HEBREW 214  / HDS 1430 – Studies in Biblical Law

HEBREW 214  / HDS 1430 – Studies in Biblical Law

Semester: Spring
Offered: 2025
Instructor: Andrew Teeter
Meeting Time: T, 3:00 – 5:00pm

A close examination of the linguistic formulation and literary design of collections of legal material within the Pentateuch, with a focus on the so-called “Covenant Code” (Exod 20–23) and its relationship to the “Holiness Code” (Lev 17–27) and the Deuteronomic laws (Deut 12–26). The course will devote particular attention (1) to compositional poetics (i.e., to the discovery and elucidation of compositional strategies on the micro- and macro-structural levels, to principles of literary organization, to textual logic, and analogical patterns); and (2) to the textual, literary, and hermeneutic relationship between and among these collections with regard to the specific formulations of the laws in each. This will be undertaken with a view toward understanding the overall expectations made of readers, ancient and modern. The Hebrew text of biblical legal collections and their underlying principles of design will be considered in the context of major critical debates within the current state of the field.

Prerequisite: The course presumes proficiency in Biblical Hebrew. Two years of Biblical Hebrew (or equivalent) required.

Jointly Offered with: Harvard Divinity School as HDS 1430

For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.