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| Semester | spring semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Julia Rhyder (julia.rhyder@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Banquets, rituals, sacrifice and pilgrimage, kings flaunting their power, and calendars timing communal celebrations — these and other aspects of the festivals described in the Hebrew Bible provide vivid insights into the life, culture, politics and religion of ancient Israel. In this seminar, students will be introduced to the key texts of the Hebrew Bible that describe or legislate festal celebrations. Together we will explore how festivals changed from the time of the monarchy to the period after the Babylonian exile, when a royal leader no longer sponsored the celebrations. Particular attention will be given to how the festal calendar linked Judeans living in dispersed locations during the Persian and Hellenistic periods (ca. fifth–first centuries BCE), and how structuring “time” proved key to maintaining a sense of connectivity across geographical distance. The subject will also consider the reception history of the festal traditions of the Hebrew Bible, and how these traditions continue to inform Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian festivals celebrated today. The subject will be taught in English. (Der Kurs findet in englischer Sprache statt und bietet eine gute Möglichkeit, theologische und historische Sprachfähigkeit in einer Fremdsprache zu üben. Gleichzeitig sei betont, dass Studierende mit verschiedenen Sprachniveaus willkommen sind.) |
| Learning objectives | Upon successful completion of this subject, students should demonstrate: • knowledge of key texts of the Hebrew Bible that describe or legislate festal celebrations in ancient Israel; and • an understanding of the cultural, political, and religious significance of festivals in ancient Israel and in later Jewish, Samaritan, and Christian practice. |
| Bibliography | Beckwith, Roger T. Calendar and Chronology, Jewish and Christian: Biblical, Intertestamental and Patristic Studies. Boston/Leiden: Brill, 2001. Ben Zvi, Ehud. “Revisiting ‘Boiling in Fire’ in 2 Chronicles 35:13 and Related Passover Questions: Text, Exegetical Needs and Concerns, and General Implications.” Pages 238–50 in Biblical Interpretation in Judaism and Christianity. Edited by Isaac Kalimi and Peter J Haas. LHBOTS 439. New York/London: T&T Clark, 2006. Gesundheit, Shimon. Three Times a Year: Studies on Festival Legislation in the Pentateuch. FAT 82. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012. Granerød, Gard. Dimensions of Yahwism in the Persian Period: Studies in the Religion and Society of the Judaean Community at Elephantine. BZAW 488. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2016. Grünwaldt, Klaus, Exil und Identität: Beschneidung, Passa und Sabbat in der Priesterschrift. BBB 85. Frankfurt am Main: A. Hain, 1992. Hayden, Brian and Michael Dietler eds. Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics, and Power. Washington/London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001. Jacobus, Helen R. “Calendars.” Pages 435–48 in T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Bloomsbury Companion. Edited by George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel. Bloomsbury: T&T Clark, 2018. Körting, Corinna. Der Schall des Schofar: Israels Feste im Herbst. BZAW 285. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1999. Noam, Vered. “Megillat Taanit: The Scroll of Fasting.” Pages 339–62 in The Literature of the Jewish Sages II: Midrash and Targum, Liturgy, Poetry, Mysticism, Contracts, Inscriptions, Ancient Science, and the Languages of Rabbinic Literature. Edited by Shmuel Safrai et al. Assen: Royal Van Gorcum and Fortress Press, 2006. Porten, Bezalel, et al. The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change. 2nd rev. ed, DMOA, Studies in Near Eastern Archaeology and Civilisation 22. Leiden/New York/Köln: Brill, 2011. Stern, Sacha. Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar, 2nd Century BCE to 10th Century CE. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001. —–––Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Ulfgard, Häkan. The Story of ‘Sukkot’: The Setting, Shaping, and Sequel of the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles. Beiträge zur Geschichte der biblischen Exegese 34. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998. Vanderkam, James C. Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time. London/New York: Routledge, 1998. –––––“Hanukkah: Its Timing and Significance According to 1 and 2 Maccabees.” Pages 128–44 in From Revelation to Canon. Studies in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature. JSJSup 62. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Wagenaar, Jan. Origin and Transformation of the Ancient Israelite Festival Calendar. BZABR 6. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005. Weyde, Karl William, The Appointed Festivals of YHWH: The Festival Calendar in Leviticus 23 and the Sukkot Festival in Other Biblical Texts. FAT 2/4. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004. |
| Comments | Bereich Chr (Christentum) im M.A. Interreligious Studies |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Electives Master Interreligious Studies: Recommendations (Master's Studies: Interreligious Studies) Modul: Antike / monotheistische / aussereuropäische Religionen (Bachelor's degree subject: Study of Religion) Modul: Biblische und systematische Theologie (Master's Studies: Theology) Modul: Exegese (Ex 1) (Bachelor's degree subject: Theology) Modul: Exegese Altes Testament (AT 3) (Bachelor's Studies: Theology) Modul: Exegese Altes Testament (AT 3) (Master's Studies: Theology (Start of studies before 01.08.2018)) Modul: Exegese Altes Testament (AT 3) (Master's Studies: Theology) Modul: Exegese Altes Testament (AT 3) (Master's degree subject: Theology) Modul: Religionskomparatistik (Master's degree subject: Science of Religion) Modul: Theologie des Alten Testaments (AT 4) (Master's Studies: Theology) Modul: Theologie des Alten Testaments (AT 4) (Master's Studies: Theology (Start of studies before 01.08.2018)) Modul: Theologie des Alten Testaments (AT 4) (Master's degree subject: Theology) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Students are required to attend a minimum of 11 out of the 13 lessons in order to successfully pass the subject. In addition, each student must deliver a presentation on a set topic once during the semester, and actively participate in class exercises, readings, and/or discussions each week. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: teaching staff |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, best attempt counts |
| Scale | 1-6 0,5 |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Theology, studiendekanat-theol@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Theologie |