Introduction to the Old Testament: Sacred Texts and Imperial Contexts of the Hebrew Bible

Catalog description

This course provides an academic introduction to the traditions of the Old Testament in the context of ancient Israelite history and culture with a particular focus on the ways in which the texts reflect Israelite experiences of trauma, resilience, and survival amidst successive empires of the Ancient Near East. Students will also be introduced to various methods of biblical interpretation with the dual goals of 1) tracing the transmission of the Old Testament texts from oral to written tradition and 2) bringing the texts into conversation with contemporary crises and communities.