Advanced Old Testament

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This session explores the familiar accounts of Cain and Abel, the Flood and Noahide covenant. The story of Cain and Abel expresses the notion of the God-endowed sanctity of human life and a “universal moral law” governing the world. Examination of the contradictions and doublets in the flood story leads to a discussion of the complex composition and authorship of the Pentateuch.

In this session we explore the significance of Jacob's change of name, Joseph and his brothers, the story of Moses birth and descriptions of God in the Hebrew Bible.

This session traces the account of the Exodus (and the origin of the Passover festival as a historicization of older nature festivals) and Israel’s liberation from bondage under Pharaoh. The story reaches its climax with the covenant concluded between God and Israel through Moses at Sinai. Drawing heavily on the work of Jon Levenson, the lecture examines Ancient Near Eastern parallels to the Sinaitic covenant and describes the divine-human relationship (an intersection of law and love) that the covenant seeks to express.

In this session, the Priestly source (P) found primarily in Leviticus and Numbers is expored. The symbolism of the sacrificial cult and purity system, the differences between moral and ritual impurity, as well as holiness and purity are explained within the Priestly context. The concept of holiness and imitatio dei, or human imitation of God, is explained.

This session concludes the study of Deuteronomy and traces the contribution of the Deuteronomistic School. The books of the Former Prophets are introduced.

This session introduces the phenomenon of Israelite prophecy which included ecstatic prophecy and prophetic guilds. The non-literary prophets of the historical books of the Bible and their various roles (as God’s zealot; as conscience of the king) are examined.

Micah, eighth-century southern prophet and contemporary of Isaiah, is discussed. Several short prophetic books are also discussed: Zephaniah; the Book of Nahum, depicting the downfall of Assyria and distinguished for its vivid poetic style; and the book of Habbakuk, which contains philosophical musings on God’s behavior. The final part of the lecture turns to the lengthy book of Jeremiah.

This session begins with the Book of Lamentations, and moves on to introduce the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible - the Ketuvim, or “Writings.”

This session continues the discussion of the psalms before turning to the period of the Restoration when the Judean exiles returned to what was now the province of Yehud under Cyrus, the Persian ruler. The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles refer to some of the events of this time as well as the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Book of Ruth expresses a view of gentiles entirely opposed to that of Ezra and Nehemiah. Other prophets of the Restoration period are discussed, including Third Isaiah, Zechariah, Joel and Daniel.

In this session, Esther and Jonah are examined and their attitudes towards foreign nations compared. Professor Hayes concludes the course with remarks regarding the dynamic and complex messages presented in the Hebrew Bible.