Then and Now
I have been in Rome this semester, which has been an extraordinary experience. I have been working especially hard on my new book, which should be finished soon. I’ve been invited to speak about it in Paris on December 12 (in English!)- if you are in the area, I’d love to see you!
In my book, How the Bible Became Holy, I suggested that both Josephus and Paul should be seen in a similar light: Jews from Jerusalem who, like many in their class, were brought up with little knowledge of Hebrew or Scripture, and whose first real exposure to written Scripture was in Greek translation in the Diaspora. I have published a few preliminary studies on this, and not that long ago published the scholarly version for the argument about Paul. Now the scholarly article on Josephus, “Josephus’s Knowledge of Scripture,” has just appeared in the Journal of Ancient Judaism. The article can be accessed here, but requires either a fee or institutional access to Brill. Here, though, is the Abstract:
Scholars have long debated whether Josephus learned Scripture while he was in Jerusalem or only once he got to Rome. The question intersects with, and is hard to answer without, a more general assessment of language use and the education of the (priestly) elite in Jerusalem at that time. This paper argues that Josephus knew little Hebrew and never learned to read Scripture in the original; he was, in this respect, typical of the Jewish elite. His introduction to written Scripture was in its Greek translation, in Rome.
Throughout my teaching career, I have dabbled with the topic of antisemitism. The closest that I came to tackling it head-on was one called “Judaism and Christianity in Conflict,” which was more a survey of theological polemics. What happened in Paris first, and then Pittsburgh, though, was a wake-up call for me, and in my state of, “what the hell is happening and why,” I proposed a new, comprehensive survey course on the history of antisemitism. The last couple of months have again emphasized to me the unfortunate need for such a course (although whether students identify that need is yet to be seen).
The syllabus was difficult to put together (the whole topic, of course, is difficult) and I benefited greatly from the generosity of colleagues (especially Stephanie Cobb). You can access my syllabus here. Any feedback would be welcome and I’ll let you know how it goes at the end of the semester.
I have taught an introductory level undergraduate course, “How the Bible Became Holy,” several times at Brown and will be doing so again this fall. The course gives (but does not insist on) a loose narrative to the history of the biblical text, but is really intended to introduce students to biblical literature and history and to think more deeply about the intersection between the two. Every time I teach the course I tinker a bit, and this time is no exception. My ideal would be to teach this course using my own book, but that feels too weird to me.
The current version of the syllabus (in pdf format) can be found here. Suggestions for improvements in future renditions are always welcome.
I have been teaching for many years in the Me’ah adult learning program run by Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. I’ve always enjoyed teaching in this program and having the opportunity to interact with the wider Jewish community. Such teaching continually reminds me of the value in making what I, and other scholars, do accessible to a broader audience. Toward that end, when Me’ah asked if I would be interested in developing some videos and other resources for them for a module on the Geonim (the rabbis who lived at the very end of the Talmudic period and the shift to the Middle Ages) for one of their online courses, I jumped at the opportunity. I do not believe that online education (even when done well) will, or should, ever replace the live experience of learning, but at the same time I think that we have just barely begun to tap its potential and it is an area in which I would like to work more.
In any case, below are the videos, all now also available on YouTube:
And here is Study_Guide with some aids and suggestions.