Notes on the Syllabus

The following syllabus was used for an advanced seminar on the flood narrative (Genesis 6-9) during the spring term of 2012. It was chosen because it is the only biblical narrative that has clear connections to all the major literatures relevant for the study of the Hebrew Bible: the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, the Documentary Hypothesis concerning the composition of the Pentateuch, intertextual allusions within the Hebrew Bible, and all major postbiblical literature: apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, rabbinic literature, the New Testament, the Nag Hammadi texts, the Church Fathers and the Quran. For each class students read a primary source and prepared brief introductions on that source, using suggested reference guides. As a final paper students were requested to choose a biblical story, and write a seminar paper following the same exercise, and searching for relevant material using suggested guides including Kugels book, Ginzbergs Legends, and various indices of these ancient texts.

AFTER THE DELUGE (AND BEFORE): BIBLICAL FORMATION AND RECEPTION IN LIGHT OF THE FLOOD NARRATIVE
Aryeh Amihay Details: RLST 505; CRN 3972 Room Main Hall 003 T Th 2:30-4:20 Office 410 (phone: 832-7202) Office Hours: By Appointment aryeh.amihay@lawrence.edu

Books Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible Kugel, The Bible As It Was

Instructions The course will focus on reading primary texts. Students are expected to prepare the text as follows: (1) know the date, provenance, original language, and basic content of the books from which the texts are assigned. Basic information on texts can be found in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, the Encyclopaedia Judaica and the Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (all located at the reference section of Mudd library). Additional suggestions for further readings are provided throughout the syllabus; (2) read the text assigned, and raise questions on it, for discussion in class; (3) bring copy of assigned text for class. Assignments Students will choose a biblical story in consultation with instructor (only one per customer!) to analyze, following the paradigm of the course. Students will practice peer-review, by reading papers of other students, and offering constructive feedback on their peers work. April 23: Deadline of Midterm paper. 3-5 pages analyzing possible gaps and problems in selected biblical passage (Hebrew Bible). May 7: Deadline to submit peer-review comments. Grading: 30% Midterm 15% Peer-Review Feedback 40% Seminar Paper (~20 pp.) 15% Participation

Class 1 (Mar. 27) Intro Kugel, 1-49

Class 2 (Mar. 29) Hebrew Bible: Documentary Hypothesis Genesis 6-9 [any English version is acceptable. The Jewish Study Bible (ed. Berlin and Brettler) and the Oxford Study Bible (ed. Suggs, Sakenfeld and Mueller) are available on Reserves] Friedman, 17-27, 44-47, 50-63, 87-88, 188-192, 204-206 [see also 246-247] Robert Kawashima gives his explanation of the Documentary Hypothesis (or: Source Criticism) using the example of the flood narrative in Hendel (ed.), Reading Genesis, 47-70 [reserves].

Class 3 (Apr. 3) Hebrew Bible: Biblical Intertextuality Gn 1, 5(-9), 10-11, 19; Isa 54-55; Ezekiel 14; Jonah (whole book); Ps 29 [texts as in last week: online or Reserves, using JSB or OSB] For background you may consult one of the following: Fishbane, Michael. "Types of Biblical Intertextuality." In Congress Volume - Oslo 1998, edited by Andr Lemaire and Magne Sb, 39-44. Leiden: Brill, 2000. [on Moodle] Zakovitch, Yair. Inner-Biblical Interpretation. In Reading Genesis: Ten Methods (ed. R. S. Hendel; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 92-118. [reserves, under Hendel]

Class 4 (Apr. 5) Ancient Near East Sumerian Flood myth; Atrahasis; Gilgamesh Epic, Tablet 11; [Reserves: Pritchard, ANET 42-44, 104-106, 93-97]

For background you may consult one of the following: Smith, George. "The Chaldean Account of the Deluge." In The Flood Myth (ed. Daniel Dundes; Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1988), 29-48. [on Moodle] Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. The Atrahasis Epic and Its Significance for Our Understanding of Genesis 1-9. In The Flood Myth (ed. Daniel Dundes; Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1988), 61-73. [on Moodle]

Amihay, After the Deluge (and Before) -RLST 505

Class 5 (Apr. 10) Second Temple Literature 1: Retellings of Biblical Narrative Read Kugel, Bible As It Was, 17-26! His Four Assumptions will be relevant for almost everything examined from this point onwards. [Primary texts can be found online or on the reserves in Charlesworth, James H, ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1985 (volume 2)] - Jubilees 4:16-10:17 (+ mentions of Noah in Jub 14:20, 21:10) [Charlesworth, OTP 2:62-76, 85, 95] - LAB (Pseudo-Philo) 2-5 (+ mentions of Noah in chapters 13, 19; mention of flood in chapter 16) [Charlesworth, OTP 2:305-310, 321, 324, 328) For background see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 97-104, 107-110.

