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Title: Judaism. Creator: Jordan Wooley. Source: https://tinyurl.com/4v8mzb9j Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Jewish studies

Background

Jewish studies within the Faculty of Divinity covers a wide range of approaches to Jewish religious traditions, from historical and textual, to philosophical and theological, to sociological and ethnographic.  

Likewise, under the broad rubric of Jewish studies, students can engage with a variety of subject matters from different time periods, including: 

  • Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
  • Judaism in Greek and Roman Antiquity
  • Jewish background to the New Testament and early Christianity
  • Approaches to classical rabbinic literature
  • Modern Jewish philosophy and theology
  • Varieties of Judaism and Jewish communities in the modern and contemporary contexts
  • Judaism's relation to and interaction with other religious traditions
In addition, resources and academics with connections to Jewish Studies in the broader University context can be found at the Cambridge Forum for Jewish Studies.
 

Undergraduate studies

Relevant Tripos papers for undergraduates interested in focusing on the study of Judaism include:

First year

  • A1a: Elementary Hebrew
  • A2: One God? Hearing the Old Testament
  • A3: Jesus and the origins of the Gospel
  • A7: World religions in comparative perspective

Second year

  • B1a: Intermediate Hebrew
  • B2: The literature, history, and theology of the exilic age
  • B3: Judaism in the Greek and Roman periods
  • B4: The letters of Paul
  • B5: The Johannine tradition
  • B14: Life, thought, and worship of modern Judaism

Third year

  • C1a: Advanced Hebrew
  • C2: Creation and Covenant
  • C3: New Testament Christology
  • C8: Judaism II
  • D1a: The Beginnings of Scripture: Ritual, Law, and Narrative in the Pentateuch
  • D1b: New Testament Ethics
  • D2c: Judaism and Philosophy
  • D2d: Judaism and Hellenism

Graduate studies

The Faculty also welcomes graduate students seeking to focus on Jewish Studies topics for both MPhil and PhD research. Please contact one of our Jewish studies specialists for more information and advice.