YESHIVA COLLEGE
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY

BIB 1015a - 311 (T 1^05-2⁴⁵)                                                                                                    Rabbi Jeremy Wieder

Introduction to Biblical Exegesis                                                                                       Fall 2003

OBJECTIVE:

To expose the student to the myriad of issues which the contemporary Orthodox student of Tanach will and should confront in his studies.  With the exception of the third unit (Ancient Near East), the discussions will revolve around texts of Chazal (Bavli, Yerushalmi, Midreshei Halakah and Aggadah) and the Rishonim (and a small amount of material from the Acharonim).  The course will begin by exploring the issues of authorship and textual transmission as seen by Chazal and the Rishonim.  It will then shift to the history of the interpretation of Tanach beginning with classical period (Targumim, Midrash Chazal, Dead Sea Scrolls) and continuing with an introduction to the methdology of the major medieval commentators (Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, etc.).  In between these two parts, will be a discussion of the (historically speaking) recently discovered materials from the Ancient Near East and their use in the interpretation of Tanach.

You are expected to have prepared the assigned readings before entering class.  In the syllabus, numbers in parentheses refer to pages in the reader.  Bracketed readings, unless I indicate otherwise during the semester, are recommended, not required.

There will be thirteen classes of instruction and one class set aside for the midterm.  As a result, class is scheduled during reading week.  If the students are amenable to taking the midterm during a club hour or some other agreed upon time that doesn’t coincide with the regular instructional hours, there will be no need for class during reading week.  If you wish to speak to me outside of class, I can be found in the Main Beit Midrash (Main Building) during MYP seder hours, or in my office (F322) on Monday and Wednesday between 12:00 and 1:00.  I can also be reached by e-mail at kjwieder@ymail.yu.edu.

The lectures will hopefully be posted on the web on the RIETS website (www.riets.edu) within a day or two of their delivery.

Please bring to each class a complete תנ”ך, the reader of primary sources, and any other texts assigned for a given lecture. 

Grades are based on midterm and  final (equally weighted), and on classroom participation. 

Attendance is not mandatory, but complete absence will have an impact upon the portion of the grade designated for class participation.  The attendance that will be taken for the first half of the semester is intended for me to learn your names.

Calendar

Lecture #1        September 2                                                      Midterm            TBA

Lecture #2        September 9                                                      Lecture #8        November 11

Lecture #3        September 16                                                    Lecture #9        November 18

Lecture #4        September 23                                                    Lecture #10      November 25

Lecture #5        September 30                                                    Lecture #11      December 2

Lecture #6        October 21                                                        Lecture #12      December 9

Lecture #7        October 28                                                        Lecture #13      December 16

I. ARRANGEMENT, AUTHORSHIP, INSPIRATION AND CANONIZATION OF תנ”ך (about 2 1/2 lectures)

A.     bBava Batra 14b-15a (1-2)

B.     1. Ibn Ezra to Deut. 34:1 (3); 1:2 (4) [What's bothering him?]; 34:6; Gen. 12:6 [look them up, they're not in the reader!]

       2. Abravanel, Introduction to נביאים ראשונים, pages ז'-ח' beginning ואמנם הפועל through וכותב הספרים האלה (7-8).

C.     Introductions of Radaq, beginning ונבאר אנחנו מעט (9), and Meiri, beginning ונמצא לדעת זה (10-11), to Psalms.

D.     S.Z. Leiman, The Canonization of Hebrew Scripture: The Talmudic and Midrashic Evidence (RESERVE), 9-16; 26-40; 51-72 [SKIM!].  This reading is not intended for you to memorize a sequence of מאמרי חז”ל, but to familiarize you with a good number of terms and pieces of information which you may not have known before.  You need not read the notes.

