Hist 282/JWST 234

History of the Jewish People I:

From the Bible to the end of the Middle Ages

 

Fall 2004

T/Th 9:30-10:20 AM

 

Instructors:

Hayim Lapin (Associate Professor), 2102Q FSK, x54296; hl49@umail.umd.edu

              Office Hours: Th 10:30-11:30

Elizabeth Connor (Graduate instructor, elizabethm32@yahoo.com): Sections: 0104 (W. 11-11:50), 0105 (W. 10-10:50), 0106 (F. 1-1:50), and 0107 (F. 12-12:50)

Daniel Stotland (Graduate instructor, dstot@hotmail.com): Sections: 0101 (M. 11-11:50), 0102 (M. 10-10:50), 0103 (T. 2-2:50), and 0108 (Th. 2-2:50)

Requirements:

Quizzes: On weeks where there is no other assignment due you may expect a brief (5-10 minute) quiz in section covering the readings due both in lecture and in section. Cumulatively, these will be worth 10% of the semester grade.

Writing Assignments: Two written assignments, to be submitted for grading. These are described at the end of the syllabus. These are due in section during the week of September 13 and the week of November 16. 15% each, 30% total.

Maps:  Three maps on the "Biblical," "Ancient," and "Medieval" worlds. These will be worth 3% of the semester grade each. (Week of Sept. 21, Oct. 12, Nov. 9, respectively.)

Midterm Exam: Largely short answer, taken in class. 20% of the Semester grade.

Final Exam: Take-Home. Final will include (1) information-based questions covering the period after the midterm; and (2) broad thematic essays that ask you to discuss a topic, theme, or problem over the course of the semester as a whole. 31% of the Semester Grade

Books ordered at the Bookstore:

Judith Baskin, ed., Jewish Women in Historical Perspective (=Jewish Women)

Adele Berlin, ed., Oxford Jewish Study Bible (=JSB)

David Biale, ed., Cultures of The Jews: A New History (=Cultures)

Barry Holtz, ed., Back to the Sources (=Back)


Final Exam


Link to Lecture Notes on line.
Review Sheet/Study Guide

 

Date

Lecture

Week's discussion and assignment

Aug. 31

Introduction to the Course

Introduction to course, chronology.

Books of the Bible (Tanakh, LXX): JSB 2076 (Table)

Note chronological tables, JSB 2106-2113

The Bible and the Origins of the Jewish People

Sept 2

1. What is Biblical Israel?

JSB 2048-2062

Pardes, in Cultures, 9-43

Rosenberg, in Back, 31-82

Documentary Hypothesis Handout.

Sept. 7

2. Israelite Origins: Archaeology and Texts

Callaway, Miller, "The Settlement in Canaan," in H. Shanks, Ancient Israel, 55-89. (Electronic Reserves)

 

Sept. 9

3. Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

1 Samuel 6-12 [pp. 571-583]

2 Samuel 1-5:3 [pp. 619-27]

1 Kings 11:25-14:31 [pp. 699-707]

2 Kings 17-19 [pp. 758-767]

Psalm 89 [pp. 1381-1384]

Psalm 132 [pp. 143-2]

Sept. 13

Makeup session

4. Exile, Restoration

2 Kings 23:36-25:30 [pp. 775-779]

Jeremiah 39-44 pp. [pp. 1005-1015]

Ezra 1; 7; Nehemiah 10 [pp. 1671-1672, 1680-1682, 1704-1705] (10:1 is verse 9:38 in Christian Bibles)

Zechariah 1-8 [pp. 1250-1258]

Proclamation of Cyrus

Passover letter (Elephantine)

Petition to rebuilt the Judaean temple at Elephantine

Documentary Hypothesis exercise.
Handout.
Due in section

Sept. 14

5. Israel in the context of the Ancient Near East

Hendel, in Cultures, 43-76

Sept. 16

Rosh Hashanah-Class re-scheduled

Sept. 21

6. Religion of Israel, Religion of the Bible

Cultic Calendar Handout

Nidich, in Jewish Women, 25-45

Greenstein, in Back, 83-103

Ezra 1 and Proclamation of Cyrus

Proclamation of Cyrus

Ezra 1 [p. 1671-1672]

