Tricksters in the Hebrew Bible break the rules. Sometimes they're outsiders or underdogs trying to gain an advantage. Sometimes they try to right a wrong. And on occasion, the trickster may be God. Our class will explore this theme, starting with the trickster motif in neighboring ancient cultures.  Then we'll move on to some of the most famo... Read more

Who were the prophets and prophetesses, how did they come to be so, and how were their visions expressed and received? Our class will explore these and other questions, not only for prophets of the Bible, but also for the prophetic profession in the rest of the ancient Near East. Then we'll explore specific Biblical texts that inform our understanding of the prophet and his role in society. A special focus will be the endemic problem of the 'false prophet' in Biblical Literature. In the pro... Read more

This course explores the urgent, ancient question of meaning, purpose, and futility through the lens of "vanity"—both as biblical emptiness (fleeting as breath) and modern self-obsession.

Starting with the Book of Ecclesiastes, we will study scripture, novels, essays, and films that ask: what makes life meaningful amidst crisis, death, and the absurd? This inquiry feels especially urgent in our age of social media, AI, and climate emergency.

We know the story of Purim as a classic narrative of good and evil with a triumphant ending: "Now let's eat!" — but the narrative is worthy of a closer reading. The biblical book is a bawdy, sometimes slap-stick, sometimes serious work of fiction which conceals and reveals its purpose and meanings while giving us insights into the fantasies and reality of the Jewish world of its creators. We will read and discus... Read more