Coptic has recently become very important because it is the language in which the Nag Hammadi texts are written. These texts, discovered in 1945, reveal information about the schisms which divided early Judaism and Christianity. Continuation of Coptic 522. The Literature of the Hebrew Bible. Extensive reading in several genres of the Hebrew Old Testament.
Emphasis is on the content, style, and literary structure.
The course is conducted in Hebrew. The Bible in Jewish Tradition. Permission of instructor. Readings and interpretations of texts from the Tannaitic corpus of literature, including Mishnah and Midrash. Readings in the Ras Shamra texts, with emphasis on the development of the Canaanite languages.