Eric W. Nye, Office Hours: MWF 2:10-3:00 pm and by appt., Hoyt Hall 310, 766-3244
Luc Olivier Merson (French, 1846-1920), "Rest on the Flight into Egypt" (1879), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Mon., 14 Jan.: Introduction to the Course
Paper 1 assigned, due Fri., 25 Jan.
Wed., 16 Jan.: Ferguson, "The Reason Why" and "Introduction," pp. 5-9.
Gabel & Wheeler, "To the Reader," pp. vii-x; Ch. 1, "The Bible as Literature," pp. 1-14
Abbreviations, etc., Revised English Bible (REB) pp. xxiii-xxvii
Mary Ann Tolbert, "Reading the Bible," REB pp. *3-*8
M. Jack Suggs, "Reading This Bible," REB pp. *9-*11
Sources and Allusions 1 due: handout
Fri., 18 Jan.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 6, "The Formation of the Canon," pp. 91-105
James A. Sanders, "Communities and Canon," REB pp. *91-*100
Wed., 23 Jan.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 3, "Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Bible," pp. 42-60; and Appendix II, "Writing in Biblical Times," pp. 364-72
Choon-Leong Seow, "Literature of the Ancient Near East," REB pp. *57-*67
Fri., 25 Jan.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 13, "Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: the Outside Books," pp. 206-223.; and Ch. 16, "The Text of the Bible," pp. 268-81
 | Paper 1 due: Three pages typed, double spaced. Consider the difference between seeing and reading. Both depend on vision, but what differences are there between a spectator and a reader? Our culture valorizes the visual, the spectacular, the glitzy. But the Bible must be read inwardly, not seen. What kind of reading of the Bible might improve on the more narrowly visual consumption that pervades our culture? What happens in the act of deep reading, in our most intense experiences of reading? If we are becoming a visual culture instead of a literate one, what might be the fate of hard books like the Bible? Or to put it most crassly, what would you say to someone who remarked, "I don't need to read the Bible--I've seen the movie"? |
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Mon., 28 Jan.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 17, "Translating the Bible," pp. 282-305; and Appendix I, "The Name of Israel's God," pp. 359-63. A Seminar on the Lindisfarne Gospels at the British Library. The Gutenberg Bible.
"Editors' Preface" to the REB, pp. xi-xiv
Donald Coggan, "Preface" to the REB, pp. xv-xvii
Wed., 30 Jan.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 4, "The Bible and History," pp. 61-72
W. Lee Humphreys, "Historical Contexts of the Biblical Communities," REB pp. *33-*47
David L. Petersen, "The Social World of the Old Testament," REB pp. *68-*78
Fri., 1 Feb.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 5, "The Physical Setting of the Bible," pp. 73-90
Carol Myers, "The Contributions of Archaeology," REB pp. *48-*56
Mon., 4 Feb.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 2, "Literary Forms and Strategies in the Bible," pp. 15-41
Leander E. Keck and Gene M. Tucker, "Literary Forms of the Bible," REB pp. *12-*32
Wed., 6 Feb.: Jonah
Fri., 8 Feb.: Jonah
John H. Hayes, "Deity in the Biblical Communities and among Their Neighbors," REB pp. *141-*53
Mon., 11 Feb.: Video: Heritage--Civilization and the Jews I
Wed., 13 Feb.: Gabel & Wheeler, Ch. 7, "The Composition of the Pentateuch," pp. 106-20
Richard Elliott Friedman, "Torah and Covenant," REB pp. *154-*63
"Introduction to the Old Testament," and "The Pentateuch," REB pp. 3-9
Fri., 15 Feb.: Genesis 1-3
Mon., 18 Feb.: Genesis 4-5
Paper 2 assigned, due Wed., 27 Feb.
Wed., 20 Feb.: Genesis 6-14
Fri., 22 Feb.: Genesis 15-22
Mon., 25 Feb.: Genesis 23-26
Wed., 27 Feb.: Genesis 27-36
Paper 2 due
Fri., 29 Feb..: Genesis 37-50
Mon., 3 Mar.: Exodus 1-6
Wed., 5 Mar.: Review, Midterm Exam Part 1 distributed
Fri., 7 Mar.: Midterm Exam, Part 1 (take home essays) due
Midterm Exam, Part 2 (in class)
Mon., 10 Mar.: Exodus 7-15
Wed., 12 Mar.: Exodus 16-20, 32-34, 37
Fri., 14 Mar.: Optional field trip: meet in Toppan Library (rare book room at American Heritage Center), host Anne Marie Lane
Mon., 24 Mar.: Leviticus 16; Numbers 20-21; Deuteronomy 32-34
Wed., 26 Mar.: Joshua 1-6, 23-24
Fri., 28 Mar.: Judges 1-2, 4-5, 10, 13-16
Mon., 31 Mar.: Ruth
Wed., 2 Apr.: 1 Samuel 1-3, 8-10, 15-20, 28-31
Fri., 4 Apr.: Video: Heritage--Civilization and the Jews II
Paper 3 assigned, due Wed., 23 Apr.
Mon., 7 Apr.: 2 Samuel 1, 5-7, 11-12, 15-19
Wed., 9 Apr.: 1 Kings 1-19
Fri., 11 Apr.: 2 Kings 1-2
Amos
2 Kings 16-25
Mon., 14 Apr.: Gabel and Wheeler, Ch. 9, "The Wisdom Literature," pp. 134-51
Dianne Bergant, "The Perspective of Wisdom," REB pp. *172-*80
Wed., 16 Apr.: Psalms (esp. 1-3, 8-9, 19-23, 30, 37, 41-51, 72-74, 89-90, 96-99, 103-06, 118, 137, 148)
Fri., 18 Apr.: Psalms, contd.
Mon., 21 Apr.: Job
Wed., 23 Apr.: Proverbs 1-9, 25-31
Paper 3 due
Paper 4 assigned (optional), due Wed., 30 Apr.
Fri., 25 Apr.: Isaiah 1-13, 36-53
Gabel and Wheeler, Ch. 8, "The Prophetic Writings," pp. 121-33
James L. Mays, "The Phenomenon of Prophecy," REB pp. *164-*71
Mon., 28 Apr.: Ezekiel
Ezra-Nehemiah, Haggai 1-2, Zechariah
Wed., 30 Apr.: Gabel and Wheeler, Ch. 11, "Judaism in the Intertestamental Period," pp. 169-88; and App. III, "Palestine in the Intertestamental Period," pp. 373-80; and Ch. 12, "The Hellenistic Background of the New Testament," pp. 189-205
Carol A. Newsom, "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Jewish Literature," REB pp. *101-*11
Robert Goldenberg, "Hebrew Scriptures in Early Post-Biblical Judaism, with Special Reference to the Rabbinic Tradition," REB pp. *122-*28
Paper 4 due (optional)
Fri., 2 May: Daniel
Gabel and Wheeler, Ch. 10, "The Apocalyptic Literature," pp. 152-68
Martha Himmelfarb, "The Apocalyptic Vision," REB pp. *181-*89
Final Exam: Friday, 9 May, 10:15 am - 12:15 pm, in our usual classroom.
Last updated Wednesday, 16 April 2008