Classical Judaism: Jews in AntiquityJS 1200

Dr. Caryn Tamber-RosenauMWF 1:10-2 p.m. Garland Hall 301F

Office: Buttrick Hall 345E-mail: caryn.m.tamber-rosenau@vanderbilt.eduPhone: 615-875-8372Office hours: Monday 4-5 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m.-noon, or by appointment

Course description:

While the biblical period is an important precursor to the Jewish religion, what happened in the centuries afterward truly shaped Judaism into what it is today. This course will give students an overview of that era of Jewish history, from the Persian period through the rise of the rabbis (roughly 500 B.C.E.-500 C.E.). Topics covered will include the development of the Diaspora, the Maccabean Revolt and the Hasmonean Dynasty, the Herodians, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the growth and demise of Jewish sectarianism, the rise of Christianity, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the development of the synagogue, and the writing of rabbinic literature. Throughout the semester, students will sample texts produced during this period, including biblical materials, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and rabbinic texts.

Course goals:

To be able to recount and write about classical Jewish history, with special attention to Jewish interactions with the various empires of the time.

To explore the different kinds of Jewish literature produced in this period, and to be able to speak intelligently about the content and reliability of each.

To investigate scholarly debates about when during this period terms such as “Judaism” and “Jew” become appropriate designations.

To develop an appreciation for how the religion of the Bible developed into rabbinic Judaism, and how rabbinic Judaism became the dominant and enduring form of the religion.

Required books:Shaye J.D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah (3rd edition) (MM)

Lawrence Schiffman, From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (TT)

Lawrence Schiffman, Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (SR)

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Recommended book:Coogan, Michael D. et al., eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised

Standard Version (4th edition) (Bible)

Course requirements and policies:

1. New concepts will be introduced every class session, so students are strongly encouraged to make attendance and punctuality a priority. Excessive absences or lateness will affect a student’s grade, as will unexcused early departures from class. If you must miss class, please let me know in advance if at all possible; it will be your responsibility to make up work that you have missed.

2. Class participation is important! Please come to each class prepared to contribute to class discussions.

3. It is impossible to pay attention and participate if you are checking your e-mail or on Facebook (and it’s also incredibly rude), so I ask that you refrain from using your computer, tablet, or phone for any non-class-related purposes during class time. Failure to honor this rule will result in a lowered grade.

4. In between class sessions, I will occasionally need to communicate important information to the class via e-mail. It is your responsibility to check your university e-mail regularly.

5. There will be a midterm and a final exam. The midterm will be given in class on Wednesday, March 2. The final will be administered during the university’s finals period. When the university schedules the date, time, and room assignment for the final, I will notify you.

6. Four times during the semester, you will turn in a 2-3 page response paper. I will distribute a prompt in class and you will have one week to complete the paper. Due dates for the response papers are: February 1, February 26, March 28, and April 15.

7. Students will do one group project, for which groups will be chosen and assignments distributed in week 2 of the course.

Grading:

Midterm exam: 20%Final exam: 25%Response papers 30%Group project: 15%Attendance and participation: 10%

Honor Code:The Vanderbilt University Honor Code governs all aspects of this class. Cheating will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade on the assignment and possibly a referral to the Honor Council. Please see me if you are unsure how the Honor Code applies to a given assignment.

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Special Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:To receive reasonable accommodations for a disability at Vanderbilt University, students are to apply for services through the Disability Services Program. If you have a letter from the DSP granting you such accommodations, please make an appointment to discuss the matter with me.

Prolonged Illness or Other Emergency:If you experience a prolonged illness, family emergency, or other situation that will cause you to miss assignments and/or multiple class sessions, please notify the dean’s office as soon as possible. The dean will then contact all of your professors and instructors to notify them of the situation. If you have such a situation but have not contacted the dean’s office, I cannot make accommodations for you regarding missed assignments or classes.

Course Schedule:

Week 1

Monday, January 11Introductions, syllabus review, and origins of “Judaism” and “Jews”

Wednesday, January 13Chronology, terms, periods, and sourcesRead: TT 1-16, MM 6-8, 12-14

What terms are used to describe the religion of this period? What is at stake in how we label Judaism at this time?

What sources do we have available for the study of Classical Judaism? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

Friday, January 15Biblical originsRead: TT 17-32; Genesis 11:27-12:7, Exodus 19-20, Deuteronomy 12, 1 Samuel 8, 1

Kings 12, 2 Kings 17, 2 Kings 25, Ezekiel 18:1-4, Isaiah 53:7-11, Jeremiah 25 and 32

Where does authority come from in these different passages? What is God like? What is God’s relationship to the people? Do the people have loyalty to a nation? A tribe? A king? God? To what extent does Israel have a unique/exclusive relationship to God?

