Na'ama Pat-El

This course is a lecture-based survey course aimed to introduce students to major themes in Middle Eastern Studies. This year, the course covers four themes: "the self and other", "language and identity", "construction of leadership and authority" and "immigration and its aftermath". During two of the weekly meetings, various members of the faculty will offer lectures relating to one of these themes, concentrating on their period, geographical area and field of research. The third meeting of the week will be dedicated to discussing the lectures comparatively, in view of both distinct features and overarching threads.

Texts

Texts will be posted on Blackboard

Grading

Class attendance, participation and preparation: 20%

Postings on the website: 20%

Midterm exam: 20%

Final exam: 40%

A survey of the Semitic languages and a review of the basic features of their phonology, morphology, and syntax.Prerequisite: Knowledge of two Semitic languages, or permission from instructor.

Texts

Campbell, Lyle. 2003. Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT.Huehnergard, John. 2011. Comparative and Historical Semitic Grammar: An Introduction. Unpublished manuscript. Pdf on course website.Rubin, Aaron D. 2010. A Brief Introduction to the Semitic Languages. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias.Huehnergard, John. 2004. Afro-Asiatic and Semitic. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s An­cient Languages, ed. Roger D. Woodard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 138–59. Reprinted in The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, ed. Roger D. Woodard. Cam­bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 225–46. Pdf on course website.Huehnergard, John. 2009. Trees and Waves: On the Classification of the Semitic Languages. Unpub­lished manuscript. Pdf on course website.

Grading

Midterm exam: 25%Final exam: 30%Assignments (transliteration; consonants; reconstruction; lexicon): 25%Class participation: 20%

This course aims to familiarize the students with the general content of the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew Bible and relevant Near Eastern material. Attention will be given to the different types of prophecy portrayed in the Bible, the social and historical background of the prophet, and the development and maintenance of the prophetic literature. During the semester students will read large portions of the prophetic books and major themes will be discussed in class.

Texts

BiblePetersen, The Prophetic Literature

Grading

Class participation and preparation 30%; presentations 20%; midterm 20%; final 30%

To be provided by instructor.

This course aims to familiarize the students with the general content of the prophetic corpus of the Hebrew Bible and relevant Near Eastern material. Attention will be given to the different types of prophecy portrayed in the Bible, the social and historical background of the prophet, and the development and maintenance of the prophetic literature. During the semester students will read large portions of the prophetic books and major themes will be discussed in class.

Texts

BiblePetersen, The Prophetic Literature

Grading

Class participation and preparation 30%; presentations 20%; midterm 20%; final 30%

In a series of four courses, all Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East graduate students will read the Hebrew Bible in its entirety, in Hebrew (and the small amount of Aramaic that also appears).  This schedule amounts to approximately 30 pages of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia each week.  In addition, each professor will stress some element of Biblical Hebrew or the Hebrew Bible, e.g.,  historical grammar or syntax.

Texts

To be provided by instructor. 

Grading

To be provided by instructor. 

The Hebrew bible (the Old Testament) is a foundation text of Western culture and was subject to many interpretations for over 2000 years. The goal of the course is to look at the Bible as a text and investigate its meaning in the context of its historical and cultural setting in the Ancient Near East. The course examines the Bible through a wide range of approaches, including source criticism and the historical-critical school. Special emphasis is placed on the Bible against the backdrop of its historical and cultural setting in the Ancient Near East.

Texts

Coogan: The Old Testament

Coogan: The New Oxford Annotated Bible

Grading

To be provided by instructor. 

Course Description:

In a series of four courses, all Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near East graduate students will read the Hebrew Bible in its entirety, in Hebrew (and the small amount of Aramaic that also appears).  This schedule amounts to approximately 30 pages of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia each week.  In addition, each professor will stress some element of Biblical Hebrew or the Hebrew Bible, e.g.,  historical grammar or syntax.

Requirements:

Class participation:  50%

Research paper:  50%

Possible Texts:

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon

Joüon-Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew

Bauer-Leander, Historische Grammatik der Hebräischen Sprache des Alten Testaments

Waltke-O'Connor, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

Armstrong-Busby-Carr, A Reader's Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament

The goal of this course is to equip the intermediate student of Biblical Hebrew to become a more independent and proficient reader of the biblical text. Students will read, listen to, discuss, and write about the Hebrew Bible in its original language. Class time will be spent activating Hebrew vocabulary and grammar by reading and discussing biblical narrative prose and poetic texts. Students will learn and practice how to use the major lexicons and reference grammars of Biblical Hebrew. Preparation for class will include reading, listening, and homework exercises.

Prerequisite: HEB 509 or equivalent first-year Biblical Hebrew course.

TEXTS/READINGS

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Hackett, Jo Ann. A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2010.