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| 0690-1202-01 | Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: (ii) Currents of Biblical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 2.0
Course description
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible: (II) Currents of Biblical Research
The Bible is the cornerstone of both Hebrew and Western culture. As its name (from the Greek word biblia, “books”) suggests, it is not a single piece but rather an anthology of writings of different types that were composed along many generations and in different historical contexts. The first part of the Introduction (“the literature and its genres”) presents the variety of works and genres that were integrated into the biblical collection—early and late historiography, the laws and narratives of the Pentateuch, prophetic writings, psalmodic poetry and wisdom literature—and sets them against the background of the variety of literary forms, social contexts, and historical developments that emerged in the ancient Near East. The second part of the Introduction (“currents of biblical research”) focuses on the processes of consolidation and canonization of biblical literature—first and foremost the composition of the Pentateuch and the historical works—and their understanding that crystallized in critical research since the time of Spinoza until the present day. The discussion will also introduce the main hermeneutic approaches to the Hebrew Bible, beginning with ancient exegesis (whose forerunners are already to be found within the Bible), through different schools of thoughts among medieval commentators, and ending with the history of philological investigation and some post-modern questioning of its presumptions and conclusions.
The Bible is the cornerstone of both Hebrew and Western culture. As its name (from the Greek word biblia, “books”) suggests, it is not a single piece but rather an anthology of writings of different types that were composed along many generations and in different historical contexts. The first part of the Introduction (“the literature and its genres”) presents the variety of works and genres that were integrated into the biblical collection—early and late historiography, the laws and narratives of the Pentateuch, prophetic writings, psalmodic poetry and wisdom literature—and sets them against the background of the variety of literary forms, social contexts, and historical developments that emerged in the ancient Near East. The second part of the Introduction (“currents of biblical research”) focuses on the processes of consolidation and canonization of biblical literature—first and foremost the composition of the Pentateuch and the historical works—and their understanding that crystallized in critical research since the time of Spinoza until the present day. The discussion will also introduce the main hermeneutic approaches to the Hebrew Bible, beginning with ancient exegesis (whose forerunners are already to be found within the Bible), through different schools of thoughts among medieval commentators, and ending with the history of philological investigation and some post-modern questioning of its presumptions and conclusions.