Consider the question of authorship in relation to the Hebrew Bible texts. Is it important to know who wrote them? Why or why not?

Read The Epic of Gilgamesh from Babylonian literature and compare it to the primeval history narrated in Genesis 1-11. What are the major similarities and differences? Famously, Gilgamesh includes an account of a flood at least superficially similar to the one described in Genesis 6-9. How do these accounts differ? What do their similarities and differences suggest about how each culture understands its place in the world?

Assess the relative influence of the major world empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia on the history of ancient Israel. How do the people of Israel and Judah reckon with their position on the outskirts of these powerful empires? How do their responses to empire change over time?