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Examining Belief 2: The Old Testament, or "You Think You've Got Tsoris?"
Cary Honig Email: caryh@school-one.org
Completely updated for 2023/4
Examining Belief is a class that takes an objective approach to understanding some aspects of religious experience and history. It focuses on understanding the theories about the importance and meaning of mythology during trimester one, on the Old Testament, particularly Genesis and Exodus, during trimester two, and on the New Testament, particularly the gospels, Ephesians and James, during trimester three. While we will occasionally draw on the theories we explored during trimester one, trimester two will focus more on looking at the historical factors behind the writing of the Old Testament and learning its stories. The main skills addressed in this class are learning how to write a research paper and how to present that research to a class (without reading the paper aloud). Students need to be willing to write a research paper and to make an oral presentation of about fifteen - twenty minutes in order to take the class. This class can be taken for either English or history credit. The workload is the same whether it is taken as an English or a history class.
Here's the trimester 2 syllabus for your reading pleasure:
Here's the research paper assignment for this trimester:
Research Paper Assignment 23-4
The whole site should be up and working: please let me know if any links don't work.
One aspect of doing academic research that must be mastered is learning how to use research material appropriately and citing it properly. We will spend class time learning about this, and students must follow these instructions in order to earn credit. Students who don't follow these directions in college will not remain there long. This is not just a stodgy rule; it's a matter of fairness and honesty. One must give others credit for their ideas and hard work. Students should read the source policy carefully before the first class and be prepared to follow it. Every student will have to sign this policy on the first day of class.
Students will receive copies of Jung's Man and His Symbols and Ovid's Metamorphoses, which they must return or pay to replace. There will be handouts for the other class readings. Students are strongly encouraged to use School One's digital library subscriptions to JSTOR. One great new resource this time around is a subscription to the Biblical Archeology Society Digital Library, and students must use at least one of them in research for their papers. JSTOR is widely used at colleges, so this is important preparation, and it's a great source of information not available for free on the web. The BAS library features easy to read articles with lots of visuals over the past 45 years or so. The following link explains how to make your own account at these digital libraries so that you can use them anywhere you're online. I am also including a link to The Columbia Guide to Online Style to help with citation.
The Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R
Digital Library access for this class 23
2023 webinar recording on JSTOR usage/updates
On the other hand, wikipedia is not a legitimate source for this paper. A student can use it to get an overview to begin research and perhaps to find sources, but cuts and pastes or paraphrases from wikipedia or citations to it are not acceptable. This is very easy to catch if anything rouses my suspicions, and it doesn't take much to do that.
In general, homework reading will be due on Mondays and paper-related assignments will be due on Wednesdays, but this isn't exactly the case during the first two weeks, so please look at those assignments below carefully. Homework must be done of time. Late homework will lead to extra work. Students who are late with eight or more assignments cannot earn credit.
There will be weekly reading assignments for which students will write answers to questions. These are weekly because I expect them to take some time, so students should not leave the whole reading until the night before it's due. Some of them will be easy to do in one sitting, but especially those with four pages of questions will not be easy or pleasurable to do in one sitting. These are not big assignments for a week, especially if taken as five to ten pages per night. If I detect any inkling that this homework is based on another student's work (and that's not limited to direct copying), and I am very good at discerning this (ask students who were in Trials last year), there will be no credit for the trimester.
Week One: Overview of how to write a research paper. Review of the research paper assignment and specific sub-deadlines. Particular instruction about note cards. Introduction to the ancient Middle East. Review of theories about interpreting mythology we learned last trimester. Discussion of Gilgamesh. Students will have their homework and can add notes to it as we discuss the material.
Grammar: Prepositions.
Cary's African mythology paper. w notes.doc
Elaine Pagels on 2 new books about the persistence of religious feeling 19
Nicholas Kristof on Karen Armstrong's New Book about the Meaning of Scripture 19
The first homework reading assignment is reading Gilgamesh, and it is due at the first class on Monday, November 27. The questions are found in the Gilgamesh questions document linked below.The first paper assignment is a one page summary of the student's chosen topic, the reasons why it was chosen and how s/he will approach the research. Students are encouraged to consult with me about it (in person or by email) if they aren't sure. The summary of the paper topic is due on Wednesday, November 29. (See paper assignment above.) It is vital that homework be done on time so that we can discuss it in class.
