The course aims to provide an overview of ancient Jewish culture through the study of the biblical text and the Hebrew language
The teaching of Hebrew aims to provide knowledge about the Hebrew language and Israel's ancient history, as well as linguistic and philological skills to address the reading of the Hebrew Bible as the primary source for five study perspectives: 1) A comparison of Biblical Hebrew to other Semitic languages; 2) the objective and documentary history of a significant people in the Ancient Near East (including clarification of the Bible's limitations as a possible historical source); 3) Jewish literature and culture that extends beyond the Bible; 4) The inclusion of Judaism in the historical, cultural, and linguistic phenomenon of Hellenism, as opposed to the Greek translation of the 1970s; 5) The relationship between Israel's tradition and late ancient Greco-Roman culture in subsequent translations (also in the Christian context, beginning with the Geronymian Vulgate). Another goal is to raise awareness of the Bible of the Seventy as a product of Hellenistic Judaism as well as its exemplary status as an interlingual transcoding of a cult text from the perspective of Theory and History of Translation.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
• use the elementary grammar of biblical Hebrew to be able to read simple narrative passages from the Pentateuch (Torah) or from historical books (earlier prophets);
• evaluate the importance of the history of the Jewish people in the context of the history of the Ancient Near East and, more recently, of the history of the Jewish people in Europe;
• understand the peculiarity of the Hebrew language compared to other Semitic languages;
• distinguish in the biblical narrative a historical source or a theological rereading of the history of Israel.
No prerequisites are required
Frontal lesson; practice of writing and reading texts, distribution of material and slide projection.
Lessons will be held in presence. Attendance, although not compulsory, is recommended. Only those who attend lessons in
presence will be deemed attending students.
The teacher, upon specific request by single students, could allow them to attend lessons remotely and to access the recordings of the lessons via Teams.
Any non-attending students are requested to contact the teacher.
All students are required to register on Aulaweb.
Highlights of Ancient Jewish History from the Judges to the Fall of Jerusalem
Fundamentals of Biblical Hebrew Grammar
The Old Testament and its Relations with the Near East
Slides and papers of the teacher Serafini, Corso di Ebraico biblico, San Paolo, 2006 (2 voll) Further reading will be indicated durong
Ricevimento: At request, after the lesson
GIUSEPPE MINUNNO (President)
PIA CAROLLA
GUIDO GIOVANNI BORGHI (Substitute)
18/09/2023
Oral examination. For the exam, in addition to the part on the history of the Jewish people, it is necessary to study a short passage in the language, analyzed and prepared in class, which helps the student to carry out the interview on both the historical and linguistic parts.
To facilitate students, it will be possible to divide the exam into two parts: the historical part and the linguistic part; the linguistic part can be replaced by ongoing checks only for attending students.
Students with a certified DSA, disability or other special educational needs are advised to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modes and provide suitable compensatory tools
