#  Comp. Lit. 258 and HDS 1136: Ancient Interpretation of the Bible 

 





 Semester:   Spring 

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 Year offered:  2018 

 

 

 

 W 1-3:59  
Location: TBA

 [David Stern](https://nelc.fas.harvard.edu/people/david-stern)

 This is a course about READING; specifically about the many different ways in which a single book, the Bible, was read and interpreted in the ancient and medieval periods by Jews and Christians. No book in the history of Western culture has been studied more intensively than the Bible, and the main emphasis of the course will fall on close readings of major ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters of the Bible, with a view to considering their exegetical approaches historically as well as through the lens of contemporary critical and hermeneutical theory. We will also consider how the respective religious and theological beliefs of these interpreters shaped *and* were shaped by the ways they read Scripture. As a consequence, this will also be a course about the early development of Judaism and Christianity although the focus will always be on the interpretation of the Bible. Readings will include selected texts from Rabbinic midrash, the Dead Sea Scrolls, early Biblical translations, Rashi and medieval Jewish exegetes, the New Testament, Gnosticism, Origen, Augustine, Spinoza, and some modern Biblical criticism (as a backdrop). All readings are in English translation.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Past Harvard Courses ](/course-categories/harvard-course)
- [ AY 2017/2018 ](/course-categories/ay-20172018-0)
- [ Spring 2018 ](/course-categories/spring-2018)