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For a while I’ve been interested in how Paul and Josephus, and people like them, would have learned Scripture.  When and how would they have learned to read Hebrew and Greek, particularly at the level required to engage the Tanakh?  How well did they learn it?  How typical would would their knowledge have been?

I discussed these issues briefly in my book, How the Bible Became Holy.  Later, I published a short piece in which I sketch out the argument for Paul, which can be found here.  I recently published a fuller, academic version of this argument in the volume Strength to Strength: Essays in Honor of Shaye J. D. Cohen.

My argument, in short, is that Paul shows all the signs of having been educated in Jerusalem in a fashion typical of other upper-class Jews.  Growing up, he knew Scripture mainly through stories and perhaps oral readings in Aramaic translation; he most likely did not read it, especially not in Hebrew.  Only later, as he went to more Greek speaking areas, did he begin to read to Scripture more intensively, and then in its Greek translation.  This is a reconstruction that is obviously at odds with that of Acts, and I attempt to explain that discrepancy as well.

In a future piece, I hope to deal with Josephus.

I am delighted to announce the publication of the book Strength to Strength: Essays in Honor of Shaye J. D. Cohen, which I had the pleasure of editing.  At over 700 pages, it contains 39 original essays by many of the leading scholars in the field.  Also contains a full bibliography of Professor Cohen’s writings and an appreciation.  And the price is quite reasonable!  Please consider recommending it to your library.

Table of Contents

Order on Amazon

Order at SBL Press

I am preparing to teach my first online course during Brown’s Wintersession, beginning this December.  It is a version of a course I have taught (and will teach again) to undergraduates, called “Judaism, Christianity, Islam.”  Preparing this course – still in process – has been quite the experience.  It may be possible for non-Brown students to register for the class (for credit from Brown); if you are interested you should check with the Brown registrar.  In any event, I am linking the intro video.  Please let me know what you think, but be gentle – this is my first try at this!

This semester I am teaching my “Great Jewish Books” class again.  It is targeted for undergraduates and meant to introduce them to the general shape of the “Judaic conversation” while having them wrestle with categories such as Jewish literature.  By the end of the course, students should be able:

1. To identify several major works of the Jewish canon, their historical context and importance;
2. To identify, critique, evaluate, and apply to one’s own life some of the major themes and important ideas that run through this literature, such as: the nature of human beings; how to live a good and moral life; obedience and freedom; home and exile; and personal identity;
3. To evaluate and critique the category of “Jewish literature”;
4. To compare and contrast the works examined in this class in order to identify the relationships between them;
5. To write better;
6. To better constructively critique both other people’s writing and your own;
7. To develop your presentation and teaching skills

A copy of the syllabus is here.