Bible Interpretation MSt

About

This course is intended to give you experience in reading a range of primary exegetical texts in Classical Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac; help you develop research methodologies through the writing of a 15,000-word dissertation; and to provide you with a solid basis in the subject area if you are considering to going on to do original research.

Teaching for the compulsory core course is covered by a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials covering the principal sources for exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and select topics will be covered in Michaelmas and Hilary terms. These may include ancient Bible translations, Qumran texts, Rabbinic hermeneutics, Greek and Latin patristics, or early Syriac commentaries. They will be explored in the essays set which you will present in meetings with your tutor, either in one-to-one sessions or with one or two other students in related subjects (such sessions are known as ‘tutorials’).

For your other two papers, you will select two options from the following five:

  • Hebrew biblical and exegetical texts
  • Aramaic biblical and Targum texts
  • Syriac biblical and exegetical texts
  • Greek biblical and exegetical texts
  • Latin biblical and exegetical texts.

Set texts in the first Semitic language (or in Latin and/or Greek if chosen) will be studied in classes in all three terms. Evidence of proficiency in Greek or Latin will be expected if options in either of these languages are chosen.

If required, intensive elementary language teaching in a second Semitic language followed by textual study is available in the first term, comprising two to three hours per week. Since elementary language teaching will start with the basics of the grammar, classes may be shared with undergraduate or graduate beginners in other appropriate courses (Classical Hebrew, Syriac, and Aramaic). You will be expected to attend such classes regularly, and to complete any homework set in good time. It is also essential to spend time consolidating your knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the languages you are studying during the university vacations at Christmas and Easter.

Most teaching for this Master’s course will take place in small classes or tutorials, normally given mainly by the course convenor, Professor Alison Salvesen, but also supplemented by recommended lectures, classes and seminars taught by other colleagues, such as Dr Dorota Molin, Prof. David Taylor, and Prof. Meron Piotrkowski. You will be expected to prepare the set texts in advance of each class, in order to derive the maximum benefit from the intense form of study. Numbers of students on the course are very small (one or two per year) and so teaching is tailored according to the needs and interests of individual students. Classes are sometimes shared with those on other similar courses. Teaching for certain options may not be available in every year.

You will also be expected to attend seminars in relevant areas: there are regular seminar series in Jewish Studies in the Greco-Roman Period, Patristics, Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and New Testament, as well as special lectures given by visiting scholars. An average attendance of two seminars per week in Michaelmas and Hilary terms is advisable, in line with your subject choices and interests.

You may come to Oxford with precise ideas about the subject of your dissertation, or you may have a broader interest in a particular topic that needs to be developed. Either way, you will be able to discuss dissertation ideas with your supervisor or lecturers towards the end of the first term, spend time thinking and reading over the Christmas vacation, and submit your title at the very beginning of the second term (Hilary). It is vital to start work on the dissertation early in the academic year, and not to leave it too late.

Overall, you may expect to spend 10-12 hours attending lectures, seminars, tutorials, and classes each week during term, and a minimum of a further 30 hours on self-directed study. The university vacations are also important times for reading and study, especially the Easter vacation, when you will principally need to focus on your dissertation.

Assessment 

Assessment takes place at the end of the academic year, and takes the form of three examination papers (one on the compulsory core paper, and the other two on prescribed texts), plus a 15,000 word dissertation on some aspect of Bible interpretation in antiquity. The topic and title of the dissertation are chosen in consultation with your supervisor, and the dissertation itself will be submitted at the end of the fourth week of Trinity term, before the examinations for the other papers.

The first examination paper consists of essay questions for the compulsory core paper on early translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. On both of the two papers chosen as options you will be asked to translate into English a number of passages from set texts and comment on points of exegetical and other interest in them, and also to answer one essay on the background or aspects of the set texts. Candidates may be required to attend a viva.

Teaching Staff
Resources for study

Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies 

The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies is the leading research centre for academic Jewish Studies in Europe. Apart from offices and classrooms, it holds a well-developed lending library, the Leopold Muller Memorial Library., designed to support graduate and undergraduate courses but also containing research material. There is also a general common room, where staff and students can meet informally. As well as being the centre for the teaching of Hebrew, the OCHJS runs a programme of seminars and public lectures throughout the year.

A limited amount of grant money for trips abroad (eg for supplementary language study during vacations) may be sought from the OCHJS.

Libraries and museums

Oxford is an important centre for Hebrew and Jewish studies and has been since the sixteenth century. Students come from all over the world for both undergraduate and graduate studies, and there are unrivalled collections of Hebrew and Yiddish manuscripts and printed books in the Bodleian Library. You will have access to the major holdings of the Bodleian Library and its associated central libraries, the collections of the Nizami Ganjavi Library, (which holds many Syriac books), the Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library Library (Classics and the Ancient Near East), the Philosophy and Theology Faculties Library (for patristic writers), and the Leopold Muller Memorial Library. (especially the Louis Jacobs Collection, a recent acquisition in the field of Rabbinics).

In addition to this, there are a number of other specialist library collections in Oxford that focus on Asian and Middle Eastern studies, such as:

The Khalili Research Centre is the University of Oxford's centre for research and teaching in the art and material culture of the Islamic societies of the Middle East and of non-Muslim members and neighbours.

Faculty resources

Students have access to the University's centrally provided electronic resources, the Faculty's IT Officer, and other bibliographic, archive or material sources as appropriate to the topic. There is a computing room for the use of graduate students in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, as well as a common room where tea and coffee are available and staff and students can meet.

Oxford colleges

Oxford’s colleges provide support, facilities and membership of a friendly and stimulating academic community. All colleges provide library and IT facilities, welfare support, and sports and social events. Although your academic studies will be directed by the faculty, colleges can be a valuable source of support. Please check the application guide for information about colleges.

How to apply

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is taking part in initiatives to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, to ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.

Socio-economic data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used as part of an initiative to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process. 

FAQs

Can I submit one 4,000 word piece of written work instead of two 2,000 word pieces?

Not for our courses. We ask for two pieces which will show a range of ability rather than two highly similar pieces and you may find it useful to check the criteria your written work will be assessed for when choosing your samples. Your samples can be extracts from longer pieces of work and if this is the case, please indicate this on a cover page, or at the beginning of each piece of work.

Where can I find out about funding available for applicants?

Your best guide to funding opportunities will always be the University's admissions webpages. We recommend that you use the Fees, funding and scholarship search which is a useful tool for finding any funding that you may be eligible to apply for.

If you submit your application by the January deadline you will automatically be considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships. There’s no separate scholarship application process or extra supporting documentation required for funding. Based on the information supplied in your graduate application, you will be automatically considered for scholarships where you meet the eligibility criteria with most scholarships using academic merit and/or potential as the basis on which award decisions are made.

However, please note, in addition to submitting an application form for your chosen course, the scholarships listed on the following page also require an additional application to be considered for them.