Hebrew Bible

Read The Epic of Gilgamesh from Babylonian literature and compare it to the primeval history narrated in Genesis 1-11. What are the major similarities and differences? Famously, Gilgamesh includes an account of a flood at least superficially similar to the one described in Genesis 6-9. How do these accounts differ? What do their similarities and differences suggest about how each culture understands its place in the world?

Assess the relative influence of the major world empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia on the history of ancient Israel. How do the people of Israel and Judah reckon with their position on the outskirts of these powerful empires? How do their responses to empire change over time?

Although the canon has long been accepted in its established form, a few marginal voices in the Jewish and Christian traditions have expressed uncertainty about Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. What common characteristics, shared among these three books, might be viewed as setting them apart from the rest of the text?

Some scholars view the Hebrew Bible texts as having a uniformly monotheistic perspective throughout, whereas others suggest that Israelite religion evolved from a henotheistic view (one supreme G-d among many others) toward a later position of monotheism (that there is only one G-d). Which perspective do you find to be a more compelling view of the evidence, and why? Support your answer with references to Hebrew Bible texts.

How does the Hebrew Bible function as a work of both history and theology? How does it balance the conflicting demands of these two fields? How does its understanding of historical truth differ from that of contemporary historians?

Find and outline an example of a chiasm in the Book of Psalms. How does the poetic structure affect the communication of the psalm’s message?

Compare the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible with that of the later Jewish tradition (a good choice would be to compare the counsels of the Book of Proverbs with the ethical aphorisms in the Mishnaic text Pirkei Avot). How are they similar, and how are they different?

The order of the books of the Hebrew Bible differs from their order in the Old Testament canon of Christian scriptures, despite the same books being represented. Does the sequence of the books matter, and if so, how does it reflect the differences between Jewish and Christian readings?