Course outline

Week 1:
Reading— All of Genesis.
Topics— Myth and History, ways of looking at texts, covenant and sacrifice, big surprises.

Week 2:
Reading— Exodus 1-25, Leviticus 20-21, Deuteronomy 29-34, All of Ruth.
Topics— God’s will, the all-powerful, Women, The Law

Week 3:
Reading— I&II Samuel, I Kings,
Topics— History and folk-history, reading between the lines, Divine right of Kings

Week 4:
Reading— Selected Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Selected Proverbs, Job
Topics— Hebrew Poetics, Existentialism and the Bible, Eroticism and the Bible, Humanism and Divine justice. The Devil.

Week 5:
Reading— Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah
Topics— Prophetic language, literalism and interpretation, Apocalypse, Humor, Finishing up.