YALE RLST 145 - Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) with Professor Christine Hayes

Lecture 1 - The Parts of the Whole

author: Christine Hayes, Department of Religious Studies, Yale University
published: Feb. 16, 2011, recorded: September 2006, views: 14028

Related Open Educational Resources

Report a problem or upload files

If you have found a problem with this lecture or would like to send us extra material, articles, exercises, etc., please use our ticket system to describe your request and upload the data.
Enter your e-mail into the 'Cc' field, and we will keep you updated with your request's status.

Lecture popularity: You need to login to cast your vote.

Description

This lecture provides an introduction to the literature of the Hebrew Bible and its structure and contents. Common misconceptions about the Bible are dispelled: the Bible is a library of books from diverse times and places rather than a single, unified book; biblical narratives contain complex themes and realistic characters and are not "pious parables" about saintly persons; the Bible is a literarily sophisticated narrative not for children; the Bible is an account of the odyssey of a people rather than a book of theology; and finally, the Bible was written by many human contributors with diverse perspectives and viewpoints.

Reading assignment:

Jewish Study Bible [henceforth JSB]: Introduction to Genesis, pp. 8-11; Gen 1-4

Resources: Handout: A Brief Synopsis of the Tanakh [text]

Link this page

Would you like to put a link to this lecture on your homepage?
Go ahead! Copy the HTML snippet !

Reviews and comments:

1 grace ayisi, April 13, 2011 at 10:53 a.m.:

stumbled on C Hayes - find listening to her insightful

2 e fla, October 3, 2011 at 12:01 p.m.:

Excellent teacher of Old Testament Thanks for putting these lectures on vide...

3 mark, December 26, 2011 at 8:12 p.m.:

Greatest lecturer of all times. I love how you stay on track and condense so much important information. I have seen this lecture twice so I can stay in order. Yale University should count their luck stars they have you... God Bless You.
http://paradisemontana.blogspot.com

4 Irene Carnan, April 22, 2015 at 9:32 p.m.:

23 rd April 2015

I am so very grateful to Yale & Prof. Hayes for making these outstanding lectures available to the world and especially to myself here in Scotland. Suffice to say a BIG THANK-YOU.
Truly, the price of wisdom is far above rubies.

My regards, Shalom
From irene

Write your own review or comment:

Comment:
Name:
Email address:
URL:

make sure you have javascript enabled or clear this field: