RELS 2104 TAKE-HOME WRITTEN EXERCISES
Exercise #1
Topic: Studying 'doublets'
Assignment: Carefully read Exod 20:1-14 and Deut 5:6-18. Then prepare a one-page response which lists all the differences you find between these two passages (hint: one major discrepancy should emerge, along with a number of smaller ones). Given the literary allusions implicit in both passages, can you offer one or more plausible explanations for that major discrepancy? Can any clues be gathered regarding a sequential ordering for these passages? In other words, which looks like it came first? Exodus 20? Or Deuteronomy 5?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11") white paper; try to limit your remarks to one (1) page if possible. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: Tuesday, January 22).Exercise #2
Topic: Continued study of 'doublets'
Assignment: Carefully read 2 Sam 24:1-9 and 1 Chron 21:1-7. Then prepare a one-page response which lists all the differences you find between these two passages (hint: one major discrepancy should emerge, along with a number of smaller ones). Care to speculate (given your growing knowledge of the Chronicler's agenda) why this particular change has been effected?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11") white paper; try to limit your remarks to one (1) page if possible. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: Tuesday, February 5).Remember to begin reading the Epic of Gilgamesh (in Dalley, pp. 50-153) and to pay careful attention to her introduction on pp. 39-49. Be prepared to answer if suddenly asked: "How was the present form of the Epic of Gilgamesh achieved? In other words, how was it written?"
Exercise #3
Topic: The semiotics of ‘Abraham’ (part 1)
Assignment: Semiotics is that branch of cultural linguistics which involves the study of ‘signs’ (Greek semeia) and how they ‘signify.’ Learning to recognize and decode biblical ‘signs’ (as simple as a character’s name or as complex as a tale-type) is an enormously important skill which you will need to develop in order to appreciate the polydimensional character of ancient literature. We now embark on a multi-part project that will focus upon the various ways the character ‘Abraham’ is manipulated by certain biblical (and non-biblical) authors in order to signify or negate certain values or ideological stances.
We will begin with a close examination of the Abraham story presented in Genesis 12:10-20. With perhaps a quick glance or two at what immediately precedes it and follows it in the larger narrative setting, and given the ‘fact’ that the figure of Abraham will be invested with an exemplary ‘piety’ and ‘righteousness’ by subsequent Jewish, Christian, and Muslim tradition, carefully read this story (just this story). Do you notice anything that might potentially trouble or disturb an audience about the narrative actions (or lack of actions) and speech (or lack of speech) attributed to Abraham and the other actors in this narrative? How about the sequencing? Does each successive point in the narrative flow smoothly from what precedes it? Or are there discernable ‘gaps’ in the narrative flow? Prepare a list of what you find.
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).Exercise #4
Topic: The semiotics of 'Abraham' (part 2)
Assignment: Semiotics is that branch of cultural linguistics which involves the study of 'signs' (Greek semeia) and how they 'signify.' Learning to recognize and decode biblical 'signs' (as simple as a character's name or as complex as a tale-type) is an enormously important skill which you will need to develop in order to appreciate the polydimensional character of ancient literature. We now continue our multi-part project focusing upon the various ways the character 'Abraham' is manipulated by certain biblical (and non-biblical) authors in order to signify or negate certain values or ideological stances.
Genesis 20:1-18 is commonly portrayed as a 'doublet' of the Abraham story presented in Genesis 12:10-20 which emanates from a different 'source.' It is widely considered to be completely independent of the similar narrative found in 12:10-20. We will now test this common consensus. Carefully read Gen 20:1-18 to first verify for yourself that it is indeed a doublet of 12:10-20. Then make a list of all the differences which you discern between 20:1-18 and 12:10-20. Finally, using the list of differences which you have compiled, pick out and separately list those differences which might reasonably be construed as deliberate reactions to or alterations of Gen 12:10-20. That is to say, do your results point to the possibility that the author of 20:1-18 knows 12:10-20 and is trying to 'correct' it? Why or why not?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).Exercise #5
Topic: The semiotics of ‘Abraham’ (part 3)
Assignment: Semiotics is that branch of cultural linguistics which involves the study of ‘signs’ (Greek semeia) and how they ‘signify.’ Learning to recognize and decode biblical ‘signs’ (as simple as a character’s name or as complex as a tale-type) is an enormously important skill which you will need to develop in order to appreciate the polydimensional character of ancient literature. We now continue our multi-part project focusing upon the various ways the character ‘Abraham’ is manipulated by certain biblical (and non-biblical) authors in order to signify or negate certain values or ideological stances.
