Biblical Political Theory

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course takes a Great Books approach, placing the primary text and its interpretation at the center. Unlike some other works of political philosophy, the Hebrew Bible primarily makes its arguments through narrative, although other styles (law, oratory, poetry, etc.) are also integral to the biblical corpus. Thus in order to understand the ideas these texts hope to teach us, students must be familiarized with both the narrative itself and the tools that the narrative uses to convey ideas. The course therefore follows the principal biblical narrative--the history of Israel from Genesis to Kings--which spans the first half of the Hebrew Bible. Students will learn the story of the rise and fall of the ancient Israelite kingdom and analyze the political concepts that are deployed by the text as they arise in the narrative.