[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 1: The Bible is the most
influential book in Western history.
It has shaped the beliefs, hopes,
visions, and ethics of millions
around the world.
In pre-modern times,
the Bible was conceived
as an isolated, utterly unique work.
Modern archeology has changed this
image of the Bible beyond imagination.
Excavations all over
the Fertile Crescent
have unearthed a lost Atlantis
of ancient nations, languages,
and civilizations.
The literature, art,
and history of kingdoms
mentioned in the Bible such as
Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia
have become vividly available.
Today we possess a vast wealth
of knowledge of this lost world.
Hundreds of thousands of ancient
texts, monuments, and artifacts
tell us in different ancient
languages the story of biblical times
and the biblical world.
NILI SAMET: My name is Nili
Samet and in this course,
we will explore this fascinating
ancient world and the eye
opening ways in which it changes our
understanding of the Hebrew Bible.
We will look at the Bible as a
part of a rich multicultural fabric
of different civilizations.
We will read such a
seminal biblical narratives
as the stories of creation, the
flood and the Tower of Babel,
against the power of myth
of surrounding cultures.
Join me in exploring the ways
in which biblical thought
developed as a response to
the beliefs and worldviews
of its neighboring civilizations.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