E.      1.  Rabbinic sources on גניזת ספרים and טמאת ידים (12); non-canonical books.

       2. Leiman, 79-81; 86-104; 110-135.

                   3. “Susanna” (apocryphal book) in any edition of the Apocrypha

                        [J.M. Grintz, “Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha,” Encyclopaedia Judaica III, 181-186]

II. ESTABLISHMENT AND TRANSMISSION OF TEXT, קרי-כתיב, SCRIPT, ETC. (about 2 1/2 lectures)

            A. 1. Establishment: Sifrei Devarim 356 שלשה ספרים מצאו בעזרה וכו' (13)

                     a) Radaq, end of Introduction to נביאים ראשונים, beginning גם אכתוב טעם כתוב וקרי (14)

                     b) Abravanel, Introduction to Jeremiah beginning with ואמנם בשלמות והחקוי (צרח:) through ואנשי הדור שקדמוהו (ש:)  (15-16) [please note these endpoints may differ slightly from those marked in the reader].

                 2. Variation: bShabbat 55b תד”ה מעבירם and גליון הש”ס ad loc. (17)

                     a) Rashi to Num 7:1 ויהי ביום כלות משה and Ex 25:22 את כל אשר אצוה

                     b) S.Z. Leiman, “Yavneh Studies in Naso” (RESERVE)

                     c) _____, “Masorah and Halakah: A Study in Conflict” (RESERVE)

                        [Y. Maori, “Rabbinic Midrash as Evidence for Textual Variants in the Hebrew Bible: History and Practice” in Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah: Contributions and Limitations (RESERVE)]

            B. כינה הכתוב\תיקון סופרים: Sifrei Bemidbar 84 (18; p. 81, lines 14ff.)

            C. Script: 1. bSanhedrin 21b-22a אמר מר זוטרא...מתחלה נתנה תורה לישראל וכו' (19)

                           2. yMegillah 1:9 ולמה נקרא שמו אשורי (20-21)

                           3. Radaq to Genesis 10:4 and I Chronicles 1:7 רודנים\דודנים (25)

                           4. Alphabets (24)

            D. Transmission and Preservation:

               1. A. Dotan, “Masorah,” Encyclopaedia Judaica XVI, 1404-1414, 1418-1428 (through 3.3.6.4)

               2. Manuscripts and editions of תנ”ך (26-29)

   3. Discussion among M. Spiegelman, S. Carmy, and M. Bernstein in Ten Da`at 3:2, 33-34; 3:3, 44; 4:1, 35-37 (1989) (RESERVE)

III. תנ”ך IN ITS ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ENVIRONMENT (about 2 lectures)

What is the value of the knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern history, culture, literature, law and religion in our study of תנ”ך?

A. B.L. Eichler, “Study of Bible in Light of Our Knowledge of the Ancient Near East” in Modern Scholarship in the Study of Torah (RESERVE)

            B. Legal Material: Selected Near Eastern Laws (to be handed out)

                M. Greenberg, “The Biblical Grounding of Human Value” (RESERVE)

            C. Literary and Cultural: Selections from the Baal Epic (75-77)

                J.C. Greenfield, “The Hebrew Bible and Canaanite Literature” (RESERVE) from R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds., The Literary Guide to the Bible, 545-560

            D.  bBava Batra 74b

            E. Summary. N.M. Sarna, “Paganism and Biblical Judaism” (RESERVE), from Great Confrontations in Jewish History, 3-20

                                      MIDTERM EXAMINATION

IV. ANCIENT BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS (about 2 lectures)

            A. Aramaic. bMegillah 3a אמר ר' ירמיה...תרגום של תורה אונקלוס...ויסדו (22)

               bQiddushin 49a תנו רבנן על מנת שאני קריינא...תרגום דידן with Rashi and Tosafot (36)

               Selected targumim from Exodus 20-21 (37-40) and others to be distributed

            B. Greek. bMegillah 9a-b מעשה בתלמי המלך (41) and Soferim 1:7-8 מעשה...שוב מעשה(42)

               yMegillah 1:9 ר' ירמיה בשם ר' חייא בר בא (20)

            C. Secondary Sources.

            P.S. Alexander, “Targum, Targumim,” Anchor Bible Dictionary VI, 320-331

            Moshe J. Bernstein, “The Aramaic Targumim: The Many Faces of the Jewish Biblical Experience”, Jewish Ways of Reading the Bible, 133-165

            “Bible Translations,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, IV, 851-859

V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION (פרשנות המקרא) (about 5 lectures)

A.     General.

Readings (all to be found on RESERVE) to be done as background to all lectures; there is some duplication so you may find yourself able to skip certain sections.  The recently written essays in HB/OT are the most up-to-date.

