Judaism

Recommended Program of Study

There are two main tracks in Judaic Studies: Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Studies, and Late Antiquity.

All students who enter the Religion Department and intend to specialize in Judaic Studies must already be proficient in Hebrew as well as Aramaic. Students must also have approximately three to four years of experience reading rabbinic texts prior to their admission into the program.

Upon entrance students are expected to design a proper schedule of courses by consulting with an appropriate faculty member in the field. Students may take advantage of the wide array of course offerings at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary. Students must also plan to take the proper courses in order to prepare for the following language proficiency exams: Ancient Greek, German and French.

Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Studies

Courses in the philological, historical and literary background of the Hebrew Bible are offered mainly at Columbia, Union and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Among these the student is expected to take the doctoral seminars in Hebrew Bible offered at Union during the student's period of residency. At the start of residence the student will plan with his or her advisor a coherent program of study. Where the student's interest are not covered by actual courses, directed private study and tutorials may be offered by the various instructors to provide what is needed.

While pursuing course work, the student would learn from his/her advisor what particular courses would be helpful in preparing for this examination, and wherein directed private study could be used for areas not covered by courses. Tutoring in the UTS introductory courses in Hebrew Bible also provides valuable preparatory experience, though this cannot be guaranteed for all students. In consultation with the faculty examiner(s) the student would draw up a selected bibliography of basic works (books and articles), consisting of a maximum of 25 to 30 items, which would contain the core background for the exam questions.

Languages: During residency the student will work to attain competency in six languages required by the program: Hebrew, Aramaic, one other semitic language (Ugaritic, Akkadian or Arabic), Greek, French and German (although for good reasons another modern language may be substituted for either French or German). Special competency exams (outside of courses) must be passed in Hebrew, French and German. The Hebrew exam is given in two parts, one oral, the other written. Competency in Aramaic, the other semitic language, and Greek is considered met when the exams in these courses are passed. By the end of residency the student is expected to have met all the language requirements requisite for the program.

The First Field Examination

The first field exam would ordinarily be taken at either the end of the third year or no later than the end of the fourth year after matriculation in the program.
1. Purpose
  
  To show that the student has a basic grasp of the content of major issues confronting its scholarship, sufficient to indicate that the student has the scholarly competence to teach an introductory course in Hebrew Bible at the undergraduate college level, and also is ready to begin more focused study and research leading to the defining of a dissertation topic.
2. Scope
  
  Broadly to cover biblical literature, history and religion. With regard to literature: all types--historical, legal, cultic, prophetic, wisdom, apocalyptic. With regard to history: biblical, but against the ancient Near Eastern background from ca. 2,000 to 100 BCE. With regard to religion: both biblical and ancient Near Eastern.
3. Format and Procedures
  
  The exam would consist of 5 or 6 questions selected and ultimately shaped by the faculty examiner(s), but culled from a larger list of up to a dozen questions or question topics agreed upon in a consultation between the student and the faculty examiner(s). Most of the questions would require essay answers, but one mandatory question would consist of identifications to test the range of the student's knowledge of places, names, dates, technical terms, etc.
  
  The exam would be set for a writing time spread across two consecutive days, and would be closed-book (except perhaps for the use of a Bible in connection with certain questions). Within a month after the exam has been read and evaluated by the examiner(s), an oral discussion would be scheduled with the student to go over perceived weaknesses, and explore issues of possible further investigation. If both the written exam and oral are deemed satisfactory, the student will be credited with a pass. If not, the student may be asked to do the written exam again or provide a supplement to show that weaknesses have been overcome.

The Second Field Exam

The second field exam should be completed no later than a year after passing the first field exam.
1. Purpose
  
  To show the student's readiness to engage in full-time research and writing of a dissertation, presupposing the selection of an area of study and a topic.
2. Scope
  
  A specific, limited area of Hebrew Bible research and its background. Though what the student writes for the Second Field Exam will have obvious pertinence for the student's dissertation, the exam itself would not normally be thought of as constituting a chapter or significant section of the dissertation.
3. Format (one of the following):
  1. An essay examination, with the topics worked out in a consultation between the student and his/her faculty examiner(s). The content would focus on the kinds of things that need to be known by way of background to the dissertation topic selected, i.e. the current state of knowledge on the topic, the history of scholarship on it as well as a critical appraisal of that scholarship, the most important problems needing attention and how they can be fruitfully addressed.
  2. A research paper covering the history of research on the topic selected, and working out a suitable approach to it. The paper might also demonstrate the need for investigation of the topic, and illustrate the potential effectiveness of the approach taken. Or it might focus on a particularly crucial problem (or set of problems) within the larger dissertation topic, and do the necessary preliminary investigation for this. The paper should not exceed 50 pages in length. It is not a mini thesis.
4. Procedure
  
  The format of the exam would be worked out between the student and his/her mentor(s), including especially those who have worked most closely with the student and who have special expertise on the dissertation topic chosen. After the format has been decided upon, the student will draw up a working bibliography and submit it for criticism and approval to his/her faculty advisor(s). Within a month after the Second Exam has been read and evaluated, the reader(s) will ask the student to join in a discussion of its results and evaluation. If both the exam and the oral are deemed satisfactory, the student will be credited with a pass. If not, the student may be asked to redo the exam or write a supplement to compensate for the weaknesses perceived.
5. Recommended Guidance and Preparation for the Second Field Exam
  - Close consultation with those faculty who will function as the dissertation advisors, as well as others who may have pertinent information to contribute.
  - Particular courses or directed private study in areas of the dissertation topic.

Late Antiquity

Program being revised.