Carefully read Gen 11:26-25:10, which is the Pentateuchal Abraham-cycle extending from this character’s first appearance in biblical narrative to his death and burial. As you are reading these Abraham stories, make a comprehensive list of the names of all the places (i.e., villages, cities, or locales) which Abraham either visits or makes his dwelling place. Once you have made your list, then consult a map of biblical era Israel (either from the reference collection of Atkins Library or from a reliable electronic source) and see how many of these places you can locate on your map. Do any interesting or unusual geographic patterns emerge from this exercise?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).Exercise #6
Topic: ‘Local’ traditions and the construction of a ‘pan-Israel’ epic
Assignment: After studying the various ways ‘Abraham’ is manipulated by certain biblical (and non-biblical) authors in order to signify or negate certain values or ideological stances, it is starting to look like the sign ‘Abraham’ is heavily associated with ‘southern’ (Judahite) concerns, whereas the sign ‘Jacob’ correspondingly signals ‘northern’ (Israelite) concerns. Or to express it another way: is it possible that ‘Abraham’ was originally a ‘local’ Judahite culture-hero who was later adapted and fitted into a culturally independent ‘Jacob’ complex of stories and traditions?
One way to test this hypothesis is to probe intensively those few literary sources and traditions which scholars almost universally recognize as ultimately emanating from the ‘northern’ cultural sphere. They are ‘few’ because (1) the Judahite scribal tradition seized cultural dominance thanks to the disastrous Assyrian invasion and deportation of Israel in the 720s BCE, thereby giving (2) ‘Judah’ the opportunity to subject ‘northern’ sources to a thorough ‘cleansing’ of most of the objectionable elements in those sources. One of these sources is the prophet Hosea. Carefully read Hosea 1:1-14:10, simultaneously looking for two things: (1) any explicit or implicit references to Abraham or to his narrative cycle; and (2) any explicit or implicit references to Jacob or to his narrative cycle. Make a list which details what (if anything) you find, and formulate a conclusion(s) based on your findings. Does Hosea know ‘Abraham’? Does Hosea know ‘Jacob’?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).Exercise #7
Topic: Initiating the class research project
Assignment: We are now ready to turn to the task of Reconstructing the Primeval Legends of Genesis, the class project which I have been promoting and for which you have been preparing all semester. In order to gain some initial familiarity with our central texts, your assignment is to prepare a topical outline of Genesis 1:1-9:29. Please note: this is not a ‘typology’ (where you strip away the ‘clothing’ to uncover the ‘body’ of a narrative), but only a simple outline of the narrative progression of Genesis 1-9. What self-contained stories (if any) are featured here? How many major characters are featured here? Do they relate with or to one another? What are the organizing principles governing the flow of the narrative?
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).Exercise #8
Topic: Untangling the biblical Flood-narrative
Assignment: We have seen that Genesis 1-9 can be potentially and tentatively subdivided into at least two distinctive, relatively coherent source-documents. One of these we can sketch out at present as consisting of Gen 1:1-2:4a plus most of the genealogy of Genesis 5 plus the covenant with Noah in Gen 9:1-17; the other features (so far) the familiar Adam/Eve and Cain/Abel stories plus the Cainite genealogy (Gen 4:17-24) plus the episode of Noah’s drunkenness in Gen 9:18-29. Since both source-documents as reconstructed feature the character of Noah in a post-Flood setting, it would seem plausible that each would have contained a Flood-narrative wherein the Flood-hero is introduced and situated within the respective narratives.
The present form of Gen 6:5-8:22 exhibits one coherent Flood-story. Or does it? Your assignment is to read carefully Gen 6:5-8:22 and make written note of all verbal and thematic repetitions and/or discrepancies in these verses. Compile your findings in the form of a list with the ‘doublets’ or discrepancies clearly identified (e.g., 6:5 says ‘x,’ but 7:1 says ‘y’; or 6:5 says ‘x’; 7:1 repeats ‘x’ again for no apparent reason). Once you have isolated this data, see if you can detect any patterns which emerge within it, particularly in light of some of the broad themes and patterns we have already discerned in our work to date on the two source-documents.
Requirements: Type your findings on standard-sized (i.e., 8.5 x 11 inch) white paper; I will read no more than one (1) page, so be concise and to the point. Print out and bring to class two (2) separate copies: one will be handed in for assessment prior to our discussion, whereas the second will serve as the basis for your oral classroom remarks. No written assignments will be accepted after class from those who are present and privy to our discussion. Late submissions from absent students fall under the syllabus sanctions; untyped exercises automatically receive the grade F. (Due date: next class meeting period).