The History of the Study of Biblical Hebrew at Duke
Hebrew @ Duke is an interdisciplinary language study that combines a rigorous curriculum in Modern Hebrew within the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Department, and an exceptional program in Biblical Hebrew within the Divinity School. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the wide academic disciplines of Hebrew students, and the many applications to which they apply their Hebrew learning. Learn more about the history of the study of Biblical Hebrew in this article by Stephen Chapman, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity and affiliated faculty member of the Center for Jewish Studies.
The Judaic Studies program works closely together with the Divinity School at Duke. The Divinity School is a professional school for the training of Christian ministers and other kinds of religious professionals, with about 45 faculty members and 700 students. It is the premier school of its kind in the U.S., and probably internationally as well. The roots of the Divinity School, as with Duke University in general, are in American Methodism, a Christian revival movement that began in England with the work of John Wesley. The largest percentage of both its student population and the faculty are still Methodist, although the Divinity School is now interdenominational and ecumenical—even while it retains its standing as an official Methodist seminary. The Divinity School’s focus remains the education of Christian professionals, but it now also offers courses by Steven Sager, formerly the rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Durham, and Abdullah Antepli, Duke’s Muslim chaplain. The Divinity School’s regular-rank Old Testament faculty are Ellen Davis, Stephen Chapman and Anathea Portier-Young.
Because of its Methodist heritage, the Divinity School has never required students to study the “biblical languages” of Hebrew and Greek. (Methodism traditionally stressed piety and good works over biblical interpretation and study.) But over the last two decades Duke has become the center for a major trend in biblical scholarship focused on the theological interpretation of the Bible. In some ways this trend reflects frustration with older historically-oriented approaches that were so intent to reconstruct the history lying behind the biblical text that they bypassed its literary artistry and theological sophistication. A programmatic publication for the new emphasis on close reading and theological reflection is Ellen F. Davis and Richard B. Hays, The Art of Reading Scripture (Eerdmans, 2003), which presents the fruit of an interdisciplinary scholarly working group sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. Their approach draws on the previous work of a number of Jewish scholars, particularly Moshe Greenberg (1928-2010), who was one of the first to call for a more “holistic” type of exegesis, and James Kugel (1945- ), who has stressed the significance of the history of biblical interpretation—particularly on the part of premodern interpreters. Both of these features can be seen in the work of Brevard S. Childs (1923-2007), an influential Yale scholar who trained both Davis and Chapman.
Another major ingredient of the Divinity School’s distinctive program in theological interpretation is the cultivation of the necessary linguistic skills to work with the Bible in its original languages. Because there is no official language requirement, students must choose to work with the biblical languages as part of their elective coursework. Yet for the past several years about sixty students have done so in each language, resulting in three classes of Hebrew and three of Greek every year. Some undergraduates take these courses, too, and they are always welcomed. Although faculty members have sometimes offered the introductory language classes, they are now generally taught by graduate students in Duke’s Ph. D. program, including doctoral students in Judaic Studies as well as Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The enthusiasm for these courses has steadily risen, and largely stems from the students’ exposure to the importance of such language work when they take their required introductory classes in Old and New Testament. Chapman explains what has happened in this way: “What we tried to do was not just to get more students to take these courses, although that was certainly a goal. But our larger focus has been on creating a culture of language study throughout the school, a climate in which the cultivation of biblical languages is prized and our students encounter the potential of language study to contribute to their understanding of the Bible and to their future ministries. It warms my heart to walk down the hallway and see our students using their flashcards.”
The introductory language courses are taught at a high level. Both are year-long sequences, and students are not permitted only to take a single semester. Several textbooks have been used in recent years, but most of the Hebrew teachers have gravitated toward Mark David Futato’s Beginning Biblical Hebrew (Eisenbrauns, 2003). Unlike some beginning Hebrew texts, Futato’s approach does not overwhelm students with details and exceptions. An effort is made to conclude the textbook by the end of the first third of the second semester; this enables the classes to spend the remainder of that semester working through the book of Jonah or Ruth. By including this kind of book-based study within the first year, students are able to see the value of all their earlier hard work. At many schools with similar programs, the translation of Jonah or Ruth is a typical “intermediate” or second-year project. At Duke, students finish their first-year with an exceptional foundation for further study. Traditionally, the Divinity School has also offered a full second-year sequence of Hebrew language study, with an advanced course on Hebrew Prose Narrative in the fall, and another on Hebrew Poetry in the spring. These courses are usually offered by faculty members rather than graduate students, and the faculty have included members of the Religion Department like Melvin Peters, a specialist in the study of the Septuagint (i.e., the Greek Bible).
Of course, our own Eric Meyers continues to offer coursework in Rabbinic Hebrew, and Laura Lieber has taught a departmental course in introductory Biblical Hebrew. Lieber has also co-taught Hebrew text-based courses with Davis, including seminars on Exodus and the Song of Songs.
It should be clear from this brief overview that Hebrew language study is thriving at Duke! Students at all levels, from the undergraduate to the doctoral, benefit from this rich and distinctive learning environment. The biblical faculty from the Religion Department and the Divinity School combine their expertise and model the kind of collegiality and mutual respect that they desire to see in their students. Jews and Christians never learn from each other better than when they meet each other at the (Hebrew!) Bible.