THE SECRET LIFE OF THE PSALMS: MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
Fall 2023

Buried in the poetry of the biblical Psalms are myths of primordial chaos and creation, battles among the gods for divine supremacy, divine overthrow of would-be rebels, and glimpses of the council of the gods. Learn how to decode the imagery and language that mask these legends of awesome might and cosmic strife that are hidden in plain view, and that continue to mark our religious expression today.

BLOODLINES, REPUDIATION, CHILDBIRTH, ADOPTION, SIBLING RIVALRY, DEATH, BURIAL AND MOURNING, HEIRS AND SUCCESSORS
Spring 2023

This course explores further aspects of family relationships in biblical Israel, and what we know of life and death in ancient Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt. Learn what the biblical laws governing divorce, childbirth, adoption, sibling rivalry, death, burial and mourning, heirs and succession owe to the laws of the Hittites, and to ancient Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt. Read the biblical narratives that support — or violate — these legal frameworks and fire up your imagination about life in the ancient world.

CHASTITY AND SEXUALITY, BETROTHAL, MARRIAGE AND REPUDIATION IN THE BIBLE AND THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST
Fall 2022

This course explores aspects of family relationships in biblical Israel, and what we know of daily life in ancient Mesopotamia. Learn what the biblical laws governing chastity, sexuality, betrothal, marriage, adultery, repudiation and divorce owe to the Hittites, and to ancient Sumer, Assyria, Babylonia and Egypt. Discover the social roles of concubines, divorcees and unmarried women in these cultures. Read the biblical narratives that support – or violate – these legal frameworks and fire up your imagination about life in the ancient world.

THE AGONY OF THE LATTER PROPHETS
Spring 2022

The powerful words of the latter prophets resonate in our liturgy and in our speech even two thousand years after they lived. But behind the poetry of exhortation and divine warning are human beings who are chosen by God with no chance to opt out, men who endure loneliness, despair, derision, and illness, all in service to the God of Israel. In this course we will look at pivotal events in the lives of Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel that mark them for life. Come and discover the risks and travails of being chosen as a prophet of God.

THE BIBLE'S ORIGINS REVEALED: KINGSHIP OF GOD AND THE ISRAELITE MONARCHY
Fall 2021

Contemporary scholars understand the Bible as evolving out of the rich and complex cultural crucible that was the ancient Near East. In this six-session course we will compare and contrast translations of selected ancient Assyrian and Babylonian myths and ritual texts side-by-side with the biblical texts they influence, tracing the evolution of imagery and language surrounding God the King and God's relationship to the kings of Israel.

OTHER GODS BEFORE ME - THE GODS AND GODDESSES OF SUMER AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL
Spring 2021

How does the God of Israel emerge among the divinities of the Ancient Near East? In this series we will explore some of the work of the Sumerologist and biblical scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky in her book In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth. New York: Macmillan/Free Press, 1992.
Among the topics we will explore: The polytheism in the Ancient Near East and how it transforms in the monotheism of the Bible; the power of nature in the Ancient Near East and in the hands of the One God; How mastery of the human body (healing, childbirth, death) is expressed among the gods of the Ancient Near East and by the God of Israel; relationship of human beings to the ancient gods and to the God of Israel.

BATTLE OF THE GODS: THE MYTHS OF BAAL VS. THE GOD OF ISRAEL
Fall 2020

In Canaanite myth, Baal is characterized as Rider of the Clouds, Ruler of the Storm, Subduer of the Sea and Lord of Fertility. While the seat of Baal worship was destroyed in 1200 BCE, the power of its archaic traditions captivated Israelites, from farmers and herdsmen to transgressive priests and leaders, luring them to alien worship and seducing Israel into abandoning the covenant at Sinai. Over time, the language, imagery and rituals associated with Baal have come also to suffuse the worship of Israel’s God. This semester we examine how the struggle between Baal and Yahweh plays out throughout the biblical story of ancient Israel from the Book of Judges through the prophets and the psalms, and how its traces mark our Jewish lives today.