The Bible and the Ancient Near East

Offered by Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School (RIS) in conjunction with the Bible Department at the Faculty of Humanities, the The Bible and the Ancient Near East programat The Hebrew University of Jerusalem focuses on contemporary Biblical studies and provides grounding in Biblical Hebrew, with the option to study Modern Hebrew from beginner through advanced levels.

Graduates of this The Bible and the Ancient Near East program from the The Hebrew University of Jerusalem are well equipped to pursue doctoral studies and academic careers. Our alumni teach at leading institutions of higher education, including Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, and Brandeis. Additional career paths include education, community and religious leadership, museum and archive work, archaeology and preservation, and tourism, among others.

Key Facts

Sacred to Jews and Christians alike, the Bible is one of the most influential books in human history. Hebrew University’s MA in the Bible and the Ancient Near East equips students with the knowledge and skills to analyze the various layers of these scriptures and understand the region from which they originated, while living in the heart of the Land of the Bible.

Our faculty members are renowned experts in their fields with extensive teaching and research experience, including:

• Prof. Nili Wazana, Program Head, History of the Biblical period and classical prophetic literature.

• Prof. Michael Segal, Early Second Temple period literature, Qumran literature, and the Greek and Aramaic translations of the Bible.

• Prof. Baruch Schwartz, Priestly literature and classical prophetic literature.

The Faculty of Humanities at Hebrew University is committed to shedding light on civilizations past and present as revealed through history, language, literature, religion, philosophy, music, art, and material culture. The numerous prizes and grants received by the academic staff – including Israel Prizes and ERC grants – attest to the high quality of research and teaching for which the faculty is known.A wide range of world-class research institutes are affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities, including the Institute of Archaeology, the Institute of Asian and African Studies, the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies and the Department of Comparative Religion, among others. Each of these institutes houses centers that focus on specific topics, such as the Levtzion Center for Islamic Studies, the Ben-Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the East, the Minerva Center for Human Rights, and others.

Courses include:

• The program consists of required and elective courses taken over two academic years (four semesters in total). Each academic year runs from October – June. Biblical Hebrew and Akkadian study are required. Modern Hebrew study is optional and requires payment of an additional fee. Students may study additional languages if desired, but these courses will not count for credit towards their degree.