Biblical Politics: Literature, History, Political Thought
Conference "Biblical Politics: Literature, History, Political Thought"
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, May 30, 2018
The Book of Samuel and the Book of Kings are not dry chronicles. Quite the contrary - they offer a remarkable mélange of royal history and literature, replete with well-wrought nuanced dialogues, which provides a close study of the inner worlds of those who preoccupy the political stage and a metaphorical base through which to explore the intricacies of political institutions. As such they have compelled politicians and political theorists as well as writers and poets. Among the topics we addressed: Why has the biblical account of the seductions of power become a touchstone for modern reflections on political rule? To what extent do contemporary readers of the text follow the Bible’s insistence to avoid idealization and idolization of rulers? Does the definition of royal failures change? In what ways have biblical kings served as justification for contemporary political choices? What happens to configurations of gender relations when they are transferred from biblical courts to modern contexts? Our investigation of biblical reception was inextricably connected to an extensive consideration of the remarkably nuanced and ever-changing representations of political life in the biblical text itself.
Program
Wednesday - May 30, 2018
I. 9:05–9:15
Ilana Pardes, Director of the Center for Literary Studies
Greetings and Opening Remarks
9:15-10:30
- Keynote lecture: Michael Walzer, The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Reading and Using Biblical Texts - Respondent: Leora Batnitzky, Princeton University
II. 10:45-12:45
Chair: Rachel Wamsley, Mandel Scholion
- Yosefa Raz, University of Haifa
Unburied Remains and the Rebuke of Mourning: Rizpah as a Hebrew Antigone - Ariel Zinder, Tel Aviv University
Prayer, Poetry, Politics, Penitence: A Medieval Perspective - Ofer Dynes, McGill University/Hebrew University
Saul: A Jewish King in Poland - Yvonne Sherwood, University of Kent, UK
Dethroning the Sovereign: From King David’s Sin to the Emergence of ‘Critique’
III. 13:45-15:15
Chair: Richard Cohen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Ilana Pardes, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Melville’s Ship of State: Ahab, Saul, and the Question of Possession - Ruth HaCohen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Playing Truth to Power: Saul and David as a Cultural-Political Paradigm
Musical Adaptations: King David’s Agonies
Ruth HaCohen – Introductory Comments
Haddar Beiser (soprano); Uri Jacob (guitar & vihuela)
Ron Weidberg - Psalm 3 from Psalms 1-2-3 for voice and guitar (1992/2006)
Sylvius Leopold Weiss – Tombeau sur la Mort de M. Comte d’Logy arrivée 1721 for lute (arranged for guitar)
Alonso Mudarra – From Tres libros de música en cifra para vihuela (1546) (for voice and vihuela): Romance II. Triste estaba el rey David, Romance III. Israel, mira tus montes
IV. 15:30-17:30
Chair: Renana Keydar, The Martin Buber Society of Fellows in the Humanities
- Suzanne Stone, Yeshiva University/Tel Aviv University
Prophecy and Trust - Shira Wolosky, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Crossing Holy Lands - Ofri Ilani, The Polonsky Academy
The Hebrew Theocracy: Bible Scholarship and Political Theory in Eighteenth-Century Germany - Benjamin Pollock, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ideal Politics: Theocracy in Modern Jewish Thought
V. 18:00-19:30
Panel on The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel by Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes
Chair: Leora Batnitzky, Princeton University
Vivian Liska, University of Antwerp/Hebrew University
Ilana Pardes, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Naphtali Meshel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Tel Aviv University
Stephen Holmes, New York University
Moshe Halbertal, Hebrew University/ NYU/ IDC
Conference Poster
Click here to download the Biblical Politics conference poster.
Conference pictures
Prof. Michael Walzer
