I have a friend who is currently a first year MDiv student at a school that many salivate over. He currently does not know which way his career will go: academic studies or ministry. Currently, he’s so loaded with the daily responsibilities of classwork that he hasn’t had much time to find a niche of research that he truly gets excited about. His mental skill for academia, however, is off the charts, in my opinion. So, I’m trying to think of ways he can explore his potential academic interests. Out of anything, he is most drawn to Hebrew narrative and is interested more in literary approaches than historical-critical work. I don’t think historical reconstruction does much for him, nor does abstract theological speculation.

Personally, I had a breakthrough when I discovered just what niche I am interested in exploring. First, I thought I would be interested in Jesus studies and the Gospels, but I am not as interested in recovering the “historical Jesus.” I then realized that I’m more interested in social issues in general (hence, for example, my work with Bread for the World this past Summer), so I started to think that way when researching. I found that the themes that I get most jazzed up about are how the early Christians apply their understanding/memory of Jesus to their social situation and, on the flip side, how their social situation affects their understanding/memory of Jesus. I also noticed that I simply got excited when I read apocalyptic literature. So, there it is: social issues in the New Testament and Christian origins, with a special interest in apocalyptic literature. But it took a long time to get there. Well, relatively “long” . . . I’m still in seminary, after all. But I was quite overwhelmed with the vast possibility for research areas up until I pinpointed this.

So, what are some ways that my friend can explore what might excite him most about Hebrew narrative? What are resources that he could turn to that would help him see if this really is his bag, baby? I’m no expert in Hebrew narrative, but here goes my brainstorming session:

• Explore some authors who might be down your alley. It seems to me that this is a key move that opens possible doors in multiple directions. He really liked Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Narrative and I think he appreciated the bit of Brueggemann that he read, too.
• Try this: Since he liked Alter’s book, search ATLA and look for reviews of the book. My search pulled up 28 reviews. See what other scholars said about it. This helps him not only to think critically about Alter’s book, but also think critically about where the reviewer is coming from. The reviewer may be someone whose works are worth checking out or maybe not. Or, as with Whybray’s significant review essay in JSOT (no 27, 1983), you may get some historical context and background for Alter as a scholar and this book placed within the larger framework of those scholars attempting literary criticism of the Bible. Actually, it turns out that Alter’s book is a great exercise for this because that particular issue of JSOT contains several reviews of the book along with a response from Alter himself.
• Read other books, or even articles, that might be of interest by these authors. What authors do they reference in the main text and footnotes most often? What topics come up often in these articles and books? That might provide an avenue for further research.
• Following the last point, what are the most important/interesting issues related to Hebrew narrative? What’s going on with the deuternomistic history and how does that color the narrative? What interpretative implications are there for the various dating schemes for the texts (pre/post-exilic)? How might the Dead Sea Scrolls relate to the literature? What do we do with New Testament usage of OT narrative? Try just reading entries about these things in dictionaries like Anchor Bible Dictionary or IVP’s dictionaries on the Pentateuch or Historical Books. Which ideas seem more attractive here?
• When you find names of people that you respect and find interesting, find out where they teach (even if they might be retired) and explore those programs. Alter teaches in the Jewish Studies department at UC-Berkeley. Who else teaches there (e.g., Daniel Boyarin) and does their research seem interesting? Their doctoral program functions jointly with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU). Does that program seem like a good way to go about studying? What are some other major programs in Hebrew Bible? Look at places like Johns Hopkins, UCLA, or U of Chicago. Do these programs seem like a good fit? Who teaches there? Does their work seem interesting? What about a smaller place like Brueggemann’s home at Columbia Theological Seminary? Turns out, Columbia doesn’t have a PhD program. Would you feel comfortable at another seminary environment (like Union-PSCE or Fuller)? In all of these programs: what would be your concentration, who might be your advisor, what kinds of courses would you take, etc.?
• Read blogs that intelligently wrestle with texts of the Hebrew Bible. This isn’t my area, but some good ones for that seem to be Ancient Hebrew Poetry, Awilum, Biblische Ausbildung, Blue Cord, Claude Mariottini, Higgaion, and Ketuvim. I know I’m missing people . . . sorry! Though, trying to read through a bunch of blogs can be overwhelming, especially since a heck of a lot of blogging by biblical studies blogs is not actually about biblical studies, let alone the biblical text itself. What might be even better would be to look at the monthly “carnivals” of biblical studies blogs that highlight some of the best blogging about biblical issues in various categories. Go down month by month and read the Hebrew Bible entries. I think this gives you an idea for the vast array of approaches and ideas out there, giving you a kind of dip into the waters of academia.
• Make sure to make appointments to chat with the OT faculty at your school and get their advice about how to think about these issues, how to get prepared, where to think of applying, what books to read, what languages are important to study, etc.

These are the kinds of things (though from a NT/Christian origins perspective) that I worked through to find my interests. But it is also a deep kind of soul searching, too. I don’t think people should hop into academia because it seems like an interesting career, but because you are driven by it: either to research, to teach, or both. For me, I just have this gut level passion for thinking about social implications of textual issues. I think that comes from its immense relevance to how the sacred texts are socially used and misused in society and culture today. I also have a passion for making the complicated stuff accessible to “average” people who have a hard time dealing with it. I guess it comes down to: with what issues do you want to spend your life wrestling?