Syracuse University Fall, 2006 REL/JSP 302 The Temple & the Dead Sea Scrolls  Time: TTh 3:30-4:50 p.m. Place: HL 205 Instructor:   JIM WATTS (PhD)  Office:  Hall of Languages 505  Office Hours: W 11-12, Th 2-3 & by appointment  E-mail:  jwwatts at syr.edu Phone:  443-5713

Teaching Assistant: Jason Larson; e-mail: jlarson at syr.edu; office hours: W 9:30-11:00 in the basement lounge of Hendricks Chapel.

Course Description: The period between the construction of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 515 B.C.E. and its destruction by the Romans in 70 C.E. witnessed major historical upheavals and significant religious changes that would affect all subequent Western religions. The origins of the authority of scripture, of the centrality of law and morality in religion, of the synagogue, and of apocalyptic expectations for the future all developed in the Judaism of this period. This course will approach the history and literature of Second Temple Judaism by focusing on two key features: the Jerusalem Temple in history and in religious imagination, and the reinterpretation of Jewish tradition in the Dead Sea Scrolls. It will conclude by considering the developing role of scripture in religious thought and literature to set the stage for interpreting the emergence of rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.

Course Objectives: The goals of this course goals are to have students:

1. gain a thorough knowledge of the literary sources for Second Temple Jewish history;
2. investigate the impact in this period and culture of social forces on religious beliefs and practices, and of religion on social institutions;
3. use the context of Second Temple Jewish ritual and literature to think both critically and imaginatively about the nature of religion as a basic response to and expression of the human condition;
4. develop an understanding of Second Temple Jewish literature and practice as key instances in the diversity of human religious phenomena, and achieve a fluency in interpreting and describing it.

Course Requirements:
The course consists of class discussions, lectures, student projects, and, most of all, readings. This course is a reading course, and students' completion of all reading assignments is essential for their success. Assignments, discussions, lectures and tests all presuppose that students have read carefully and on schedule the assigned readings. 

Attendance at lectures and participation in discussions is expected of all students and will influence evaluation of their work (10%), which will also be based on reading responses (50-150 word; 15% total), a midterm exam (15%), two 6-10 page papers (20% each), and a final exam (20%). 

Required Textbooks (available at the campus bookstore in Schine Student Center): 
         Schiffman, Lawrence. Texts and Traditions (KTAV, 1998) 
         Vanderkam, James C. An Introduction to Early Judaism (Eerdmans, 2001). 
Recommended:  New Oxford Annotated Bible (New Revised Standard Version) or The Jewish Study Bible (Tanakh/New Jewish Publication Society Version)

Topics & Assignments: Readings from textbooks appear by author and page numbers, readings from biblical books appear as book title and chapters. Further resources for biblical studies and religion may be found at http://web.syr.edu/~jwwatts/UsefulLinks.htm: 

Date	Topic	Assignment (due by class on date listed)
T Aug 29	Introductions
From the Temple ...
Th Aug 31	Ancient Near Eastern Temples	(handout)
T Sep 5	First Jerusalem Temple	1 Samuel 4-6, 2 Samuel 6; 1 Kings 5:15-6:38; 12:1-33
Th Sep 7	Loss of temple and land	2 Kings 16-20, 25; Leviticus 26; Lamentations 2
T Sep 12	Idealizing the Temple	Ezekiel 40; 46; Exodus 25-26; 40; Leviticus 8-9
Th Sep 14	Second Temple	VanderKam 175-85, 193-211, Schiffman 93-96
T Sep 19	Temple Community	Vanderkam 1-11, Schiffman 65-73; Isaiah 44:24-45:8
Th Sep 21	High Priests & Kings	Vanderkam 11-32; Schiffman 151-169, 240-247
T Sep 26	1st Exam	Study! (study questions)
Th Sep 28	Other Temples	Vanderkam 147-150, Schiffman 73-79; 130-33; 180-82; Eleph. letters (handout)
T Oct 3	Synagogues	VanderKam 211-13, Schiffman 472-74
Th Oct 5	Second Temple destroyed	VanderKam 41-49, 166-173, Schiffman 429-439, 457-471
T Oct 10	Idealized Temple	Schiffman 583-90; 706-707; Revelation 21; Neusner on Talmud (handout)
... to the Dead Sea Scrolls
Th Oct 12	Torah	Schiffman 29-39; Deuteronomy 5-6, 30-31
T Oct 17	Prophets	Schiffman 50-59; 109-117
Th Oct 19	Josiah & the Book	2 Kings 22-25
T Oct 24	No Class - Eid Ul-Fitr	1st paper DUE (paper instructions)
Th Oct 26	Ezra & the Book	Schiffman 86-92
T Oct 31	Apocalyptic	Daniel 7, 12; Schiffman 340-341, 359-61, 365-66, VanderKam 102-115
Th Nov 2	Jubilees	Vanderkam 94-100; Schiffman 342-54
T Nov 7	Parties in Second Temple Judaism	Schiffman 231-34, 266-75; VanderKam 186-90
Th Nov 9	Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran	VanderKam 150-66, 191-93, Schiffman 275-300
T Nov 14	Dead Sea Scrolls: Interpreting Torah	Deuteronomy 17:14-20; Schiffman 285-99; 361-65; "DSS: carbon to DNA"
Th Nov 16	Dead Sea Scrolls: Expecting the End	Habakkuk 1-3; Schiffman 354-56; 359-61
T Nov 21	No Class	2nd paper DUE (paper instructions)
Th Nov 23	No Class - Thanksgiving
T Nov 28	Philo & Josephus	Vanderkam 138-46; Schiffman 203-206, 220-230, 479-86
Th Nov 30	From Hillel to Rabbinic Judaism	Schiffman 503-522
T Dec 5	From Jesus to Christianity	Mark 1-16; Acts 1-4, 9-10; Galatians 1-2; Schiffman 421-27
Th Dec 7	Spiritualizing the Temple	Schiffman 471-72; b.t. Menahot 110a-b (handout); John 2:13-22; 1 Corinthians 3
Th Dec 14, 5:00-7:00 pm	FINAL EXAM	Study! (study questions)