Week 2

Monday, January 18—NO CLASS-MLK DAY

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Wednesday, January 20The Persian PeriodRead: TT 33-59, Ezra 1-3, 7, 9-10; Nehemiah 1-6, 8, 13

From whence do Ezra, Nehemiah, and other communal leaders get their authority? What is the significance of the event in Nehemiah 8? How is exile described? Who are the “insiders” of the text? Who are the “outsiders”? Who are the foreign women? Schiffman writes on p38, “According to the biblical account, which we see no

compelling reason to set aside…” Do you agree?

Friday, January 22The Samaritan Schism; ElephantineRead: SR 73-78, 92-93, 97-98, 99-103; Ezra 4:1-5

What are the stated causes of the troubles between Samaritans and Jews? What is the relationship between the community at Elephantine and the Jews in

Jerusalem? Between the Elephantine community and the Persians?

Week 3

Monday, January 25The Hellenistic PeriodRead: TT 60-72; SR 125-138, 147-150; MM 26-37

What do scholars mean by “Hellenism”? What did a Hellenized city look like? What would have been the advantages and disadvantages of Hellenism for the Jews?

Was it an all-or-nothing proposition? What can Josephus and the Rabbis tell us about Jewish perceptions of the Greeks?

What limitations are there on using these sources?

Wednesday, January 27DiasporaRead: TT 80-90; SR 138-141, 180-182, 195-197

What can we say about life in the Diaspora differed from life in Palestine? How did Diaspora Jews relate to the larger communities in which they lived? What are the implications of Schiffman’s use of the term “pagan”? Are there

alternatives to this term?

Friday, January 29

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Jews and Gentiles in the Hellenistic WorldRead: TT 90-91; MM 38-41; SR 175-180, 182-186, 206-211

What is the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism? How much credence should we give Josephus’ account of the conversion of

Adiabene?

Week 4

Monday, February 1Canon, Septuagint, ApocryphaRead: TT 91-94, 121-127; MM 173-176, 181-185; SR 211-220Response paper #1 due

What is a canon? Did the Jews have one in the Hellenistic period? Which books were authoritative to Hellenistic period Jews? How do we know? What is the relationship of the Septuagint to the Hebrew?

Wednesday, February 3The Maccabean RevoltRead: TT 72-79; 1 Maccabees 1-4; 2 Maccabees 2:19-3:40, 6-7

What do we know about the structure of the Jewish community immediately before the revolt?

What were the causes of the revolt? Do different sources posit different causes? How do the perspectives of 1 and 2 Maccabees on the revolt differ?

Friday, February 5The Hasmonean DynastyRead: TT 98-103, 1 Maccabees 10-15Group 1 presents

How did the Hasmoneans become kings? What sources of authority do the Hasmoneans claim for their rule? Who were the allies and opponents of the Hasmoneans? What were the implications of a revived monarchy in Palestine?

Week 5

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Monday, February 8The Hasmonean DynastySR 235, 239-256, 372-373

What challenges did the Hasmoneans face in maintaining their power? Why did their dynasty fall?

What was the relationship of the Hasmoneans to Hellenism?

Wednesday, February 10SectsRead: TT 103-119; MM 123-135

What is a sect? What Jewish sects may be identified in the Second Temple period? According to Schiffman, what are the major differences of opinion among the sects?

How about according to Cohen? What is apocalypticism, and what is its relationship to sectarianism?

Friday, February 12SectsRead: Matthew 22, 23:15-26; Acts 23; SR 266-284

Make a chart listing the primary sources you have read (count different parts of the New Testament as different sources) and the attributes they ascribe to each sect they identify.

What are the benefits and problems with using each of these sources to reconstruct sectarianism in the Second Temple period?

Week 6

Monday, February 15PseudepigraphaRead: TT 120, 127-130; Pseudepigrapha selections on Blackboard

What is Pseudepigrapha? What are some problems with the use of this term? What contexts can you imagine for the composition and use of the Pseudepigraphical

texts here? How do these texts interact with the biblical material?

Wednesday, February 17The Dead Sea ScrollsRead: TT 130-138; MM 115-117, 149-153

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Group 2 presents

Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? What kinds of texts are present among the scrolls? Why do you think the discovery of the scrolls was such a big deal?

Friday, February 19The Dead Sea ScrollsRead: SR 285-299, 359-366

What does the Rule of the Community tell us about the beliefs and actions of the people who lived at Qumran?

How did this community relate to other Jews? How do the Hasmoneans figure in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

Week 7

Monday, February 22The Herodian DynastyRead: TT 139-149Group 3 presents

How did Herod gain power? How do you evaluate Herod’s rule?

Wednesday, February 24The Herodian DynastyRead: SR 374-395; rabbinic sources on Herod (Blackboard)

How does Josephus evaluate Herod? How do the rabbis evaluate Herod? What characteristics do they ascribe to him?

Friday, February 26Judea under RomeRead: SR 186-195, 197-200, 395-396Response paper #2 due

What status does Josephus ascribe to the Jews under Roman rule? How much can we rely on Josephus for this purpose?

What do the various inscriptions tell us about Jewish life in Rome? What is a God-fearer? How does Tacitus describe Judaism?

