Biblical Poetry in Translation (HEB 237)  Spring 2009

          [cross-listed with Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, and Literature in Translation]

Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies, UW Madison

Instructor:  Douglas T. Mangum

 

Class meets: MW 2:30-3:45, B231 Van Vleck

Office:  1340 Van Hise Hall (phone #262-9553)   dtmangum@wisc.edu

Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00 (and by appointment)

 

Course Description

          This course examines the poetic literature of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in translation.  One-third of the Bible is poetry, but it is poetry that differs radically from the poetry of the Western world, both in its structural features and in the ways it functioned socially in ancient Israel.

 

          We will begin with the distinctive features of biblical poetry and examine how biblical poetry is structured.  Rather than employing rhyme or meter as in classical Western poetry, ancient Hebrew poets shaped their poems by means of parallel lines, metaphor, simile, and other semantic features, a fact that greatly enhances our ability to appreciate the poets' artistry even in translation.

 

          Since we are reading in translation, we will at times compare different English translations of the poetry to get a feel for the special challenges that translating poetry presents.  Several writers have tried to translate biblical poetry into good English poetry, and we will read some of their translations and discuss approaches to translating poetic literature.

 

          The social functions of poetry within Israelite society also differed in many respects from  the Western world.  Poetry was used for songs of victory and lament, liturgy, prophetic discourse, proverbial sayings, philosophical discussions, and erotic love poetry.  Our understanding of both the forms and functions of biblical poetry will be enhanced through an examination of the similar poetry from neighboring ancient Near Eastern society (for example, proverbial poetry and erotic poetry from Egypt, philosophical poetry from Mesopotamia).

 

          Finally, the influence of biblical poetry on later religious literature has been extraordinary.  We will briefly examine some of the reflexes of biblical poetry in Jewish literature from the Dead Sea Scrolls, in a poem and aphorisms in the New Testament, and in Jewish and Christian liturgies.

 

Textbooks

The Holy Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical books: New Revised Standard Version, New York : Oxford University Press, 1989.

 

          Please note:  This version of the Bible will be used for all of our class discussions of the poems in the Bible.  If you choose not to purchase this version of the Bible or you do not wish to bring it to class, it is extremely important that you photocopy the biblical passages under discussion and bring the copies to class with you.  The text of the New Revised Standard Version Bible can be found online also.

 

Course Reader

Additional readings and resources for the course are available in the course reader and on the Learn@UW web-site for this course (abbreviated L: on the course schedule).

A hard copy of the Course Reader can be purchased at Bob's Copy Shop. Whether or not you buy the reader, you should bring a hard copy of the appropriate readings to class.

Honors Credit [see separate syllabus]

          This course is available for honors credit.  Honors course work will involve additional readings and a paper analyzing a biblical poem that we did not discuss in class.  Students who read Hebrew may read the assigned poems in Hebrew as part of an honors option.  The textbook The Art of Biblical Poetry by Robert Alter is required for Honors students.

 

Requirements and Grading

1.       Attendance (5%) - Class attendance is essential for you to be able to successfully complete the course assignments and exams. There is no single source in the library (or the internet) for the material covered in the lectures.  Attendance will be taken, and more than 2 absences will negatively affect your grade.  Students whose behavior in class is disruptive can expect a significant reduction in their final grade.  We will start class on time and end on time.  Please don't disrupt the class by arriving late or leaving early.

 

2.       Reading - Every reading assignment must be completed on the indicated day.

 

3.       Worksheets (20%) - These are brief assignments connected with some of the readings.  The worksheets will guide your reading and help you apply the previous lectures.  There will be (approximately) 15 to 20 worksheets throughout the course of the semester.  Two worksheets will not be included in the calculation of the final grade.

                        The worksheets will be available in the "Content" section of Learn@UW in MicroSoft Word electronic format.  Worksheets will be collected at the beginning of class on the due date.  Late worksheets are not accepted, because assignments will be discussed in class that day.

                        Worksheets cannot be made up, but I will not count against you worksheets missed because of a documented emergency (hospitalization, funeral, etc.).  Students who participate in university activities (e.g., sports) which require them to miss class must make arrangements with the professor before they miss class. 

         

4.      Writing Assignment (15%).  There will be a short writing assignment (3-4 pages) focused on analysis and interpretation of a section of biblical poetry. Detailed instructions will be provided. The assignment is due April 13^th at the beginning of class.

 

5.       Exams (60%) - There will be two exams in the course-a midterm (25%) on Feb. 23^rd and a final (35%) on May 13th.  The materal on Learn@UW includes study questions.  Missed exams may be made up only in the case of a documented emergency (hospitalization, funeral, etc.).  You must take the final exam at its scheduled time (Wednesday, 5/13/2009, at 12:25 pm). 

 

 

Grading scale:           A       94.0-100                      C       70.0-75.9

                                       AB     88.0-93.9                      D       60.0-69.9

                                       B       82.0-87.9                      F       0-59.9

                                       BC     76.0-81.9

 

Office hours

          I am available during office hours and by appointment.  Please see me as soon as possible if you are having difficulty with the course.  Students needing special accommodations should provide documentation from the McBurney Center at the beginning of the semester.

 

Heb237 Course schedule 2009

N.B.  The schedule is subject to change (with due notice).

 

Introduction to the Course

 

1/21    Syllabus & Schedule

            Introductory discussion - Features of English poetry vs. biblical poetry

            Reading poetry in translation

            

Introduction to biblical poetry

Poetry in ancient Near Eastern societies.  Prose and poetry in the Bible.  Distinctive features of biblical poetry (or, What makes a poem a poem?).

