. . . for undergrads.

There are quite a few guides for students who are considering doctoral studies (e.g., see Nijay, Matt, and Kevin). I’d like to write something for folks who get the “Bible bug” earlier on–like I did. It wasn’t until my senior year at Messiah College that I realized my passion was better represented by a pursuit to be a pastoral professor rather than a professorial pastor. But I was turned on to academic biblical studies from the very beginning: Intro to Biblical Studies with Mike Cosby in the fall of 1998 (my first quarter in college). But I often think of the various ways I could have done things differently to prepare myself for scholarship better–not simply to gain acceptance into a Ph.D. program, but to get an even greater head start on the academic tools needed to be a good scholar of biblical studies. Of course, if you do these things, it will help in getting into a good Ph.D. program.

This page is basically me sharing my do-over fantasies (”What would I do differently if I could go back?”). So, if you’re an undergrad with enough time left to make a difference in your undergrad career, and you’d like to pursue graduate studies of the Bible and related topics, here are a few things to consider (and I will use Messiah College as my template for advice):

1. Try a second major. At Messiah College, while the Bible major was quite robust in my time, it was also loose enough to allow room for a double major. The benefit of a double major is that you could develop excellent skills in the area of “method.” That is, you could develop not just information about the Bible and its contexts, but skills related to the ways that you might approach biblical research. Here are a few options that would take you in different directions:
   1. History: Though studies in ancient history will not always feel 100% relevant, you will be surprised by how much a detailed knowledge of the historical environment will help you raise interesting questions and make important observations. It also helps you ground your readings in historical reality. Messiah offers courses such as Greco-Roman Society and Culture, Ancient Rome, Archaeology and Historical Interpretation: Greece and Rome. Furthermore, a class on historiography would be invaluable. A history major always opens your options a bit if you decide against a life of biblical scholarship (gasp!): history teacher, public historian, precursor to law school, a political career, etc.
   2. Classics: Particularly if you are interested in New Testament and Christian origins, a top scholar needs intimate knowledge not only of Koine Greek, but also Classical Greek. Latin helps too. A classics major will make you more comfortable with the language than you could imagine. A classics major, similar to an “ancient” focus within a history major, also helps with understanding the general atmosphere. Here, I depart from my Messiah College template. To my knowledge, Messiah does not offer a Classics major–though they do have a few relevant classes such as: Classical Greek and Roman Mythology. See this interview with someone who majored in classics and ended up at one of the top New Testament programs in the country.
   3. Anthropology: Insights from cultural anthropology are a big influence in approaches to the Bible that one might call “social history” or “social-scientific” (see The Context Group). The problem is that biblical scholars who apply these insights to biblical research are, well, biblical scholars. They are not scholars of anthropology and often end up using the field in ways that would baffle genuine anthropologists. Biblical scholarship needs people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to cultural anthropology.
   4. Literature: Scholars who study the Bible through the lens of “literary criticism” use many of the same techniques found in the study of other literary works. The Bible is a written text after all and why not use similar tools to examine it as those of other written texts?
   5. Theology: If you are a Christian and are interested in joining the discussion of biblical texts in Christian circles, you will need to have familiarity with theological studies. One of the hottest areas of biblical studies at the moment is “theological interpretation.” While–at its best–this approach does not neglect history, it also claims that history should not have the last word in interpretation.
   6. Religion: If you are going to teach in a secular setting, there is a good chance that you will be a part of a religion department. It’s important to be conversant about issues concerning religious identity and history. Christians in biblical studies too often stay situated within their own insular world, but interaction with the sacred texts of other religions helps to put the Bible in historical perspective. For some insight into how scholars debate the distinction between “religious studies” and “theology,” see the responses to this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on the blogs of Chris Heard and Tyler Williams, both specialists of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.
   7. Philosophy: The study of hermeneutics is based heavily upon philosophical schools. If you are going to dive deeply into the philosophical foundations for how one reads the Bible, a philosophy major will give you the tools and basic knowledge you’d need. In fact, it is very difficult to study the history of biblical scholarship without being familiar with the history of various Western philosophies.
   8. Humanities: This may not be an option at every school, but this sort of major may provide an opportunity for an interdisciplinary approach, combining relevant classes from any of the above majors.
   9. Linguistics: Thanks to Brandon for this suggestion. A linguistics major is related to point #2 (learn your languages intimately). If you appreciate the nitty gritty of how language functions, a linguistics major can help you notice things about the details of the biblical texts and how they are related to other texts of their own time period, as well as how you go about translating them. See Mike Aubrey’s blog for an example of someone who has a keen interest in linguistics and biblical studies (he actually got up a comment before I could finish writing this, see his reasons for majoring in linguistics). Linguistics is not simply detailed grammar, but more theory–see the follow-up comments on Mike’s blog. A smaller college may not have a major in linguistics (Messiah College doesn’t), but look for classes related to the field.