EB 2 Gilgamesh homework questions
EB 2 Gilgamesh parallels notes
Here's the url for our text online if you lose the paper copy: http://www.aina.org/books/eog/eog.pdf
AI helps find new fragments of Gilgamesh 24
Week Two: This week is focused on theories about Jewish origins, which is a highly controversial topic that is tied to the current politics of the Middle East but also to archeological evidence. We will read the introduction to Friedman's book in class and answer questions about it. Grammar: prepositions
The end of the Bronze Age and the emergence of Israel 24
DNA studies show both modern Jews and Arabs are descended from the Canaanites 20
Why Jewish History is So Hard To Write18
Archeological find changes view of Temple era Judaism 2015
Archeologists Find Evidence of use Cannabis at ancient Jewish Shrine 20
Who Wrote The Bible - Intro qs
The second reading assignment, which is a selection from William Dever's Who Were The Early Israelites?, is due by class time on Monday, December 4.
Who Were the Early Israelites qs
Students' first 20 notecards plus at least 2 bibliography cards are due on Wednesday, December 6. They will be returned the next day. See research paper assignment sheet and research handout for details.
Week Three: This week will continue our discussion of Who Wrote The Bible, which combines Jewish history with the Documentary Hypothesis, the leading theory about how the main sections of the Old Testament were written. Once we finish discussing the overview, we will begin discussing the proposed authors J and E and how to recognize their work when reading The Bible.
Grammar: Adverbs
Yahweh's Southern Desert Origins 22
New Evidence of the Expulsion of the Hyksos 25
The History of the Tetragrammaton 23
Tel Dan Stele and its implications15
The Merneptah Stele and its implications12
Notes about the two stela and their implications
New Finds of David's City 2016
New Discovery in City of David excavation 23
Fortified City Found from the time of King David in Golan 20
Possible archeological evidence of Solomon and Sheba link 23
New Evidence for dating the Bible 2016
Millenniums of Tribulation - the Story of the Jews in Europe until 1900 17
Two Authors examine biblical history 17
Ancient Ammon, Moab and Edom 16
Homework:
This week's reading assignment covers pages 33-88 in Who Wrote The Bible and is about the theoretical earliest Bible writers J and E. This reading is crucial for understanding how The Old Testament
Students' first 40 notecards plus at least 4 bibliography cards are due on Wednesday, December 18. They will be returned the next day. See research paper assignment sheet and research handout for details. If I asked for changes on the first 20 note cards, those changes (things like adding page numbers or being sure the source is clear) should be made by this deadline.
Vacation would be a great time to get well ahead on the paper. I will be accepting emails during vacation and will respond (though perhaps not immediately if I am traveling at the time).
Week Four: If we are caught up, we will discuss the Old Testament's third writer: D . We will also address what to do with the note cards when it's time to write. If we have time, we will watch a video about Bible analysis featuring Mr. Friedman. Grammar: Parallel Structure
William Dever on God's wife 08
Putting It (the research paper) Together
When To Use Notes in your paper
The Bible's Buried Secrets - episode 1video notes.doc
Is a long dismissed forgery the oldest remaining Bible text (Deut)? 21
This week's reading assignment consists of Friedman's chapters about D, which go from page 89-149. The questions are due at class time on Tuesday, January 2.
Students' 60 notecards plus at least 6 bibliography cards are due on Wednesday, January 3 by class time. They will be returned the next day. See research paper assignment sheet and research handout for details.
Week Five: Will will begin the week by looking at various modes of Biblical interpretation through history, discussing the literal vs. the figurative interpretations and the views of such analysts as Philo, Paul, Rashi, Luther, Spinoza and Auerbach.
Biblical interpretation notes.docx
Rashi and the "Plain Sense" of scripture '97
We will discuss the final and most dominant of the Old Testament writers: P, and we will perhaps get to the Redactor: R. Grammar: Me/I
This week's reading assignment consists of Friedman's chapters about P and R, which go from pages 150-245. The question sheets are due on Monday, January 8 by class time.
Earliest Biblical text found 04
Decoded DNA extracted from Dead Sea Scrolls 20
Was there a less anti-gay earlier version of Leviticus? 21
Ancient Latrine Evidence of Hezekiah's Reforms 17
Students' introductions to their papers (approximately one typed page) are due on Wednesday, January 10 by class time. They will be returned the next day. Students are welcome to do more than this if they want to get ahead, especially as they have had the long vacation at this point. See research paper assignment sheet and model paper (Bunyoro myth) for details. I am happy to work with students on their papers before school, during lunch or after school if they make appointments.