Week 8

Monday, February 29

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Review

Wednesday, March 2MIDTERM EXAM

Friday, March 4BeliefsRead: MM 78-102

What are our sources for the nature of Jewish beliefs in the Second Temple period? What are some of the elements of Jewish belief in this period? How universal were

these elements among those who practiced Judaism?

SPRING BREAK

Week 9

Monday, March 14The Great Revolt Read: TT 157-164, 170-171; SR 434-446

Why does Schiffman title his chapter “Revolt and Restoration”? What were the causes of the revolt? Why did it fail?

Wednesday, March 16The Destruction of the TempleRead: SR 446-469, 471-472

How do the accounts of the siege and conquest given by Josephus, Dio Cassius, and the rabbis differ?

How did the rabbis deal with the destruction of the Temple? In what ways does Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai both break with and ensure continuity

with the past? Is he a traitor? What is his relationship to Vespasian?

Friday, March 18The Rise of the Rabbinic ClassTT 167-170; MM 222-226; SR 475-479

Why did sectarianism decline during this period, according to Cohen?

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What do the rabbis appear to be looking for in a leader? To what extent is rabbinic Judaism a continuation of pre-70 C.E. Judaism and to what

extent is it an innovation?

Week 10

Monday, March 21The Rise of ChristianityRead: TT 149-152; MM 165-167; Acts 1-7

What is the relationship of early Christianity to Judaism? To Jewish sectarianism? How does Acts describe the first Christians?

Wednesday, March 23Jewish Christians and the Jewish-Christian SplitRead: Acts 15; MM 231-258; SR 414-427

Why do Christians and Jews split? What role does Rome play? What do early Christians have to say about Jews? What do Jews say about early

Christians? What is the Birkat ha-minim?

Friday, March 25The Bar Kochba RevoltRead: TT 171-176; SR 491-493

What were the causes of the revolt? Why did it fail? What role did Rabbi Akiva play?

Week 11

Monday, March 28Synagogue and liturgyRead: TT 164-166; MM 110-114

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Response paper #3 due

How and why does the synagogue develop? How and why does it spread? What are its functions?

Wednesday, March 30Synagogue and liturgyRead: TT 236-239, 244-255

When and why do people attend the synagogue? What is liturgy and why is it important for the study of ancient Judaism? To what extent, if at all, is there continuity between worship in the Temple and in the

synagogue?

Friday, April 1Jews in the Byzantine Christian WorldRead: TT 201-219; SR 576-596, 609-610, 612-613

What does the Jewish community look like under Byzantine Christianity? What kind of leadership does it have?

What are the causes of Jewish persecution in this period? What is the relationship of the Samaritans to the Christians?

Week 12

Monday, April 4Rabbinic literatureRead: TT 177-195; SR 508-515, 522-523, 529-532

What is “Oral Law”? How does this idea develop? How is the Mishnah organized? Why is the midrash halakha necessary? What kinds of rules did the rabbis develop for biblical interpretation? Who was Hillel? Why is he important?

Wednesday, April 6Rabbinic literatureRead: TT 195-200; SR 637-638, 640-643, 650-653

What is the relationship between Mishnah and Tosefta?

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What kinds of questions do the rabbis ask about the biblical material? How do they answer these questions?

Friday, April 8Rabbinic literatureRead: TT 220-236, 266-269; SR 680-682 (compare to Exodus 5:1-5)

How does Talmud relate to Mishnah? Why are there two Talmuds, Babylonian and Palestinian? How did they develop? Why does the Babylonian Talmud prevail?

Week 13

Monday, April 11Canon revisitedRead: MM 176-181, 185-210, 226-228; SR 117-120, 306-307

What do the rabbis have the do with the development of canon? What did the rabbis say about noncanonical books? Why? What is Targum? Can we say anything about why some books made it into the Jewish canon and others

did not? What became of noncanonical texts?

Wednesday, April 13Magic and mysticismRead: TT 263-264; SR 735-746

What led to the development of mystical ideas in ancient Judaism? How did the rabbis assess the benefits and dangers of mystical speculation?

Friday, April 15Magic and mysticismRead: SR 746-748Hand in: Response paper #4

How would you define a “magical” practice? Why might Jews have participated in magic?

Week 14

Monday, April 18Daily practicesRead: TT 240-243, 255-261; SR 656-667, 687-689, 692-700

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How would one be a faithful and observant Jew in antiquity? What beliefs and/or practices were required or encouraged?

What does the liturgy tell us about daily religious practice? Can you tell how a woman’s daily religious practice would have differed from a

man’s?

Wednesday, April 20Daily practicesRead: TT 261-263; SR 715-719, 722-724, 726-728

How did the rabbis build upon the dietary laws of the Torah? Why? What do early marriage contracts tell us about the rights and status of women? Why is there such a rabbinic emphasis on ritual purity and impurity?

Friday, April 22Looking ahead

Week 15

Monday, April 25Lecture: Wrap-up and review

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