Map 1 (handout) due in section

The Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods

Sept. 23

1. Conquest of Alexander and "Hellenization"

Meyers, in Cultures, 135-180

Sept. 27 Makeup session

2. Hasmonean Revolt, the Herodian Era

1 Maccabees 1-5

2 Maccabees 3-5, 7

Jewish, Judaean Temples in other places

"Schism" of Jeroboam (1Kgs 11:25-14:31 [700-5]

Elephantine

Oniad Temple in Egypt (Josephus, War 1.1.1; 7.10.2-3; Antiquities, 13.3.1-3) [scroll to the appropriate passage]

Sept. 28

3. Development and Growth of the Diaspora

Gruen, in Cultures, 77-134

Sept. 30

Sukkot (first day)-Class re-scheduled

Oct. 4 Makeup session

4. End of the Bible/Birth of the Bible

JSB 1829-1835, 1835-1844

Lichtenstein in Back, 105-127

Emperor Claudius and Josephus on the Status of Jews in Alexandria

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 19.278-91 (handout)

Claudius, Letter to the Alexandrians (handout)

 

Oct. 5

5. End of the Bible/Birth of the Bible (cont'd)

Oct. 7

Shemini Atseret--Class re-scheduled

Oct. 12

6. Religious and Sectarian Movements

JSB 1920-1929

Midterm Exam Review
Map 2 (handout) due in section

Oct. 14

7. Revolts against Rome in Palestine and Diaspora, 66-135

Tacitus Histories 5.1-13  (class handout)

Josephus (handout), Cassius Dio, Eusebius selections (handout)

 

Oct, 19

Midterm Exam--in class

Tacitus's account of the Jews' revolt against Rome: Tacitus Histories 5.1-13

 

 

Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity: the Making of Classical Judaism

Oct. 21

1. Romanization and Christianization in Palestine and the Roman Empire

Irshai, in Cultures, 182-222.

Oct. 26

2. Jews in Mesopotamia

Gafni, in Cultures 223-266.

Laws of the Christian emperors. (1) Some examples ; (2) a summary. Beware of the editors' bias.

Oct. 28

3. Principal Texts of the Rabbinic Corpus

Goldenberg, in Back, 129-176

Holtz, in Back, 177-212

Nov. 2

4. Creation of Rabbinic Culture

Wegner, in Jewish Women, 73-100.

B. Bokser, Origins of the Seder. (Electronic Reserves)

Nov. 4

5. The "Other" Jews of Late Antiquity

Kramer, in Women, 46-72

Nov. 9

6. Synagogues and Liturgy

Liturgy handout (mat'l also in notes)
JSB
1929-1948

Mintz, in Back, 403-429

Inscriptions regarding women in late antiquity
Map 3 due in section

Jews and Judaism in the Middle Ages

Nov. 11

1. Jews in the Formative Period of Islam

Firestone, in Cultures, 267-302

Nov. 16

2. A "Golden Age"?

Scheindlin, in Cultures, 313-388.

"Charters" for Jewish Charters for communities in Christian Europe

· Speyer 1084
· England 1190 (shortly after the massacre of Jews at York!)
· Austria 1244

Paper due in section (Handout)

 

Nov. 18

3. Jews in the World of Medieval Christendom

Marcus, in Cultures, 449-518.

Nov. 23

6. Jewish Christian Disputation: Film

Maimonides, Guide, "Parable of the Castle"

Zohar, extract

 

Nov. 25

Thanksgiving: No Class

Nov. 30

4. Gender and Religion in Medieval Jewish Culture

   Handout on medieval Jewry
Baskin, in Jewish Women
, 101-128

Greenstein, in Back, 213-260

Dec. 2

5. Jewish Mysticism and Philosophy

JSB 1948-1990

Samuelson, in Back, 261-304

Fine, in Back, 305-360

Dec. 7

7. Christian Spain, Expulsions and New Horizons

Gampel, in Cultures, 389-448

Final Exam Review

Dec. 9

Unfinished Business, Review

Final Exam Due: Saturday Dec, 18, 8:00
Alternatives Discussed in Class