            [W. Bacher, “Bible Exegesis, Jewish,” Jewish Encyclopaedia, III, 162-174]

            S. Carmy, “Biblical Exegesis, Jewish,” Encyclopedia of Religion 2, 136-142

            A. Grossman, “The School of Literal Jewish Exegesis in Northern France” Hebrew Bible/OT: The History of Its Interpretation I/2, 321-370

U. Simon, “Abraham ibn Ezra ,” HB/OT, 377-387

[M. Cohen, “David Qimhi (Radaq),” HB/OT, 396-415]

Y. Elman, “Moses ben Nahman/Nahmanides (Ramban),” HB/OT, 416-432

            Y. Maori, “The Approach of Classical Jewish Exegetes to Peshat and Derash and Its Implications for the Teaching of Bible Today” from Tradition    

            B. Rabbinic and Other Early Exegesis

            Rambam, Commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin, Introduction to Chapter 10,

 וממה שאתה צריך לדעת כי דברי חכמים ז"ל נחלקו בם בני אדם לשלשה כתות ... ואז תסתכל בספרי זה ויועיל לך בע"ה.

            Middot of R. Yishmael (43)

            Midrash Halakhah: Selections from Mekhiltot (45-47)

            Torah haKetuvah vehaMesurah (48)

            Torah Shelemah (49-51)

            Midrash Aggadah: Selections from Bereshit Rabbah (52-55)

            Selections from biblical interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls (handout)

            J. Kugel, Early Biblical Interpretation: Chapter II, “The Need for Interpretation,” 27-39; Chapter V, “A Look at Some Texts,” 73-102 (RESERVE)

            J. Kugel, The Bible As It Was, “Abraham Journeys from Chaldea” 133-148 (RESERVE)

            Z.H. Chajes, The Students’s Guide Through the Talmud, 139-253

            [The work of the מהרי"ץ חיות is originally in Hebrew – this is his מבוא לאגדה]

FOR D-G, SEE GUIDELINES TO READINGS IN RISHONIM (58-59)

            Pay close attention to programmatic and theoretical comments.

D. Rashi. Genesis 3:8 וישמעו; 50:5 אשר כריתי; 1:1 בראשית ברא; 4:13; 10:8-9; 24:55 ויאמר; Exodus 6:9 (particularly end); 20:8 זכור (first); 23:2 לא תהיה; Introduction to Song of Songs (opening lines)

E. Rashbam. Genesis 37:2 אלה תולדות (first; 60); 1:1 בראשית ברא (61); 1:5 ויהי ערב ויהי בקר (62); 37:35 ויבך אותו אביו; Exodus 13:9; Introduction to Mishpatim (60); 21:6 לעולם; 21:26 בשבט; 21:28; 22:4 מיטב שדהו; Introduction to Terumah; End of Exodus; Leviticus 13:2

Ea. Rashi-Rashbam. Genesis 18:8; 33:18; 49:9 מטרף בני עלית

F. Ibn Ezra. Introduction to Torah Commentary (63-64; stress five approaches; omit astronomy); Genesis 4:13; 10:9; 22:4; 24:55; 33:4 (end הדרש על וכו'); 46:23; Exodus (Ibn Ezra wrote two commentaries to Exodus; the ones marked Q = קצר will not be found in your מקראות גדולות. Use either the מחוקקי יהודה or one of the Mosad harav Kuk editions) 2:9 Q רק דרך הדרש וכו'; 13:9 (BOTH); 13:18 (Q); 14:20 ויאר את הלילה; 16:13 שכבת הטל; 19:17 (Q); Numbers 16:1; Introduction to Lamentations

G. Ramban. Introduction to Torah (65-66; omit Kabbalah); Genesis 4:13; 8:4 (beginning); 10:9; 12:6, 10; 32:4 וישלח; 35:16 כברת הארץ; 46:15; 49:10 לא יסור...וזה היה עונש החשמונאים; Exodus 22:6; Leviticus 19:2; 27:19; Numbers 15:22; 16:1

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