Unit information: Greco-Roman Judaism in 2019/20

Unit name	Greco-Roman Judaism
Unit code	THRS20216
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Lindsey Davidson
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Religion and Theology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? This unit introduces the history, literature, and critical debates surrounding the development of Judaism during the Hellenistic Greek and Roman periods, from Alexander the Great (332-323 BCE) to Hadrian’s suppression of the last Jewish Revolt against Rome (132-135 CE). Students will be familiarized with early Jewish beliefs and practices, Jewish rulers such as Herod the Great, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Maccabean Revolt, Jewish biblical translations and exegesis, and the lives of Jewish women. The period of Greco-Roman Judaism sees the varied development and flourishing of the early Jewish literary imagination in the late Second Temple period, and impulses of the apocalyptic and esoteric wisdom. The unit will cover early Jewish writings such as the works of Josephus and Philo, Dead Sea Scrolls “sectarian” literature, 1-2 Maccabees, Ben Sira, and the Letter of Aristeas. Aspects of historical sources including archaeology, letter/document archives, and material culture will help bring to life this fascinating era as the crucible of rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. The unit will provide a solid historical and literary foundation for the study of Judaism in Hellenistic antiquity, applicable to further studies in Judeo-Christian traditions.

This unit aims to provide an in-depth understanding of:

• a diverse range of literary texts and historical sources related to Greco-Roman Judaism;
• specific issues articulated in the designated texts and historical evidence of Greco-Roman Judaism;
• different critical perspectives on Greco-Roman Judaism;

It also aims to develop:

• appropriate skills in textual interpretation, historical analysis, and argumentation, using evidence from primary texts and secondary sources.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of a diverse range of literary texts and historical sources related to Greco-Roman Judaism;
2. critically evaluate specific issues articulated in the designated texts and historical evidence of Greco-Roman Judaism;
3. discriminate between different critical perspectives in modern scholarship on Greco-Roman Judaism;
4. demonstrate skills in textual interpretation, historical analysis, and argumentation, using evidence from primary and secondary sources appropriate to level I;
5. demonstrate an independent approach to designing, researching and completing a level-I project.

Teaching Information

1 x two-hour lecture per week; 1 x one-hour seminar per week

Assessment Information

Four 250-word summative reading responses (amounting to 1000 words) (20%) [ILOs 1–4]

One 3000-word summative essay (80%) [ILOs 1–5]

Reading and References

• James C. VanderKam, Introduction to Early Judaism. Eerdmans 2001.
• Géza Vermès, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Rev ed. Penguin 2004.
• John J. Collins, Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora. 2nd ed. Eerdmans 2000.
• Martin Goodman, ed., Jews in a Graeco-Roman World. Brill 2007.
• The Cambridge History of Judaism, vols 1-3. Cambridge, 1984-1999.
• Jennifer Dines, The Septuagint, T&T Clark, 2004.
• Encyclopedia Judaica, eds. Skolnik and Berenbaum; D.N. Freedman (ed.), Anchor Bible Dictionary (vols 1-6), Doubleday 1992.