AP/JWST 4809 6.00

The Hebrew Bible and the Literature of the Ancient Near East

Since the nineteenth century, it has become increasingly evident that the Hebrew Bible is a product of its world. The recovery and decipherment of literatures from Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant have provided ample illustration of this contention. The aim of this course is to look at some of the various literary genres and themes that can be found in both biblical and ancient Near Eastern literature. The comparison and contrasting of similar or related literary genres and themes should serve to deepen the students' understanding of the Hebrew Bible and its world, in addition to introducing students to the wealth of literature from the ancient Near East. Among the literary genres to be discussed are legal texts, myths, legends, prophetic texts, historical records, and religious and secular/erotic poetry. Among the themes to be discussed are creation, the human condition, flood stories, foundational narratives, love, sexuality, relations with the divine, responses to disaster, mortality, immortality, etc.

RESERVED SPACES: Spaces reserved for Humanities & Jewish Studies and Religious Studies Majors and Minors.
PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/HUMA 4809 6.0.