 

1/26     Read:  L: Berlin, "Parallelism," 155-60

                        L: Alter, "Characteristics of Ancient Hebrew Poetry," 611-24

                        L:  Hawkes, "Metaphor and Figurative Language," 1-5

                        L: Introducing Biblical Poetry [examples for class discussion]

 

1/28     Read:  Judges 4-5 (especially 4:17-22 and 5:24-31)

                        L: "Historical and Geographical Background to the Bible" (NJPS 2048-2057)

                        L: Map of the Ancient Near East

 

Poetry within narrative

2/2      The Song of Hannah

            Read:  1 Samuel 1-2

                        L: Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, "Historical and Geographical Background to the Bible" (pp. 2048-2057) from the NJPS Study Bible (2004).

 

2/4      The Lament of David over Saul and Jonathan

            Read:  1 Samuel 27:1-28:2, 29:1-11, 31:1-13 and 2 Samuel 1:1-27 (especially 1:17-27)

                        L: Map: Israel and surrounding countries

 

Liturgical poetry-Psalms

2/9      Psalms in ancient Israelite religion; the formation of the Psalter; the forms of the psalms

            Read:  L: Gillingham, "The Psalter: Hymn-Book, Prayer-Book, Anthology," 232-51

                        L:  Hunter, "Getting Started," 1-16

 

2/11     Psalms of complaint

            Read:  Psalms 13, 17, 43, 54, 79, 88, 137

                        L: Barton, "Form Criticism," 838-41

                        L: Crenshaw, "Classification by Types," 80-86

 

2/16     Thanksgiving hymns

            Read:  Psalms 30, 116, 124, 138

 

2/18     Songs of praise

            Read:  Psalms 8, 29, 100, 113

                        L: Miller, "Enthroned on the Praises of Israel: Interpreting the Biblical Hymns," 64-78

 

2/23    Royal psalms and Zion hymns

            Read:  Psalms 45, 46, 48, 72, 99

                        L: Levenson, "Zion Traditions," 1098-1102

 

2/25   Psalms in Translation

            Read:  Psalms 2, 121, 130

                        L:  Hunter, "The Psalms as Literature," 58-68

                        L:  Holmes, "Forms of Verse Translation and the Translation of Verse Form," 23-33

                        L:  Comparing Translations Handout

 

3/2      Midterm

 

The poetry of national mourning  - Lamentations

3/4      Read:  Lamentations (in its entirety)

                        L:  "The ABC's of Grief," 102-114 (translated by Timothy L. Wilt)

 

Poetry in religious discourse-The Prophets

Amos

3/9      Read:  Amos 1-9

                        L: Hayes, "Form-Critical Study of the Prophets," 143-49, and "The Forms of Prophetic Speech," 273-77

                        L: Amos [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 1170 OT)

                        L: Map: Divided Kingdoms of Israel and Judah

                        L: Map: Judah after the fall of Israel

 

3/11     [Amos-continued]

 

3/14-3/22       Spring Break!

 

Isaiah

3/23    Read:  Isaiah 1 (especially 1:2-9), 40, 42, 49 (especially 49:14-23), 55

                        L:  Isaiah [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 866 OT)

 

3/25    [Isaiah-continued]

 

Poetry, pragmatics, and philosophy-Wisdom poetry

Proverbs

3/30    Read:  Proverbs 1-10, 30-31

                        L: Proverbs [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 802 OT)

                        L: Alter, "The Poetry of Wit," 163-84

 

4/1                  Read:  L: "The Teachings of Ptah-Hotep," 184-88

 

Qoheleth

4/6      Read:  Qoheleth (i.e., Ecclesiastes)

                        L: Ecclesiastes [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 841 OT)

                        L: "The Sufferer and the Soul," 206-11

                        L: "Dialogue of Pessimism," 495-96

 

Job

4/8      Read:  Job 1-6, 28, 38-42

                        L: Job [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 625 OT)

 

4/13    Read:  L: Habel, "In Defense of God the Sage," 21-38

            Writing Assignment Due

 

Erotic poetry - Song of Songs

 

4/15    Read:  Song of Songs (i.e., Song of Solomon)

                        L: Song of Solomon [introduction] (Oxford Annotated NRSV 853 OT)

                        L: "Egyptian Love Songs," 227-31

 

4/20    Read:  Genesis 1-3

 

Biblical poetry re-interpreted in new settings

 

4/22    Psalms at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls)

            Read:  L: Holladay, "Psalms at the Dead Sea," 95-112

                        L: "Apocryphal Psalms," 208-214

                        L: "The Thanksgiving Hymns," psalms 1-7 (= pp. 165-77)

 

4/27    [Psalms at Qumran-continued]

           

4/29    Reflections of Hebrew poetry in the New Testament

            Read:  L: The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55 lineated) with attention to the narrative context in Luke 1-2

                        L: Aphorisms in the Gospels (Matthew 5:42; 7:17; 11:30; Mark 3:24-25; 13:24-25; Luke 6:27-28; 6:37-38; 9:24; 11:9-10; 12:48; 15:32)

 

5/4      Reflections of biblical poetry in Medieval Hebrew poetry

            Read:  L:  Selections from Scheindlin, The Gazelle.

 

5/6      The Psalms in Jewish and Christian liturgical settings

 

5/13     Final Exam 12:25 p.m.

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