2. Learn your languages intimately, both ancient and modern. If you’d like to be a Bible scholar, you will need to be proficient in a couple ancient languages (Hebrew, Greek, maybe Aramaic, maybe other Ancient Near Eastern languages, maybe Latin) and a couple extra modern languages (German and French, most likely). In order to be an excellent Bible scholar, your Hebrew and Greek needs to be solid, without question. But you should really spend some time beefing up your German. Consider a German minor and/or a cross-cultural trip to Germany. If you know how to read German coming out of your bachelor’s, you will be in very good standing for further study!
3. Get to know the primary sources. I hope that getting to know the Bible itself goes without saying. In addition, however, you should get to know those sources that are often called “biblical backgrounds” (though, calling them “backgrounds” may imply a kind of second class citizenship for these texts). Take a look at source books, such as Pritchard (see also the Libronix edition) or Hallo (see also the Libronix edition) for Ancient Near Eastern materials, or for Christian origins, see something like Ehrman. Take a look also at something like Ferguson for some context to these writings. Generally speaking, you will be looking into a variety of Ancient Near Eastern texts and inscriptions, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apostolic Fathers, and so on. Some of the majors listed above, will introduce you to some of these texts as well as a wide array of other helpful documents, such as Plato or Homer.
4. Spend time abroad in Israel or Rome or both: Actually, spending time abroad anywhere in the Mediterranean–particularly the eastern side–will provide you with first hand knowledge of the geography and, in some sense, the cultural world of biblical texts that you can’t get while staying in a small Pennsylvania town for four years. Messiah College’s EpiCenter, for example, has three options for studying in Israel and the surrounding region. Through the school’s partnership with Temple University, the EpiCenter also offers a semester program in Rome, during which you could study relevant courses in classics. The EpiCenter also offers a program in Athens, Greece through BCA (Bridge Connect Act)–see the tentative course listings for the program. Most colleges will have these sorts of programs and they will not only be life changing experiences, but also will transform your reading of biblical texts. See the comment from John Hobbins below for his own personal experience. As John indicates, finding opportunities for archaeological digs will be tremendously helpful–particularly for the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible field, but also the New Testament and Christian origins.
5. Get to know your professors . . . well. In order to get into whatever program is next in line for you, you’re going to need stellar recommendations. You don’t want to approach a potential recommender who doesn’t remember you. And if they do remember you, you don’t want them to not like you. But beyond providing you with a good recommendation, a good professor can help guide you. A good professor can share what she or he knows about the field. There are lots of things that happen “behind the scenes” that professors have learned over the years. Even if you think your profs are “small fish” because they’re teaching at a small school, or they haven’t published much, or are simply approachable, don’t be fooled. In order to get where they are today, they have gone through a lot and probably have a lot of connections that you couldn’t even imagine.
6. Learn how to write well–and use logical argumentation. This gets to the heart of scholarship. I plan on providing a separate guide to this on my blog in the future, but I will give a few pointers here. Give your papers a clearly stated thesis (e.g., “In this paper, I intend to demonstrate . . .”). Announce your plan for the paper (e.g, “the first portion of this paper will question the underlying assumptions of . . . . We shall then highlight the need for an invigorated evaluation of the . . . .”). Each paragraph should somehow fit logically into the papers purpose and/or argument–and it should be done explicitly. Use indicators such as “first . . . secondly . . .” or “on the one hand . . . on the other hand . . .”. Just don’t combine them and use “on the third hand.” Finally, your conclusion should summarize your argument and review the documentation that you have shared. While you can highlight the implications of your study in your conclusion, it shouldn’t really be introducing new material. Remember: scholarship is not creative writing. If you try to be too cute or flowery with your vocabulary or sentence structure, you will annoy your scholarly reader. Throughout your program, take your papers to the school’s writing center and discuss the papers with your professors. Avail yourself of solid online resources, such as The Owl at Purdue. Constantly look for ways to improve.
7. Learn how to read scholarship in a critical, but balanced way. Early on in their readings of scholarly writings (and even later on), students generally have two types of reactions to those writings: (1) they believe everything they read as Gospel truth without question; or (2) they hate a particular writing and think they have to completely demolish and trash its ideas. Part of becoming a good scholar means that you need to cultivate some balance in your critical evaluation of books and articles. Most likely, any given piece of scholarship is not 100% trash and no piece of scholarship is 100% unquestionable. So, as you attempt to become a better writer yourself (a lifelong process), look for the building blocks of argumentation in scholars’ writings. Determine what makes sense, while you also identify what needs further explanation or is simply way off base.
8. Consider multiple social locations in biblical interpretation. In other words, consider how various groups or individuals might read the Bible in different ways. There is the chance that you will be interested in so-called “ideological” criticisms, such as feminist or African American or “postcolonial” approaches. Though these perspectives have received some heavy critiques from traditional historical-critical scholars, these “ideological” scholars of the Bible have rightly pointed out that traditional historical-critical research has been the method of Western white males for ages. Historical research should not be considered immune from ideology. These approaches mostly focus their attention on how the Bible has been and continues to be read, though they can also draw out neglected issues within the texts’ historical situation. Any approach to biblical studies must still be rooted in detailed and responsible historical research, but “ideological” approaches help keep us honest.
9. Read classic works in the history of biblical scholarship. Try picking up some of the oldies-but-goodies, like Albert Schweitzer’s Quest for the Historical Jesus, Julius Wellhausen’s Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel, or Rudolf Bultmann’s Theology of the New Testament. As you read through scholarship for your papers, who are the scholars most often cited and discussed? These folks are the movers and shakers of biblical scholarship. You may not agree with their ideas and they may be dated, but you’ll be able to interact with current scholarship all the better. And it won’t hurt to be able to carry on a conversation about them!
10. Contemplate your passions within the field of biblical studies. I believe undergraduate work is place to do foundational work, get to know the basics of the overall field. But if you want to move on into further studies, you’ll have to decide what the next step is going to be. What direction will you go for graduate studies? Should you get an M.Div. (ministry degree) with a biblical studies focus? If so, should you go to a seminary or the divinity school at a research university? Should you gain a M.A. in “Old Testament/Hebrew Bible” or “New Testament”? Or, should you try a M.A. focusing on second temple Judaism? Beyond the mere title of the degree, each school and its faculty will have a different emphasis. If you’re interested in social history or theological interpretation, you should look for faculty in those fields. Thus, part of your undergraduate experience will need to include a self-investigating soul-searching process to decide where you want to go. That said, my soul searching didn’t really happen until I was towards the end of my M.Div., so don’t panic too much.

I may think of other things and will add them as time goes by, but I hope this helps get things started. Only a super human would be able to do all of these things and do them with the utmost skill, but browse through the list and consider what makes sense for your own situation.

Recommended Reading

• Brown, Michael Joseph. What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.
• McKenzie, Steven L., and Stephen R. Haynes. To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application. Rev. and Expanded. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999.
• Rogerson, J. W., and Judith M. Lieu, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.