This spring I will once again be teaching my course, “How the Bible Became Holy.” This is an undergraduate survey that spans from the biblical period to around the third century CE. As always, I have tweaked a little. A copy of the syllabus is here. Should you desire to teach a version of this and would like the syllabus in Word to allow for editing, please contact me directly. Any suggestions, as always, are also welcome.
Teaching
Workshop: Jewish Attitudes Toward Wealth and Poverty
I am very happy to announce an upcoming workshop at Brown University that I am coordinating, “Jewish Attitudes Toward Wealth and Poverty,” to take place on November 1-3, 2015. More information can be found on the workshop website.
A description:
Traditional Jewish texts present different approaches to wealth, poverty, and money. The purpose of this conference is both to identify these texts and to explore the diversity of their ideas. Accordingly, the conference will be organized around particular texts dealing with specific issues. Conference time will be spent primarily in study of and conversation about these texts. Our ultimate goal is to produce a volume that includes the texts (in original translations) with short commentaries.
The conference will be organized around the following themes:
- Ownership: Is there a concept of “private property,” or does all property ultimately belong to God and/or the community? What can acquire the status of “property”?
- The Moral Value of Wealth and Poverty: Is being wealthy a sign of divine favor? Is poverty ultimately a “better” state in which to live?
- The Acquisition of Wealth: Are there better or worse ways to acquire wealth? Can one make money off the labor of others? How is the biblical prohibition against charging interest treated, and what are its ramifications?
- Spending: What are good and bad ways of disposing of wealth? Do the poor have rights to the wealth of others?
Each of the four sessions will be prefaced with some comments from the facilitators. Participants will then break out into smaller groups to read and discuss the texts, guided by focus questions. Everybody will then reconvene for a general discussion.
The Wisdom of Ben Sira: How Jewish?
I have written a short piece on how the book of Ben Sira (also known as Ecclesiasticus, which today is found in the Apocrypha) was pushed to the Jewish margins and on some recent attempts to bring it back into at least the fringes of Jewish consciousness. The essay can be found here.
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religion
For the last several years I have worked as a co-editor on The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religion, “the first comprehensive single-volume reference work offering authoritative coverage of ancient religions in the Mediterranean world.” It is now available for pre-order, with publication scheduled for December 15, 2015. While I have my own skepticism about the proliferation of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks, I genuinely believe that this fills an important niche for those in the field. I am especially proud of the fact that so many excellent scholars contributed to the work. Check it out here.
Interview: How the Bible Became Holy
I recently gave an interview to “New Books in Jewish Studies.” The interview (about 30 minutes) can be heard here.