Class 6 (Apr. 12) Second Temple Literature: Apocalypses: 1 Enoch [Texts can be found online or on the reserves in Charlesworth, James H, ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983 (volume 1)] - 1 Enoch 6-11, 60, 64-68, 83-89 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:15-19, 40-42, 44-47, 61-64] For background on 1 Enoch, see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 90-92, 94-97. On apocalyptic literature, see ibid. 383-406, or Himmelfarb, The Apocalyptic Vision in the Oxford Study Bible [Reserves]. Class 7 (Apr. 17) Other Second Temple Traditions Testament of Reuben 5 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:784]; Testament of Naphtali 3 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:812] Testament of Benjamin 7-9 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:827] 2 Baruch 56 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:641]; 3 Baruch 4 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:666-669]; 4 Baruch 7 [Charlesworth, OTP 2:422-423] 4 Macc 15 [Charlesworth, OTP 2:559-561] Wisdom of Solomon 10 [Oxford Study Bible, ed. Suggs et al, 1106-1107] Sirach 44 [Oxford Study Bible, ed. Suggs et al, 1166-1177 note that the book is titled Ecclesiasticus in this version] Sibylline Oracles Book 1, lines 65-306 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:336-342] Sibylline Oracles Book 3, lines 796-829 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:379-380]

Suggestion for background reading: On Testaments see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 325-344. On Apocalyptic literature (including Baruch), see ibid. 383-394, 408-412; On Wisdom literature (incl. WisSol and Sirach), see ibid. 283-313; On the Sibylline Oracles, see ibid. 357-381.

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Class 8 (Apr. 19) Dead Sea Scrolls Texts found in Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls in English, on reserves, except for those on Moodle. Fitzmyer is optional for those who want to read more about the Genesis Apocrypon. - Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen) cols. 6-17 (Fitzmyer, The Genesis Apocryphon, 55-59 or Vermes 450-453 + more on Moodle!) - Commentary on Genesis (4Q252, fr. 1; 4Q254) [Vermes, 461-462, 465] - Commentary on Genesis (4Q253, fr. 1; 4Q254a) [Moodle] - 4Q180 [Vermes, 520] - 4Q422 [Vermes, 446] - 4Q244 [Moodle] - 4Q370 [Vermes, 518-519] - 4Q577 [Moodle] - Damascus Document (CD) I-III [Vermes, 127-129] On the Dead Sea Scrolls, see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 483-496, 104-107. April 23rd: Deadline for Midterm! Class 9 (Apr. 24) Birth Narratives Qumran fragments in Vermes, Dead Sea Scrolls in English or on Moodle; others in Charlesworth, OTP - 1 Enoch 106-108 (=4Q204) [Charlesworth, OTP 1:86-89; Vermes, 514-515] - 2 Enoch 70-73 [Charlesworth, OTP 1:200-213 note that there are two versions, side by side] - Genesis Apocryphon (1QapGen), cols. 2-5 [Vermes, 449-450; Fitzmyer, 51-55] - 1Q19 [Vermes, 521] - 4Q534-536 [Vermes, 522+Moodle] - Comparisons (on Moodle): Sargon of Agade [ANET 119]; Jesus (Mt 1-2; Lk 1) Mosess birth in the Talmud (b. Sotah 12a). [Moodle] For context of significance of birth narratives, you may consult Freuds Moses and Monotheism or the preceding The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, by Otto Rank (on Moodle). On texts, see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 93-94, 104-107. Class 10 (Apr. 26) Deucalion: The Hellenistic Noah Berossus, Of the Cosmogony and the Deluge [Moodle] Apollodorus, Library 1.7.2 [Reserves] Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1.176-437.; 7.350-356 [Reserves] Virgil, Georgics 1.43-70 [Reserves]

See also Garca Martnez and Luttikhuizen, eds. Interpretations of the Flood, 39-65.

