Welcome to a 12 unit series on the third section of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. Ketuvim, the Writings, is comprised of various genres; poetry, wisdom, philosophy, and history. Ketuvim begins with three long books, Psalms, 150 chapters, Proverbs, 31 chapters, and Job, 42 chapters. They are followed by the five Megilot, the Scrolls, in order of the holidays on which they are read, Passover and the Song of Songs, Shavuot and Ruth, Tisha B’av and Lamentations, Succoth and Qohelet (Ecclesiastes), and Esther and Purim. The last books of Ketuvim are historical, describing the return to Judah and Jerusalem and the re-building of the Temple and the city. Ketuvim concludes with a retelling of the period of the kings of Judah and Israel.
Students will receive one credit for this course.
Course Objectives
To understand each book of Ketuvim:
Unit 1—Psalms
Unit 2—Proverbs
Unit 3—Job
Unit 4—Song of Songs
Unit 5—Ruth
Unit 6—Lamentations
Unit 7—Ecclesiastes
Unit 8—Esther
Unit 9—Daniel
Unit 10—Ezra
Unit 11—Nehemiah
Unit 12—I and II Chronicles
Required Readings:
Reading the biblical book for each unit before the lecture is recommended. Reading the book after the lecture is required.
Recommended Readings
Herman Gunkel, The Psalms
Estelle Berlin, Introduction to her JPS Commentary on Esther
Encyclopedia Judaica for an in depth look at each book.
Meet Your Instructor
Students Also Enjoyed
Ratings and Reviews
Barbara DershowitzI like listening to the instructor, who apparently knows quite a lot. This was an interesting survey of Ketuvim.
Madison MeljacTake great notes you will need them.
I took this second class by this instructor as a way to spend more time with the Tanakh, and because I like the format of electives that consist of lectures and quizzes. The teaching style of the instructor does not seem like teaching so much as (very quickly) reciting notes that seem like a motley smattering of footnotes from different books.