Then and Now
This fall I will be teaching the course “The Land of Israel in the Religious Imagination: From Antiquity to the Present” as a continuing education course. It is open to all and will have a hybrid format. You can attend in person in Providence or over Zoom from elsewhere. To register, follow the instructions on the flyer.
In 2009-2010, I created a podcast, “From Israelite to Jew,” that traced the evolution of the Israelites and their religion to Jews and Judaism. The podcast covers the time period from around the seventh century BCE to the third century CE, the time approximately known as “Second Temple” period. My views have shifted somewhat, and today I am closer to the opinions I discuss in my book, How the Bible Became Holy (Yale University Press). Nevertheless, I still believe that there is merit to the podcast, and I’ve noticed that changes in the platforms I used have made it increasingly difficult to access.
For now, I am simply reposting the episodes to make them easier to access. They can all be found on this page.
Over the next few months I’ll be rereleasing them in batches. The series will thus be available on most popular podcast sites (e.g., Spotify). As I release them on these platforms, I will announce them on my blog and through my Substack. If there is sufficient interest and support, I will also occasionally add written updates and provide resources for them along the way. Also depending on interest and support (which can be given at my blog), I may even end up continuing it into the rabbinic period, and/or creating episodes that bring on other scholars to discuss these issues.
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.