Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages

Professors
Alan M. Cooper
Stephen A. Geller
David Marcus

Associate Professor
Robert A. Harris, Chair

Assistant Professors
Stephen P. Garfinkel
Walter Herzberg
Amy Kalmanofsky
Sharon Keller (on sabbatical, spring 2008)

Senior Lecturer
Miles Cohen

Adjunct Professor
David Sperling

Adjunct Instructor
Ilana Sasson

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts
Master of Arts
Doctor of Hebrew Literature
Doctor of Philosophy

Bachelor of Arts

Admission Requirements
For admission to List College, click here.

Degree Requirements
From the Core Curriculum

  • Bible 1013 and 1014, or 2013 and 2014: Survey of Biblical Period
  • Bible elective

With approval of the dean, students may be exempted from the above survey courses. These students are thus permitted to fulfill their Bible requirements with the appropriate number of advanced Bible courses.

For Bible Majors
Twenty-one credits (seven courses) beyond core-curriculum requirements, distributed as follows:

  • BIB 3009: Methods of Biblical Criticism
  • One course in biblical grammar (BIB 5560)
  • Five courses chosen in consultation with the adviser
Master of Arts

Admission Requirements
For admission to The Graduate School, click here.

Degree Requirements
Courses
Bible Department requirements are determined on the basis of an evaluation of the undergraduate transcript. Students entering the program will be required to take the following courses during the first year of graduate study if they have not had the equivalent previously:

  • One semester of biblical Hebrew grammar
  • Two semesters of Hebrew Bible texts

Students are permitted to register for courses counting toward the degree while fulfilling these prerequisites.

In addition to courses required of all students in The Graduate School, thirty graduate credits are required as follows:

  • Twenty-one credits in Bible, including one seminar
  • Nine credits of electives (students who intend to pursue a doctorate in Bible should take most of the electives in Bible or related courses)

Comprehensive Examination
Students must satisfactorily complete a comprehensive examination. For the reading list and text requirements, contact The Graduate School Office.

Doctor of Hebrew Literature 

Admission Requirements
For admission to The Graduate School, click here. Additionally, students must have a master's degree in Bible or Judaica. Further course work may be required in the case of students who have an MA in Judaica. Students must pass an examination in biblical Hebrew grammar.

Degree Requirements
Courses
In addition to courses required of all students in The Graduate School, thirty graduate credits beyond the MA are required, to be selected from the following list:

  • Two research seminars with major papers
  • Two advanced text courses
  • Two courses in biblical law, religion, and history
  • One course in medieval exegesis
  • One course in a Semitic language other than Hebrew
  • Two courses in electives in the area of specialization

Students may be asked to audit courses and must display a basic familiarity with the particulars of biblical literature of the type implied by the traditional term bekiut, to be established by examination.

Paper
Shortly before the oral comprehensive examination, each candidate is required to write one ten-page paper in history, religion, canon, or text criticism. The candidate is asked to identify a major problem in one of these areas and to discuss it, paying special attention to the history of the problem and how critical scholars today might approach a solution.

Comprehensive Examinations
Students will take two comprehensive examinations as follows:

  • An examination on the text of the Hebrew Bible (may be taken in smaller sections during the course of study)
  • A two-hour oral examination in which a candidate will be tested in depth on the secondary literature as outlined in the prescribed reading list

Dissertation
Candidates are required to write a dissertation in the field of specialization.

Doctor of Philosophy

Admission Requirements
For admission to The Graduate School, click here. Additionally, students must have a master's degree in Bible or Judaica. Further coursework may be required in the case of students with an MA in Judaica.

Degree Requirements
The course of study is organized around two methodological approaches: Hebrew philology and another approach chosen by the student. As early as possible, a specialization will be selected from the following (with the guidance of a departmental adviser): anthropology, comparative law, comparative literature, hermeneutics (including traditional Jewish exegesis), historiography, linguistics (Hebrew/Semitic), literary criticism, religion/theology, Semitic philology, sociology, and textual criticism.

Courses
In addition to courses required of all students in The Graduate School, two semesters of Greek or Latin (with the adviser's permission) and seventy-two graduate credits (twenty-four courses), including the MA degree courses, are required as follows:

  • five courses in biblical texts
  • two courses in biblical history, religion, or law
  • two seminars
  • two courses in biblical Hebrew or comparative Semitics
  • two courses in Akkadian
  • one course in Aramaic
  • one course in Ugaritic
  • one course in inscriptions
  • eight electives in candidate's area of specialization, approved by the student's adviser

Papers
Shortly before the oral comprehensive examination, candidates are required to write three papers of six to ten pages each in the areas of history, religion, and canon or text criticism. The candidate must identify a major problem in each of these three areas and then discuss it, paying special attention to the history of the problem and how critical scholars today might approach a solution.

Comprehensive Examinations
Students will take two comprehensive examinations as follows:

  • An examination on the text of the Hebrew Bible (may be taken in smaller sections during the course of study)
  • A two-hour oral examination in which a candidate will be tested in depth on the secondary literature, as outlined in the prescribed reading list, and in the area of the candidate's specialization

Students must also display a basic familiarity with the particulars of biblical literature of the type implied by the traditional term bekiut, to be established by examination during the course of study.

PhD candidates who have passed all text examinations and the oral comprehensive examination are eligible to receive a master of arts degree.

Dissertation
An original contribution to the study of Bible that applies the student's selected discipline and any pertinent methodologies.

Search the Course Catalog for BIB courses