RLB20 Religion of Ancient Israel in the Light of Archaeology

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Dalibor Papoušek, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Václavík, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Londa Vondráčková
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Thursday 9:10–10:45 J22
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Annotation
The course covers the oldest periods of the Israelite religion until the Hellenization of Syria-Palestine. It confronts the traditional picture of religious life, reconstructed mostly from Biblical traditions, with the results of archaeological excavations and thus offers a more complex approach for discussions.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- demonstrate the basic factual knowledge of the Israelite religion in the pre-Hellenistic period;
- analyze relevant Biblical sources on the basis of textual criticism;
- use archaeological sources for the reconstruction of Israelite religious life in the pre-Hellenistic period;
- revise the retrospective idealization of the history of Israel in the deuteronomistic tradition;
- propose a more complex picture of the old Israelite religion grounded in written and archaeological sources as well.
Syllabus
  • (0) Introduction to the course. (1) Ethnogenesis of Hebrew tribes and the origins of Israel. (2) The Conquest of Canaan in the light of archaeology. (3) The Kingdom of David and Solomon in the confrontation of Biblical and archaeological sources. (4) High places and their archaeological evidence. (5) Typology of Canaanite temples. (6) Solomon's temple and its symbolism. The temple of Arad. (7) Hezekiah and Sennacherib in the light of Biblical and Assyrian sources. (8) Archaeological background of Josiah's deuteronomistic reform. (9) The question of child sacrifices. (10) Yehud in the post-exilic period. (11) Epigraphic evidence of the Yahwist cult. (12) Iconic and aniconic symbolizations in Israel.
Literature
  • FINKELSTEIN, Israel and Neil Asher SILBERMAN. Objevování Bible : svatá Písma Izraele ve světle moderní archeologie. Vyd. 1. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2007, 329 s. ISBN 9788070218693. info
  • JEPSEN, Alfred. Královská tažení ve starém Orientu : od Sinuheta k Nabukadnezarovi. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1997, 239 s. ISBN 8070212136. info
  • Zevit, Ziony. The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. London – New York: Continuum 2001.
  • Coogan, Michael D. – J. Cheryl Exum – Lawrence E. Stager (eds.). Scripture and Other Artifacts: Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Honor of Philip J. King. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press 1994.
  • Gittlen, Barry M. (ed.). Sacred Time, Sacred Place: Archaeology and the Religion of Israel. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns 2002.
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussions based on home readings and individual written commentaries, presentation and defence of individual seminar papers.
Assessment methods
Requirements for the colloquium:
(a) active participation in class discussions;
(b) written commentaries in given sources;
(c) seminar paper defenced in a class discussion.
Language of instruction
Czech
Follow-Up Courses
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2002, Autumn 2005, Autumn 2007, Spring 2010, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2015, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2015/RLB20