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Fall, 2002 |
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The Torah/Pentateuch (the first five books
of the Jewish and Christian scriptures) was the first part of the Bible
to be regarded as scripture. It has also played a central role in modern
debates over the nature of scripture. This seminar will investigate critical
issues in the modern study of the Torah/Pentateuch, including its composition,
literary form, canonization, and interpretation in modern biblical criticism.
The discussions will adjudicate these issues against a close reading of
selected parts of the Torah/Pentateuch as well as the whole.
The seminar's goals are to have students :
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Course Requirements: Students are expected to be prepared to discuss in class all the required readings. Each student will (1) write a 5-8 page paper analyzing the major interpretive issues in one Pentateuchal text assigned for class discussion and distribute it to the class via e-mail on the Friday before the relevant seminar, and (2) write and distribute in the same way a 5-8 page report on one book from the list of critical studies and the list of histories of interpretation, describing its significance for interpretation of the Torah/Pentateuch and/or the Bible generally. In addition, Ph.D. students will write a substantive and original research paper on a subject related to the course topic, presenting the class with a summary during the last class meeting. (The finished research papers are due on or before December 17th.). Non-Ph.D. students may choose, instead of the research paper, to write two additional 5-8 page reports (for a total of four papers) on an additional text or book (due on the date for that text or book listed below). Late papers and reports will not be eligible for "A" grades. (Link to more detailed paper instructions.) Participants in the Hebrew reading "pre-seminar" (12-1 p.m. before
the seminar meetings on Mondays) are exempt from writing one of the
required 5-8 page reports. |
Topics and Readings: |
Day | Topic | Texts |
Aug 26 | Introductions | |
Sep 2 | Labor Day | No Class |
Sep 9 | Torah/Pentateuch | Primary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy
(Hebrew: Genesis 1:1-5; 2:7-9) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, Pentateuch, vii-30 |
Sep 16 | Yom Kippur | No Class |
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Sep 23 | Law and the history of religion | Primary: Exodus 19-24
(Hebrew: Exodus 20:1-17) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 183-228; Watts, 11-31 Book Reports: Wellhausen, McCarthy, Paul, Perlitt |
Sep 30 | Law and narrative Guest: Prof. Calum Carmichael, Cornell University |
Primary: Genesis 37-50,
Exodus 21-23 (Hebrew: Genesis 32:22-32) Secondary: Carmichael |
Oct 7 | Law and theology | Primary: Leviticus 16-19 (Hebrew: Leviticus 19:9-22) Secondary: Levenson, 1-32 Book Reports: Childs, Crüsemann; Sperling, Knight, Noll |
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Oct 14 | Authorship & composition | Primary: Genesis 12-50 (Hebrew: Genesis 22:1-19) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 98-133 Book Reports:Rendtorff, Van Seters (1975), Blum, Thompson, von Rad, Schmid, Smend; Nicholson |
Oct 21 | Ancient literary parallels | Primary: Genesis 1-11; Gilgamesh
XI (Hebrew: Genesis 3:1-19) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 54-97; Book Reports: Tigay (1985), Van Seters (1983), Levinson (1994) |
Oct 28 | History, legend, and myth | Primary: Exodus 1-18
(Hebrew: Exodus 3:1-15) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 134-78; Levenson, 127-159. Book Reports: Van Seters (1994), Smith, |
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Nov 4 | Interpreting the gaps | Primary: Exodus 25-40 (Hebrew: Exodus 34:1-17) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 31-53; Watts, 61-88. Book Reports: Sternberg, Polzin, Carr, Mann, Nohrnberg, Clines, Sailhamer |
Nov 11 | The politics of biblical interpretation | Primary: Deuteronomy 12-26 (Hebrew: Deuteronomy 12:1-16) Secondary: Levenson, 62-126 Book Reports: Levinson (1997), Olsen, Weinfeld, Whybray; Harrison, Reventlow, Sugirtharajah |
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Nov 18 | Temple, prophets and texts | Primary: Leviticus 1-15 (Hebrew: Leviticus 1:1-17) Secondary: Blenkinsopp, 229-243, Watts, 131-61 Book Reports: Friedman, Knohl, Watts (2001) |
Nov 25 | Thanksgiving
AAR/SBL in Toronto |
No Class
If you are in Toronto, check out: |
Dec 2 | The Rhetoric of Torah | Primary: Deuteronomy 1-11, 27-34 (Hebrew: Deuteronomy 6:1-15) Secondary: Watts, 32-60, 89-130, 162-67 Book Reports: Patrick, Mullen, |
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Dec 9 1-5 pm | Meet at Jim's house | Paper presentations |
Dec 17 | Research Papers Due in 501 HL |
Course Bibliography: Commentaries, Critical Studies, More Studies, Histories of Interpretation
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