Ancient Jewish Mysticism
RELI 260
Fall 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
CJST 260, CLST 270 |
This course examines how ancient Israelite/Judahite communities (Bronze Age through the Iron Age) imagined, accessed, and managed the "invisible world": the dead, hostile spirits/demons, divine messages about the future, and the binding power of spoken formulas (oaths, blessings, curses). Rather than treating "mysticism" as later contemplative tradition, we use the term in a deliberately narrow, historical sense: ritual and textual techniques meant to cross or manipulate the boundary between human and nonhuman realms -- especially under conditions of threat, uncertainty, or political pressure. Working historically and comparatively, we read biblical texts alongside contemporary ancient Near Eastern ritual and inscriptional evidence (Akkadian, Aramaic, Sumerian, Ugaritic), asking: What practices do the texts presuppose? What do polemics against "illicit" rites reveal about what people actually did? How do treaties, curses, and apotropaic objects encode beliefs about divine enforcement? And how does material culture (amulets, inscriptions, ritual installations) complicate strictly "literary" reconstructions? |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RELI |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Jewish & Israel Studies Minor)(Religion Minor)(Religion) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, eds., THE JEWISH STUDY BIBLE
Curated readings from Non-Biblical Ancient West Asian Primary Sources
Curated readings from Historical Critical Scholarship on the Hebrew Bible
Curated readings on the following topics: Necromancy, Demonology, Apotropaic Rituals, "Witchcraft," Treaty Curses and Loyalty Oaths, Divination, Child Sacrifice, Ancient West Asian Prayer
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Examinations and Assignments:
An In-Class Presentation of 8-10 minutes
An In-Class Midterm Exam
A Final Paper (12-15 pages) or Project |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course counts for the "Historical Traditions" requirement for the Religion major/minor and for the Jewish and Israel Studies minor. |
| Instructor(s): Walker,Tanner Ethan Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 19 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 4 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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