It’s hard to believe I’ve been here four weeks already. The time is flying by too quickly. In between all the adventures around the city or touring the country, there are the general happenings around campus. I am here to study so therefore I’m taking classes and doing homework. So what does that look like? Here are my classes:
- Physical Settings is taken by everyone who comes here. This is the main touring class, studying the Bible where it happened. We’re studying the geography and geology of the land and how that impacts the Biblical story. Our journeys will take us across the country and into Jordan.
- Introduction to Rabbinic Literature looks at classical rabbinic literature from about 2nd century BC to 7th century AD. It provides a different way to look at the Bible than Christians normally look at it and provides some comparisons to the New Testament because similar techniques are used there. This class is taught by a local rabbi, providing us views into his perspectives. It’s a great discussion-generating class that I’m enjoying.
- Ancient Egypt looks at the history of ancient Egypt from its geography centered on the Nile to the Pharaohs and gods of Egypt. Egypt plays a sizable role in the Biblical narrative, and we’re looking at those connections. After final exams in December, we will drive to Egypt to tour around for a week, seeing firsthand what we’ve been discussing.
- History of Ancient Israel looks at the history of the Middle East from the dawn of history (i.e. the invention of writing) through the exile of Israel in 586 BC, tying in Israel and where they fit in history. What is the larger context of the Biblical world?
- Finally, as if that isn’t enough, I’m auditing Biblical Archaeology. It’s taught by Dr. Gabi Barkay, who is the head archaeologist in Jerusalem today. He has a vast treasure trove of knowledge and knows this city better than the back of his hand. We’re looking at the archaeology that’s been done in this land from various periods.
In short, I’m learning a lot. There is overlap between the different classes, which helps to enforce key ideas. Besides all that and homework (and there’s enough of that), there’s eating, of course. The food has been good. There’s been good variety (although lots of rice and hummus). There’s a mix of Middle Eastern and American food.
If you want a little more news, check out the current news on the JUC website, written by the president, Dr. Paul Wright (also my professor for Physical Settings and Ancient Egypt). As always, he has included some pictures, so you can get a bigger sense of what we’ve been doing and who I’ve been interacting with. See if you can spot me in a couple of them. With my hat and sunglasses, I’m a little harder to pick out!