Graduate Courses

My graduate courses place strong emphasis on building the students’ essential skills in reading and exegeting the biblical text in its original languages, including training in philological, text-critical, and redaction analysis, as well as literary readings of the text in its final form. I also seek to empower the students to read the biblical materials together with Northwest Semitic inscriptions, Near Eastern  sources, and diverse material remains from ancient Israel and the broader Near East. 

A major focus of my graduate teaching is equipping students to conduct research and write longer research papers on topics of their own choosing. This includes the ability to closely analyze primary sources in their original languages, to identify and critically evaluate relevant secondary literature, to form a sound research hypothesis, and to write in a way that is clear, concise, and argumentative. Another skill that I seek to impart to my graduate students is the ability to reflect critically on the history, methods, and boundaries of biblical studies as a discipline, as well as a mastery of the debates that are shaping the field today. 

Below is a selection of graduate courses that I have taught at Harvard University. A representative syllabus of a graduate seminar I designed and taught is also available.