waco, Tex.: Word, 1982.
Pokorný, Petr. Der Brief an die Kolosser. THHNT 10.1. Berlin: Evangelische
Verlagsanstalt, 1990.
Reinmuth, Eckart. Der Brief des Paulus an Philemon. THKNT 11.2. Leipzig:
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Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2006.
Stuhlmacher, Peter. Der Brief an Philemon. 4th ed. EKKNT 18. Neukirchen-Vluyn:
Neukirchener and Düsseldorf: Benziger, 2004.
Sumney, Jerry L. Colossians: A Commentary. NTL. Louisville: Westminster John Knox,
2008.
Wilson, R. McL. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Colossians and Philemon.
ICC. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2005.
Witherington III, Ben. The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians: A
Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Captivity Epistles. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
2007.
Wolter, Michael. Der Brief an die Kolosser. Der Brief an Philemon. OTK 12. Gütersloh:
Gerd Mohn, 1993.
Wright, N. T. Colossians and Philemon. TNTC 12. Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity
Press, 1986.
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