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Religious Studies 2DD3
The Five Books of Moses
McMaster University, Fall 2004
Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30-11:20, TSH/B106
Tutorial I: Fridays, 11:30-12:20, JHE/326H; Tutorial II: Fridays, 13:30-14:20, BSB/106
- Instructor - Dr. Annette Y. Reed
- Email - reedann@mcmaster.ca
- Phone - 905-525-9140 ext. 24597
- Office hours – UH 110; Wednesdays 11:30–12:30
- Teaching Assistants –
- Susan Wendel, swendel@sympatico.ca , UH B-120
- Robert Lockey, lockeyr@hotmail.com
Course Requirements | Required Readings | Schedule of Assignments | Printable Syllabus
The first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—have had a formative influence on ideas about God, humankind, and the cosmos, as well as understandings of ethics, family, history, and nationhood, in Judaism, Christianity, and Western culture more broadly. Termed the Torah in Jewish tradition and the Pentateuch in Christian tradition, these books contain some of the most familiar and famous biblical tales, alongside laws and precepts that shaped Jewish and Christian views of piety and proper ritual practice. At the same time, these books provide precious evidence of the history, religion, and culture of ancient Israel. As such, their study opens a window onto the specific socio-historical circumstances that shaped the words that Jews and Christians would come to cherish as divine Scripture. In this course, we will read through the entirety of these five books. Approaching them from an academic perspective, we shall trace the processes by which these texts came to be formed and consider the multiple socio-historical contexts that informed them, while also analyzing their narrative structures and meaning in their present form.
- Course Requirements
- Attendance & participation (10%) – It is imperative that students attend the Lectures and weekly Tutorials. Not only will attendance and participation count for 10% of the final grade, but Lectures will cover material not treated in the textbooks, for which students will be responsible in the Quizzes and on the Final Exam. Tutorial sessions will focus on close readings of key selections from the assigned biblical texts; detailed knowledge of these selections will be assumed in the Lectures and on the Exam. Make sure to have read the assigned passages prior to attending Lectures and Tutorials and to bring your Bibles to both!
- Quizzes (30%) – Three in-class quizzes (20-30 min. each) will consist of identification questions and test knowledge of the biblical sources as well as key concepts from the supplementary readings in Friedman and Blenkinsopp. They are scheduled for October 6th (Genesis), October 25th (Exodus), and November 22nd (Leviticus & Numbers).
- Short Paper (25%) – Due November 1st, the paper will be a short (3-5 pp.) source-critical analysis of a passage from the assigned readings, discussed with reference to Lectures and assigned readings as well as scholarly commentaries. These commentaries will be placed on reserve at Mills. Paper Guidelines
- Final Exam (35%) – The final exam will consist of identification questions spanning all the material covered in the course, together with 2-3 essay questions.
- Required Readings
- The following books are required for this course. They are available for purchase at Titles and have been placed on Reserve at Mills:
- HarperCollins Study Bible (NRSV Translation), Society of Biblical Literature, 1993. Acceptable alternatives include the Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha (Oxford UP, 1992), Tanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew Text (Jewish Publication Society, 1985), and The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation, Torah, Neviim, Kethuvim (Oxford UP, 2003). Students who wish to use another biblical translation should consult with the instructor in the first weeks of class.
- Richard Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997.
- Joseph Blenkinsopp, The Pentateuch: An Introduction to the First Five Books of the Bible, New York: Doubleday, 1992.
- Statement on Academic Dishonesty
- Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notion on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3.
- The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: (1) Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been obtained. (2) Improper collaboration in group work. (3) Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.
- Please be aware that Plagiarism includes quoting and paraphrasing other people’s writings or ideas – whether from a book, commentary, website, etc. – without proper citation of the author, book, URL, or so on. I cannot stress this enough: whenever in doubt, always add a reference (whether in a footnote or in parentheses in the body of your paper) making clear the source of your information!
