Ph.D.  READING LIST
September 2004

The readings are updated annually.  The list published in September is valid for one year.  Items from a recent reading list may be substituted, in consultation with the Graduate Adviser.  Most of the readings and texts other than complete books are available in a reading packet. Copies are available in the Grad Reading Room and on reserve in H. C. White Library.  A master copy, which can be photocopied, can be borrowed from the departmental office.  Readings done as part of course work should be reviewed.

First, review the MA list;  that material is relevant to the PhD Prelims as well.

I.) Biblical texts and versions

The entire Bible, in English but ideally in Hebrew

P. S. Alexander, “Jewish Aramaic Translations of Hebrew Scriptures,” in Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, edited by M. J. Mulder (Assen/Maastricht: Van Gorcum and Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990), 217-53.

G. W. Anderson, “Canonical and Non-canonical,” Cambridge History of the Bible 1:113-59.

N. Fernández Marcos, The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Versions of the Bible (Brill: Leiden, 2000).

M. Goshen-Gottstein, “Editions of the Hebrew Bible--Past and Future,” in  “Sha`arei Talmon”: Studies in the Bible, Qumran, and the Ancient Near East presented to Shemaryahu Talmon, edited by M. Fishbane and E. Tov (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992), 221-42.

M. Harle, La langue de Japhet (Paris: Cerf, 1994), 17-29, 253-75.

S. Talmon, “The Old Testament Text,” Cambridge History of the Bible, 1:159-199.

E. Ulrich, "The Canonical Process," in  “Sha`arei Talmon”: Studies in the Bible, Qumran, and the Ancient Near East Presented to Shemaryahu Talmon, edited by M. Fishbane and E. Tov (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992), 267-91.

M. Weitzman, The Syriac Version of the Old Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).

II.) Semitics

J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1968; reprinted Eisenbrauns).

M. Black, “The Biblical Languages,” Cambridge History of the Bible 1:1-11.

P. Bordreuil; F. Israel; D. Pardee, “Deux Ostraca Paléo-Hébreu de la collection Sh. Moussaïff,” Semitica 46 (1996), 51-76.

J. Naveh, Early History of the Alphabet: An Introduction to West Semitic Epigraphy and Palaeography (2d edition; Jerusalem: Magnes Press and Hebrew University, 1987).

Ch. Rabin, “Semitic Languages,” Encyclopedia Judaica 14: 1149-1157.

III.) Hebrew

W. Bodine, ed., Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1992).

A. Sáenz-Badillos, A History of the Hebrew Language, translated by John Elwolde (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996) (chaps. 7-8 may be skimmed).

B. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990).

IV.) History and Archaeology

M. Coogan, ed., The Oxford History of the Biblical World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

P. Davies, In Search of “Ancient Israel”  (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993).

W. Dever, What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and When Did They Know It?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001).

T. Levy, The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land (New York: Facts on File, 1994).

  A. Mazar, The Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000 to 586 B.C.E. (New York: Doubleday, 1990).

V.) Literature

P. R. Ackroyd, “The Old Testament in the Making,” Cambridge History of the Bible 1:67-113.

A. Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985).

J. Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel (2d ed.; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1996).

A. F. Campbell and M. A. O'Brien, Sources of the Pentateuch: Texts, Introductions, Annotations (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), ix-20; 203-54; skim 21-202.

S. McKenzie, “Deuteronomistic History,” “Deuteronomy,” Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:160-83.

S. L. McKenzie and M. P. Graham, eds., The Hebrew Bible Today (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1998).

R. J. Thompson, Moses and the Law in a Century of Criticism since Graf (Leiden: Brill, 1970).

J. Trebolle Barrera, The Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible: An Introduction to the History of the Bible (trans. by Wilfred G. E. Watson; Leiden: Brill and Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).

G. Vermes, “Bible and Midrash: Early Old Testament Exegesis,” Cambridge History of the Bible 1:199-231.

J. Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel  (1878; any edition), Introduction and chapters 1-5.

A.     J. Wiseman, “Books in the Ancient Near East and in the Old Testament,” Cambridge History of the Bible, 1:30-48.

VI.) Religion of Israel

M. Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School (reprint; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1985), 1-148.

Z. Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches (London: Continuum, 2001).

OR  P. Miller, The Religion of Ancient Israel (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2000).

VII.) Ancient Near East

J. Bottéro, Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).

T. Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion (New Haven: Yale, 1976).

