SYLLABUS
HEBREW 351
Religions of the Ancient Near East Spring 2005

Prof. Michael V. Fox

Web Page: http://palimpsest.lss.wisc.edu/~mfox/

Email: mvfox@wisc.edu

Some materials for course available at

http://palimpsest.lss.wisc.edu/~mfox/Religions of the ANE

Religious beliefs and mythology in ancient Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Israel.

GOALS OF COURSE

To learn how the myths, rituals, and laws of ancient societies express their world-views.

To learn how the problems and questions of existence can be addressed in different ways of thinking.

UNITS:

Intro: What it means to study religion. Sketch of ANE Civilizations

Unit I. Egypt

Unit II. Mesopotamia

Including one session on Ugarit, a Canaanite city on the N. Syrian coast, ca. 1400-1200 BCE. This was on the margins of Mesopotamian cultures. Its epic literature shows part of the background to Israelite literature and religion.

Unit III. Israel

Lecture Outlines: go to http://palimpsest.lss.wisc.edu/~mfox/Religions of the ANE

Outlines all start with “OUTLINE”. Or try the listing at

http://palimpsest.lss.wisc.edu/~mfox/Religions of the ANE/Outlines of lectures.htm

(Outlines will be updated periodically. Note: links to jpeg files won’t work.)

Topics (each Unit, but not necessarily in this order):

Introduction
The Gods
Creation and destruction (and re-creation)
Death and (Re)birth
Ritual and Worship
Ethics, Justice, and law

Society and kingship

REQUIRED READINGS

Course Reader. At Bob’s Copy Shop, University Square (University at Park St.

BRING THIS TO EVERY CLASS.Much of the lectures will comment on selections in the Reader, and you can take notes in it. Learn the gods' names in the introduction to each section.

1. EGYPT

H. Frankfort. Ancient Egyptian Religion. Read by week 5. UBS
Encyclopedia Britanica article on Egypt, history of . On-line at Egypt: -history of, Ancient. Read by week 3.

Enc. Brit. is available on-line to computers on the campus through MadCat, "Reference: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries..."; or click in On-Line Syllabus.

Reader-I: §§1-3; 7, 9, 19; 22; 23; 24; 26; 30; 40. Read by week 3.
Read these items in preparation for class. Some of these items are quite obscure, and you should not expect to understand them immediately. Do not try to remember what is in each text. Try to identify the main concepts in each text.

2. MESOPOTAMIA
T. Jacobsen. The Treasures of Darkness. Read by week 10. UBS
Encyclopedia Britanica article on Mesopotamia, history of
Mesopotamia, History of Read by week 7.
Reader III: §41-51. As above. Read by week 7.

3. ISRAEL *
Susan Niditch, Ancient Israelite Religion (Oxford, 1997). Read by week 14. UBS
ReaderIII: §§54-79. Read by week 12
Readings in Bible. Read by week 12

Bible: use any modern  translation (ie not King James). ON line, click on New Revised Standard Bible on line. New English Translation

Genesis chaps. 1-12 (creation and primeval age); Exodus1-6 (revelation of Yahweh to Israel); chaps. 18-24 (Covenant and laws); Jeremiah 1-5 (prophetic mission); Isaiah 24-27 (apocalypse); 40-48 (this is Deutero-Isaiah, written approx 537-35 BCE); Psalms 82; 104.

ATTENDANCE: No more than three absences. Grade is reduced one level for absence after that.

PROMPTNESS: Please come on time. Late entries disturb the lecture and will count as absences.

EXAMS:
Test 1: Egypt, including Reader, Frankfort; Ency. Britanica on Egypt; lectures to this point. 30 min. Thursday of sixth week.
Test 2: Mesopotamia, including Reader, Jacobsen; Ency. Britanica on Mesopotamia; lectures to this point. 30 min. Thursday of 11th week.
Test 3: Israel, incl.  Reader, Niditch; lectures on Israel (30 min; 15th wk, Tuesday).
Test 4: Comparative: Broad questions asking about the similarities and differences in the ways the three cultures treated certain important issues. (15 min., 15th week, Thursday).

Weighting: Each quiz = 25% of grade.

Sample Exam:

PAPER, for GRADUATE and HONORS students. 10 pages: independent analysis of a major myth or myth cycle in Mesopotamia or Egypt that is not included in the above readings. See me about topic and sources.*

(N.B. This paper is due on the last day of the class. Papers will lose one grade for every day they are late.) For Grad Students, each exam counts 20% and the paper is 20%.

Weighting: Equivalent to one unit exam.

OFFICE HOURS:

Please come to see me if you have anything to discuss or anything you want clarified. If a problem arises, see me right away . Reread the previous sentence.

Office hours: Tues, Thur, 1:30-2:30, in 1338 Van Hise. Or speak to me before or after class to arrange an appointment (I am generally available right after class); or email me at mvfox@wisc.edu. No calls at home, please.

* Translations available in

Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature (in UBS)

James Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts

Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1989)

Benjamin Foster, Before the Muses. (Akkadian lit.; very comprehensive; with commentary and bibliography)

W. Beyerlin, Near Eastern Texts Relating to the OT