Week Six: We will finish up any aspects of the Documentary Hypothesis we haven't covered, and we will begin reading Genesis if we haven't already. Topics this week will include creation, the Garden of Eden, the flood and its bizarre aftermath, which was interpreted with very sad results in terms of slavery as late as the 19th century. Grammar: Additional Usage
Atlantic review of Marilynne Robinson interprets Genesis 24
An LRB review of Marilynne Robinson interprets Genesis 24
Rapes and Miraculous Births in the Hebrew Bible and Josephus 14
What Apes Can Teach Us Abou Adam and Eve Stephen Greenblatt 17
Marina Warner Reviews Stephen Greenblatt on Adam and Eve 17 17
When did Satan become identified with the serpent in the Garden? 16
No Smiting: The Evolution of God 09
Camels Don't Belong in the Torah 14
This week's homework is to revise the introduction to your paper and write the rest of at least the first five pages. This is due by class time on Wednesday, January 17.
For Tuesday, January 16, your reading assignment is to read most of the Enuma Elish (linked below) and to fill out the note sheet as best you can. If you're not familiar with the Bible yet, you can leave that out until we come to it in class.
Week Seven: We will continue reading Genesis with a focus on its story of the origins of Judaism and the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and the Matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah). This analysis will be informed by our knowledge of how the Bible was constructed and what was at stake four its four main writers in the different sections. Grammar: Usage review
This week's only homework is to revise the first half of your paper and write the rest of the paper and the bibliography. This is due by class time on Wednesday, January 24. Go to bibme.org for easy bibliography assistance.
Week Eight: We will hopefully complete Genesis this week in class while you begin reading Exodus on your own at home. Grammar: Apostrophe review.
Is there any historical basis for Joseph in Egypt: 21
This week's homework is to read Exodus from the beginning through 12:20 (the first two question sheets). These two sheets are due on Monday, January 29.
While you paper isn't due this week, you should be working on revising it and getting help so that the second draft is the final draft and is on time or early.
Week Nine: We will begin our oral reports in class this week. If we have time, we will begin going over the early parts of Exodus in class. Grammar: Agreement review
This week's homework is to read Exodus 12:21 - 17:16 about the actual departure from Egypt (the third Exodus question sheet). This sheet is due on Monday, February 5.
The final draft of the term paper that has been fully revised according to directions is due on Wednesday, February 7. Be sure the notes and bibliography are done correctly. I am available to help with any revision issues, but you must come see me. I won't read your mind. You should get help before the last minute.
Week Ten: We will continue discussing Exodus with a focus on the conflicting views of Moses and Aaron that the different Bible writers present. Grammar: Commas and adverbial clauses
Roman art linking Solomon, Socrates and Aristotle17
For a really interesting talk (about an hour) about Jewish participation in Roman bathhouses (much more than you'd think), go to https://vimeo.com/836869702 It will redirect you but get you there.
Valentine's Day Article about the origins of kissing based on archeology: When Was the First Kiss? 24
This week's homework is to read Exodus 18 - 33:23 about the events at Mount Sinai (the fourth Exodus question sheet). We will definitely see more Moses-Aaron issues as well as The Ten Commandments in this section . This sheet is due on Monday, February 12.
Students who have had 4 or more late assignments have an extra essay due Wednesday, February 14.
Dead sea scrolls revisionism 06
Were the Essenes at Qumran, and were the scrolls theirs? 11
Modern Technology Unlocks The Secrets of a Dead Sea Scroll Thought Unrecoverable16
Week Eleven: We will finish up Exodus and, if we have time, perhaps look at another book of the students' choice like Job or Song of Songs. Grammar: Commas and Subordinate Conjunctions review
Homework this week is to complete any re-revisions of the paper or revisions of the extra essay (due by Wednesday, February 21) a student might have. Students who have done their work effectively and on time have no homework this week.
Week 12: An introduction to Baruch Spinoza and Old Testament Jeopardy
Spinoza, of Portuguese Jewish descent, was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) thinker of the Enlightenment and spent his short life in the Netherlands where the Jews, Catholics and Protestants all disapproved of him and banned his writing. He had a profound influence on many of our founding fathers either directly or through John Locke, who copied his work shamelessly except when he toned down the religious aspects.
A Good Short Introduction to Spinoza on the 350 anniversary of his excommunication from Judaism 06
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