Course Syllabus
IST3003/THEO6702 HB Topics: Empire and the Hebrew Bible
Winter 2014
Tuesday 8:30-12:00
Prof. Mark K. George
I-202C, Ext. 168
mgeorge@iliff.edu
T 12-1, Th 2-3, by appointment
Much, if not most, of the Christian Bible was written against the background, if not within the context of, empire. “Empire” is much discussed in New Testament and early Christianity scholarship, but such is not the case for the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East. This is surprising, because the first “empires” to emerge in southwest Asia are from the period of the Hebrew Bible and before. Furthermore, Hebrew Bible texts often assume the presence and existence of empires. Isaiah of Jerusalem’s interactions with King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimitic War appear to assume Assyria is an empire and imperial power and that opening a political relationship with it will go badly for Judah (Isa 7).
Given the reality of empires in the ancient world, what effect – if any – did they have on the texts of the Hebrew Bible as they were being formed? Two issues are present in this question and are the focus of this course. The first is that of “empire.” What is an empire, how does a country become one, what characterizes its existence as an empire as opposed to existence as a kingdom, how does such a socio-political entity exist, how does it interact with other peoples and countries? Consideration of such questions invariably involves a consideration of the present. The course title presents the other focus: “and the Hebrew Bible.” Work and readings on empire will be brought into conversation with a range of texts from the Hebrew Bible in order to address how “empire” may be interpreted to inform, shape, affect, or otherwise influence interpretations of it. These foci will be examined through readings in political theory, in primary texts from the ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible, and other relevant secondary readings.
Course Objectives
- To gain experience in reading primary texts, both biblical and extra-biblical, through class assignments and research for the final paper.
- To develop and expand students’ critical reading and research skills when working with primary research material and questions, through class readings, discussions, presentations, and the final paper.
- To advance students’ abilities at formulating theoretical questions and frameworks for critical research, through class readings, discussions, presentations, and the final paper.
- To enhance students’ critical reading, writing, and speaking skills, through class presentations, discussions, and the final paper.
Readings
Required
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. This version is required for all course work, including class discussions, postings, presentations, and final paper. If you do not own a copy and need one, I recommend the HarperCollins Study Bible – Student Edition.
Dean, Mitchell. Governmentality: Power and Rule in Modern Society. 2nd. ed. Malden, Mass.: Sage Publiatrions, 2010. ISBN 9781847873842 (p).
Foucault, Michel. Security, Territory, Population. Lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-1978. Ed. by Michael Senellart. Trans. by Graham Burchell. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 9781403986528 (c); 9780312203603 (p). Listed as STP in Schedule.
Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea. Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998. ISBN 9781565637122. (ISBN 9780801047305 [p; this is the Baker Academic Press ISBN]).
Recommended
Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992. ISBN 0931464404.
Optional
Joannès, Francis. The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the First Millennium BC. Trans. By Antonia Nevill. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004
Articles and Essays
Altman, Amnon. “Tracing the Earliest Recorded Concepts of International Law. (5) The Near East, 1200–220 BCE.” Journal of the History of International Law 12 (2010): 101–53.
Bahrani, Zainab. “History in Reverse: Archaeological Illustration and the Invention of Assyria.” Pages 15–28 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World, edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.
Bahrani, Zainab. “The Art of War.” Pages 159–81 in Rituals of War: The Body and Violence in Mesopotamia. New York: Zone Books, 2008.
Barbanes, Eleanor. “Planning an Empire: City and Settlement in the Neo-Assyrian Period.” Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 38 (2003): 15–22.
Berman, Joshua. “Constitution, Class and the Book of Deuteronomy.” Hebrew Political Studies no. 1, vol. 5 (2006): 523–48.
Berman, Joshua. “Histories Twice Told: Deuteronomy 1–3 and the Hittite Treaty Prologue Tradition.” Journal of Biblical Literature 132, no. 2 (2013): 229–50.
Bodine, Walter R. “A Model Contract of an Exchange/Sale Transaction.” Pages 41–54 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World, edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.
Duling, Dennis. “Empire: Theories, Methods, Models.” Pages 49–74 in The Gospel of Matthew In Its Roman Imperial Context, edited by John Riches and David Sim. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement 276. London: T & T Clark, 2005.
Miller, Daniel R. “Objectives and Consequences of the Neo-Assyrian Imperial Exercise.” Religion and Theology 16 (2009): 124-49.
Porter, Barbara Nevling. “The Importance of Place: Esarhaddon’s Stelae at Til Barsip and Sam’al.” Pages 373–90 in Proceedings of the XLVe Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Part 1 Harvard University Historiography in the Cuneiform World, edited by Tzvi Abusch, Paul-Alain Beaulieu, John Huehnergard, Peter Machinist, and Piotr Steinkeller, with the assistance of Carol Noyes. Bethesda, Md.: CDL Press, 2001.
Redford, Donald B. “‘Extending the Frontiers of Egypt,’” and “The Empire of the New Kingdom.” Chapters 6–7 (pp. 125–213) in Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Said, Edward. “Consolidated Vision: (1) Narrative and Social Space.” Pages 62–80 in Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books, 1999.
Wright, Jacob L. “The Commemoration of Defeat and the Formation of a Nation in the Hebrew Bible.” Prooftexts 29 (2009): 433–73.
Course Summary:
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