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Class 11 (May 1) Philo (all texts on Moodle) - On Rewards and Punishments IV - On the Giants I-III, XV - On the Migration of Abraham XXII - On the Confusion of Tongues XXII - On the Unchangeableness of God XV-XXV - On Husbandry I-VI - On Sobriety X-XIII - Allegorical Interpretation II, XVI - Questions and Answers on Genesis II (find three questions to discuss in class) On Philo, see M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 233, 252-280. Reading Period, no class (May 3): prepare peer-review comments May 7th: Deadline for Peer-Review Comments! Class 12 (May 8) Josephus (all texts on Moodle) - Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, chapter 3; chapter 6, segment 3. - Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, chapter 2 (segments 1-2) - Against Apion 1.19-20 For background and context, consult prefaces to these works, in book one of each, as well as preface to War of the Jews. See also M.E. Stone, ed. Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period, 185-192, 210-225. For Josephuss interpretation of the Noah story, see Feldman, Studies in Josephuss Rewritten Bible, 17-37. Class 13 (May 10) New Testament Any English version is acceptable. The Oxford Study Bible (ed. Suggs, Sakenfeld and Mueller) is available on Reserves. - Matt 3, 8, 14, 24; Mark 1; Luke 3, 17; John 1 - 1 Cor 3; 2 Thess 1; - Heb 11; 1Peter 3; 2 Peter 2-3; Rev 11, 14, 21 For background you may consult the introductions to each of these books in the New Oxford Study Bible or B.D. Ehrman, The New Testament, 1-18, 83-91, 154-168, 285-300, 416-417, 434-436, 456-458, 464-474 [Reserves]. Class 14 (May 15) Gnosticism and New Testament Apocrypha [Texts on Reserves in Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library in English, except for the Apocalypse of Paul, which is in Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha. All texts can be found online in various translations, but the numbering of passages follows the editions on reserves] - Apocryphon of John 23-32 (Robinson, NHL in English, 111-116).

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- Hypostasis of the Archons 92-97 (start from one line before 92, Again Eve became pregnant. Robinson, 156160. - Apocalypse of Adam 64-77 (entire text. Robinson, 256-264). - Paraphrase of Shem 2-4, 25-29, 44-45 (Robinson, 309-310, 319-321, 326-327) - Apocalypse of Paul 1-4, 48-50 (Schneemelcher and Wilson, New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 2: 716-717, 738740) For background see introductions in the mentioned volumes (NHLE and NTA), as well as Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, 48-69; King, What is Gnosticism? 149-175, 191-217. Class 16 (May 17) The Apologists and the Church Fathers - Justin Martyr, Dialogue 19-20, 44-45, 139-139 - Tertullian, Apparel of Women III - Tertullian, On Baptism VIII - Tertullian, Answer to the Jews II - Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book 2, chapter 14 - Origen, Homilies on Genesis and Exodus, II (pp. 72-88) - Ambrose of Milan, Mysteries, 3-4 For background you may consult von Campenhausen, The Fathers of the Latin Church, 4-35 (Tertullain), 87129. (Ambrose) Hauser and Watson, eds. A History of Biblical Interpretation, 316-321, 334-352. Class 15 (May 22) Church Fathers 2: Augustine City of God, Book XV, 24 Book XVI, 2, 7 [if using the link on Moodle, note that it will lead you directly to Book XV, chapter 24. Continue reading, clicking Next, until you reach chapter 2 in Book XVI, then skip to chapter 7) See Hauser and Watson, History of Biblical Interpretation, 380-407. Class 17 (May 24) Rabbinic Literature + Targum Genesis Rabbah XXX, 5 XXXVI, 7 (in The Midrash, vol. 1, 234-293) dont spend time on
understanding the ones that are too opaque. Focus on interpretative questions and maneuvers that you can follow (whether you agree or not), and prepare to discuss those in class (i.e., write down sections of interest for discussion).

Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 70a, 107b-108b. Targum Neophiti on Gn 5-10 Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Gn 5-10, 14

The Targum is a translation of the Pentateuch to Aramaic. These English translations note deviations from the original text of the Hebrew Bible in italics, which is the main thing you will want to examine. For background on Targum, you may consult Mahers introduction (on Moodle). For midrash, see Kugel, Two Introductions to Midrash. Both also have excellent chapters in Hauser and Winston, A History of Biblical Interpretation (Targum: 167-189; Midrash: 198-219).

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Class 18 (May 29) Noah in the Quran Quran: Surah 7:59-64; 10:71-73; 11:25-49; 23:23-31; 26:105-122; 54:9-17; 71 (entire Surah). Optional: Introduction by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (in his The Quran: A New translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). Class 19 (May 31) Conclusion Read at least one paper on Noah (Bernstein or Stone), and at least one methodological paper on biblical interpretation. Bernstein, Moshe J. "Noah and the Flood at Qumran." In The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Donald W. Parry and Eugene Charles Ulrich, 199-231. Leiden, Boston and Kln: Brill, 1999. Stone, Michael E. "The Axis of History at Qumran." In Pseudepigraphic Perspectives: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, edited by Michael E. Stone and Esther G. Chazon, 133-49. Leiden, Boston and Kln: Brill, 1999.

Crawford, Sidnie White. Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times. Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008. 1-15. Hendel, Ronald S., ed. Reading Genesis: Ten Methods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 1-13. Kister, Menahem. A Common Heritage: Biblical Interpretation at Qumran and Its Implications. In Biblical Perspectives: Early Use of and Interpretation of the Bible in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls (edited by Michael E. Stone and Esther Glickler Chazon; Leiden, Boston and Kln: Brill, 1998), 101-11.

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