Lecture 1 - The Parts of the Whole

This lecture provides an introduction to the literature of the Hebrew Bible and its structure and contents. Common misconceptions about the Bible are dispelled: the Bible is a library of books from diverse times and places rather than a single, unified book; biblical narratives contain complex themes and realistic characters and are not "pious parables" about saintly persons; the Bible is a literarily sophisticated narrative not for children; the Bible is an account of the odyssey of a people rather than a book of theology; and finally, the Bible was written by many human contributors with diverse perspectives and viewpoints. Reading assignment: Jewish Study Bible [henceforth JSB]: Introduction to Genesis, pp. 8-11; Gen 1-4 Resources: [[http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/introduction-to-the-old-testament-hebrew-bible/content/class-sessions/resources/tanakh_synopsis.rtf|Handout: A Brief Synopsis of the Tanakh [text]]]