Persian Yehud

Interview with Jacob L. Wright on Nehemiah

Deane Ancient Israel and Judea, Audio, Biblical Literature, Ezra-Nehemiah, Historical and Literary Contexts, History and Stories, Persian Yehud, Secondary , , , , , ,

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Eve Harow, of Arutz Sheva 7 Radio‘s “Judean Eve” program, interviews Dr Jacob L. Wright on his work, in particular his book Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah-memoir and Its Earliest Readers (2004).

The interview is in the Hour 2 portion of “Judean Eve”, 21 Tevet 5771 (20 Dec 2010).

The article mentioned at the beginning of the interview is also available free online: Jacob L. Wright, “A Nation Conceived in Defeat”, Azure no. 42, Autumn 5771 / 2010.

Dr. Jacob Wright is assistant professor of Hebrew Bible in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta and Director of Graduate Studies in the Tam Institute of Jewish Studies. At Emory, he teaches courses on biblical interpretation, the history and archaeology of ancient Israel, and Northwest Semitic languages. He is the author of Rebuilding Identity: The Nehemiah Memoir and Its Earliest Readers, which won a Sir John Templeton Award (the largest prize for first books in religion). In addition to responsibilities in the excavations at Ramat Rachel (located outside Jerusalem), he is currently writing a book for Oxford University Press that examines the relationship between war, memory and national identity in ancient Israelite society. He spoke with Eve from Paris, where he is lecturing and receiving another distinguished award. His thesis is that, thanks to the Biblical authors and figures like Ezra and Nehemiah, the defeat of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah ultimately fostered a more resilient and enduring national identity that was able to sustain the loss of territorial sovereignty. The Bible presents procreation and education as the ultimate strategies of Jewish survival. Listen to the interview to understand this tremendous, brilliant Bible scholar and his unique contributions to Jewish thought.

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Free Online Course: The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem, with Oded Lipschits and Ido Koch

Deane Ancient Israel and Judea, Archaeology, Babylonian Exile, Biblical Literature, Biblical Studies Topics, Historical and Literary Contexts, Historicity of Ancient Israel and Judea, History and Stories, Israel and Judah, Online Courses, Online courses - Early Judaism / Old Testament - Hebrew Bible, Persian Yehud, Return from exile, Secondary, Universities / Academia, Video , , , , ,

Professor Oded Lipschits and Ido Koch of Tel Aviv University are to present a 6-week Coursera MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on the archaeology and history of Jerusalem: “The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem”.

The course will begin on October 26, 2014, and enrolments are now open.

About the Course

The period of the demise of the Kingdom of Judah at the end of the sixth century B.C.E., the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, the exile of the elite to Babylon, and the reshaping of the territory of the new province of Judah, culminating at the end of the century with the first return of exiles – all have been subjects of intense scrutiny in modern scholarship. This course takes into account the biblical textual evidence, the results of archaeological research, and the reports of the Babylonian and Egyptian sources and provides a comprehensive survey and analysis of the evidence for the history of this 100-year-long era. The course includes a detailed discussion by Prof. Oded Lipschits of Tel Aviv University, with guest lectures by leading scholars dealing with the archaeological and biblical aspects of this debated topic.

 

Course Syllabus

Week One
Introduction to geopolitics and geography of the Ancient Near East
Week Two
The turmoil of the seventh century BCE
Week Three
Judah under Babylonian rule
Week Four
The days of the destruction of Jerusalem
Week Five
Archaeology of the sixth century BCE
Week Six
The restoration of Jerusalem in the early Persian Period and Summary

Oded Lipschits: “The Myth of the Empty Land and The Myth of the Mass Return — A New Look on the History of Judah under Babylonian and Persian Rule”

Deane Ancient Israel and Judea, Babylonian Exile, Biblical Studies Topics, Historical and Literary Contexts, Historicity of Ancient Israel and Judea, Israel and Judah, Persian Yehud, Return from exile, Secondary, Video , , , , ,

Professor Oded Lipschits delivers the inaugural Dr. David A. Kipper Ancient Israel Lecture at The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, entitled “The Myth of the Empty Land and The Myth of the Mass Return: A New Look on the History of Judah under Babylonian and Persian Rule”, April 29, 2013.

Daniel Fleming – “Ancient Israel”: An Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

Deane Ancient Israel and Judea, Archaeology, Babylonian Exile, Biblical Literature, Conquest of Canaan, David Solomon Monarchy, Dead Sea Scrolls, Exodus, Wilderness Journey, Historical and Literary Contexts, Historicity of Ancient Israel and Judea, History and Stories, Israel and Judah, Online Courses, Online courses - Early Judaism / Old Testament - Hebrew Bible, Patriarchs, Persian Yehud, Prophets, Return from exile, Secondary, Syro-Palestinian texts, Torah, Video, Wisdom , , ,

Professor Daniel Fleming, of New York University, presents an introductory course on the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible called “Ancient Israel“, which is available to view on 27 videos (on YouTube).

For additional class materials, see the course page at New York University.

Michael Satlow – From Israelite to Jew

Deane 1 Enoch, Ancient Israel and Judea, Ancient Syria-Palestine, Audio, Babylonian Exile, Chronicles, Damascus Document, Dead Sea Scrolls, Dead Sea Scrolls Apocalyptic texts, Dead Sea Scrolls Legal texts, Ezra-Nehemiah, Greek and Roman, Hellenistic and Roman Judea, Historical and Literary Contexts, History and Stories, Israel and Judah, Jewish and Israelite Cult (worship), Josephus, Jubilees, Maccabees, Online Courses, Online courses - Early Judaism / Old Testament - Hebrew Bible, Persian Yehud, Philo, Return from exile, Rule of the Community, Secondary, Syro-Palestinian texts, Temple Scroll, Torah, Wisdom , ,

Professor Michael Satlow, of Brown University, offers a complete set of lectures on early Judaism (recorded 2011), available for free download on iTunes. The course, “From Israelite to Jew” covers the exile, return from exile, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods, including Philo, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the destruction of the Temple.

 Name   Description   Released   Price 

 Episode 1 – Between Faith and Reason–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 2 – The Religion of Israel–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 3 – Exile–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 4 – Return–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 5 – Ezra–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 The Hedgehog, the Fox, and the Talmud–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 6 – The Torah–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 7 – Nehemiah–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
Episode 8 – Jews of the Persian Empire–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 9 – Hellenism Arrives–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 10 – Jubilees and 1 Enoch–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 11 – The Revolt of the Maccabees–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 12 – The Hasmonean Kings–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 13 – Origins of Jewish Sectarianism–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 14 – Hellenistic Judaism–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 15 – Herod the Great–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 16 – Philo–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 17 – The Dead Sea Scrolls–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 18 – Jesus and Other Strange Jews–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 19 – Josephus–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 20 – The First Century–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 21 – Destruction–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
 Episode 22 – After the Destruction: A Beginning or an End?–1/4/11 Free View In iTunes
Professor Michael L. Satlow specializes in Early Judaism and has written extensively on issues of gender, sexuality, and marriage among Jews in antiquity, as well as on the Dead Sea scrolls, Jewish theology, methodology in Religious Studies, and the social history of Jews during the rabbinic period. His latest book is entitled Creating Judaism.

James McGrath on Apocalyptic Literature and Early Judaism

James Ancient Israel and Judea, Audio, Babylonian Exile, Biblical Literature, Daniel, Dead Sea Scrolls Apocalyptic texts, Dead Sea Scrolls Wisdom texts, Ezra-Nehemiah, Historical and Literary Contexts, Israel and Judah, Jewish and Israelite Cult (worship), Josephus, Law/Torah, Persian Yehud, Return from exile, Secondary, Video , , ,

James McGrath has a number of YouTube videos on biblical studies and related areas. These include:

1. ‘Apocalyptic and Early Judaism’

A class taught by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University. The first part focuses on apocalyptic literature and the Book of Daniel as an example of this genre. The second part focuses on Judaism in the time of Jesus and the three major groups that existed in that time: Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

2. ‘After the Exile: The Transition from Pre-Exilic Judah and Israel to Post-Exilic Judaism’

A class by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University on the impact of the experience of the exile on the characteristics and institutions of the Jewish religion and its Scriptures

Ancient Near East Monographs: SBL Open Access Series

James Akkadian, Anatolia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel and Judea, Ancient Near East, Archaeology, Electronic books, Geography, Greek and Roman, Historical and Literary Contexts, Historicity of Ancient Israel and Judea, Jewish Prophecy, Languages, Methods and Approaches in Biblical Studies, Persian Yehud, Prophecy and Prophets, Prophets, Secondary, Sources , , , , , , , , ,

Ancient Near East Monographs/Monografías sobre el Antiguo Cercano Oriente is an open access series from the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL):

The focus of this ambitious series is on the ancient Near East, including ancient Israel and its literature, from the early Neolithic to the early Hellenistic eras. Studies that are heavily philological or archaeological are both suited to this series, and can take full advantage of the hypertext capabilities of “born digital” publication. Multiple author and edited volumes as well as monographs are accepted. Proposals and manuscripts may be submitted in either English or Spanish. Manuscripts are peer reviewed by at least two scholars in the area before acceptance. Published volumes will be held to the high scholarly standards of the SBL and the Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente. The partnership between the SBL and the Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente was initiated under the auspices of SBL’s International Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and represents the type of international scholarly exchange that is the goal of ICI.

The General Co-editors are Ehud Ben Zvi and Roxana Flammini.

PDFs of the titles include:

Israel Finkelstein, The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History

Lester L. Grabbe and Martti Nissinen (eds.), Constructs of Prophecy in the Former and Latter Prophets and Other Texts

Alan Lenzi, Reading Akkaddian Prayers and Hymns: An Introduction

Graciela Gestoso Singer, El Intercambio de Bienes entre Egipto y Asia Anterior: Desde el reinado Tuthmosis III hasta el de Akhenaton

Juan Manuel Tebes, Centro y periferia en el mundo antiquo: El Negev y sus interacciones con Egipto, Asiria, y el Levante an la Edad del Hierro (1200-586 a.C)

Alan Lenzi has also written an accompanying article ‘Why You Should Submit Your Manuscript or Proposal to the Online, Open-Access Ancient Near East Monograph Series’