D. Redford, Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).

B. E. Shafer, ed., Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991).

VIII.) Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism

J. J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).

S. Fraade, From Tradition to Commentary: Torah and Its Interpretation in the Midrash Sifre to Deuteronomy  (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991).

L. Schiffman, From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (New York: Ktav, 1991).

G. Vermes, An Introduction to the Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000) [use this edition only].

IX.) Hebrew Texts

A.) Job, Ezekiel, and Isaiah (only two are required on the exam). Poetic texts read for 513-514.

B.) Texts prepared independently: Exod 1-36; Num 1-10; 1 Kgs 1-20; Zeph 1-3; Prov 1-20; Lam 1-5; Jer 1-24.

C.) Massorah: ability to interpret notes in the Massorah Marginalis and to divide verses down to the third dichotomy on the basis of Massoretic accents (for information, see Joüon-Muraoka and Yeivin).

D.) Paleo-Hebrew texts: translation from line-drawings; discussion of language and interpretation

Gezer (KAI 182); Siloam tunnel (KAI 189); Yavneh Yam = Mesad Hashavyahu (KAI 200); Lachish letters 2 (KAI 192), 3 (KAI 193), 4 (KAI 194), 5 (KAI 195); Arad letters 1, 17, 18, 24 (Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions); Khirbet El Qom (=Kom (8):6 in HAE 1:202-13); Kuntillet Ajrud (=KAgr(9):8 in HAE 1:59-63); two Moussaïeff letters (Semitica 46 [1996]: 49-76).

E.) Qumran texts: translation from facsimile, discussion of language and interpretation

Pesher Habakkuk, cols. 6-8

Rule of the Community (Serech Hayahad), cols. 1-3

Rule of the Congregation (Serech Ha`edah), cols. 1-2

Temple Scroll, cols 45-47

Sight passages

 The following are helpful in reading this material: J. Charlesworth and F. M. Cross, eds., The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994); J. Maier, The Temple Scroll: An Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Sheffield: JSOT, 1985); M. P. Horgan, Pesharim: Qumran Interpretations of Biblical Books (Washington: Catholic Biblical Association, 1979).

X.) Northwest Semitic Languages (translation from original script; discussion of language and interpretation)

1.) Canaanite dialects:

·        Phoenician: Ahiram (KAI 1); Yehimilk (KAI 4); Kilamuwa (KAI 24); Karatepe (KAI 26); Marseilles (KAI 69).

·        Moabite: Mesha (KAI 181)

2.)  Ugaritic: (texts listed by CAT number [Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts])

·        mythological: 1.3.III (Anat); 1.17.II:8-40 (Aqht)

·        ritual 1.115

·        letter 2.38

3.) Aramaic:

·        Biblical Aramaic:  Daniel 2-4; Ezra 4-5

·        Old Aramaic [translation from line-drawings]: Zakir (KAI 202), Sefire I (KAI 222), Bar-RKB (KAI 216), Tel Dan (Israel Exploration Journal 43 [1993]: 81-98; 45 [1995]: 1-18)

·        Imperial Aramaic:  petition (TAD A4.7 = Cowley #30), memorandum (TAD A4.9 = Cowley #32), letters (TAD A6.7, D7.16); quitclaim (TAD B2.2), Ahiqar (portions in Rosenthal, Aramaic Handbook I/1, pp. 15-16)

·        Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: Genesis Apocryphon (portions in Rosenthal, Aramaic Handbook I/1, pp. 51-52)

·        Targum:  Isaiah 53, Job 42, Song of Songs 4 

4.) Syriac:

·        Sight passages from Peshitta and Gospels.

·        Peshitta (using Leiden edition): Genesis 22, Isaiah 53, Ezekiel 37, Job 42, Esther 1, Song of Songs 4

·        Syriac Psalm 1

·        Ephrem’s commentary on Genesis 22 (T. Muraoka, Classical Syriac: A Basic Grammar with Chrestomathy [Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1997], 46*-48*).

·        Isho bar Nun, questions 28-29 [on Gen 22:4, 13]  (E. G. Clark, The Selected Questions of Isho Bar Nun on the Pentateuch [Leiden: Brill, 1962]).

·        Simon the Stylite (C. Brockelmann, Syrische Grammatik [Leipzig: VEB Verlag, 1976], 103*-105.19*)

If you have trouble accessing this page, contact: Chris Dargis  (cadargis@wisc.edu)
Latest revision date: 9/2/2004  (cad)

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