- Schedule of Assignments
- Monday, September 13 – Introductory Comments
- Wednesday, September 15 – Approaches to Studying the Pentateuch
- Friedman, pp. 15-49; Blenkinsopp, pp. 31-53
- Class Handout
- Additional resources:
- PUnderstanding the Priestly Source, BR 12:03, Jun 1996
By Victor Hurowitz (McMaster only)
- Scholars Face Off Over Age of Biblical Stories, BR 10:04, Aug 1994
By Richard Elliott Friedman and John Van Seters (McMaster only)
- The Documentary Hypothesis in Trouble, BR 1:04, Fall 1985
By Joseph Blenkinsopp (McMaster only)
- Monday, September 20 – Creation of the Cosmos and Humankind
- Genesis 1-3
- Friedman, pp. 50-53; Blenkinsopp, pp. 12-28, 54-71
- Class Handout
- Additional resources:
- Eve and Adam, BR 4:03, Jun 1988
By Pamela J. Milne (McMaster only)
- Wednesday, September 22 – Earliest Human History
- Genesis 4-11
- Friedman, pp. 53-61; Blenkinsopp, pp. 71-97
- Class Handout; Chart
- Additional resources:
- When the Sons of God Cavorted with the Daughters of Men, BR 3:02, Spring 1987
By Ronald S. Hendel (McMaster only)
- The Sources of Genesis 111 According to the Documentary Hypothesis, BR 1:04, Fall 1985 (McMaster only)
- Disentangling the Sources of the Flood Story (Genesis 6:19:29) According to the Documentary Hypothesis, BR 1:04, Fall 1985 (McMaster only)
- What the Babylonian Flood Stories Can and Cannot Teach Us About the Genesis Flood, BAR 4:04, Nov/Dec 1978
By Tikva Frymer-Kensky (McMaster only)
- Monday, September 27 – Abraham Cycle
- Genesis 11:26-25:11
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 98-133
- Class Handout; Chart
- Additional resources:
- The Patriarchal Age: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Ancient Israel, 1999
By Ronald S. Hendel and P. Kyle McCarter Jr. (McMaster only)
- Hagars ExpulsionA Tale Twice-Told in Genesis, BR 2:04, Fall 1986
By Zefira Gitay (McMaster only)
- Wednesday, September 29 – Jacob Cycle
- Genesis 25:11-36:42
- Friedman, pp. 62-69
- Class Handout
- Additional resources:
- Deception for Deception, BR 2:01, Winter 1986
By Richard Elliott Friedman (McMaster only)
- The Patriarch JacobAn Innocent Man, BR 2:01, Winter 1986
By Carl D. Evans (McMaster only)
- Monday, October 4 – Joseph Story
- Genesis 37-50
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 134-160
- Class Handout
- Additional resources:
- Excavating the Tribe of Reuben, BAR 27:02, Mar/Apr 2001 (McMaster only)
- Dreamer, Schemer, Slave and Prince, BR 14:02, Apr 1998
By Arnold Ages (McMaster only)
- Wednesday, October 6 – Israel in Egypt
- Exodus 1-6
- **QUIZ 1 (GENESIS)**
- Monday, October 11 –Thanksgiving; no class
- Wednesday, October 13 – Plagues, Passover, and the Exodus
- Exodus 7:1-15:21
- Class Handout
- Friedman, pp. 150-73
- Monday, October 18 – Law and Covenant
- Exodus 15:22-24:18
- Class Handout
- Class Handout #2
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 183-209
- Wednesday, October 20 – Tabernacle, Golden Calf, and Renewal of Covenant
- Exodus 25-40
- Class Handout
- Class Handout #2
- Friedman, pp. 173-206
- Monday, October 25 – Sacrifice
- Leviticus 1-7
- ** QUIZ #2 (EXODUS)**
- Class Handout
- Wednesday, October 27 – Priestly Ordination
- Leviticus 8-10
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 220-23
- Class Handout
- Monday, November 1 – Purity and Impurity
- Leviticus 11-16
- **PAPER DUE**
- Class Handout
- Wednesday, November 3 – The Holiness Code
- Leviticus 17-27
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 223-25
- Class Handout
- Monday, November 8 – Preparations for Departure to Sinai
- Numbers 1:1-10:10
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 160-182
- Class Handout
- Wednesday, November 10 – From Sinai to Kadesh
- Numbers 10:10-20:21
- Friedman, pp. 207-33
- Class Handout
- Monday, November 15 – From Kadesh to Moab
- Numbers 20:22-36:13
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 229-242
- Class Handout
- Class Handout #2
- Wednesday, November 17 – Remembering the Past
- Deuteronomy 1:1-4:40
- Friedman, pp. 89-100
- Class Handout
- Monday, November 22 –
- **QUIZ #3, LEVITICUS & NUMBERS**
- Wednesday, November 24 – Looking forward to the Future
- Deuteronomy 4:41-11:32
- Friedman, pp. 101-149
- Class Handout #2
- Monday, November 29 – Laws
- Deuteronomy 12-26
- Blenkinsopp, pp. 209-20
- Class Handout
- Wednesday, December 1 – Blessings, Curses, and the Death of Moses
- Deuteronomy 27:1-34:12
- Friedman, pp. 234-45
- Class Handout
- FINAL EXAM – December 11, 4pm
Study Guide
Religious
Studies 2DD3 - The Five Books of Moses - A. Y. Reed - 2004
Top of Page | Course Requirements | Required Readings |Schedule of Assignments | Printable Syllabus
McMaster University |
Dept. of Religious Studies
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