FYSP 131 - How Early Jews and Christians Rewrote the Bible

This course may also count for the major in (consult the program or department major requirements) :
Jewish Studies
Semester Offered: First Semester
Credits (Range): 4 hours
Attribute: 4HU, CD, WR
The first Jewish interpreters of the Bible (including the first Christians) did not just passively read the biblical text, they rewrote it, filling in its narrative gaps with fanciful subplots and using difficult passages as jumping-off points for leaps of poetic and philosophical fancy. We will study these interpretations in early Rabbinic and Christian writings, the Talmud, the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha, Josephus, and elsewhere, together with the underlying principles of such creative close reading (called midrash in the Jewish tradition).
Enrollment Limit: 14
Instructor: A. Socher
Consent of the Instructor Required: Yes