Hebrew Bible

Most successful applicants will demonstrate proficiency in Biblical Hebrew as well as some knowledge of Greek, Aramaic, and/or other relevant ancient languages (Akkadian, Ugaritic, et al.). In order to advance to candidacy, students must pass two sets of written language exams: modern and ancient. The modern language exams typically entail one exam in French and one in German (although under certain circumstances one of these might be exchanged for another language, such as modern Hebrew, depending on the student’s particular research interests). This requirement can also be fulfilled by receiving a grade of B or better in a second-year or higher language course offered in the university or by accreditation from a Yale Summer School course designed for this purpose. In very select circumstances, an exemption is granted (e.g., for native speakers or students who have otherwise demonstrable capacities in one of these modern languages). The ancient language exams are intended to test the student’s proficiency in the three main biblical languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. They are typically completed by the end of the third year of the program.

Students are required to take two years of coursework, with the expectation being that this will comprise a minimum of twelve courses spread over those two years. The only course that is specifically required, as is the case for all doctoral students in the department of Religious Studies, is RLST 5100, Method and Theory, which is recommended to be taken in the first year of a student’s course work. There are, however, courses that all students are expected to take or have taken, including the two-semester History and Methods sequence, and the year of Advanced Biblical Hebrew. Given the distribution of the faculty, it is understood that many courses will be taken at the Divinity School. It is, however, the expectation that at least two non-language courses will be taken outside of those offered by the core Hebrew Bible faculty and outside of the Divinity School. These courses may be taken in any department or school, though we especially encourage students to take advantage of courses from other fields in Religious Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Classics, and Comparative Literature. The purpose of these non-Hebrew Bible courses is to give the student a broader intellectual framework, skills in comparative thinking, and exposure to other dimensions of critical scholarship, with the hopes that these will make the student an even better scholar of Hebrew Bible.

In the third year of the program, normally in the second semester, students are required to take their qualifying exams. The four exams cover: the literature of the Hebrew Bible; the history and religion of ancient Israel; methods in biblical scholarship; and a special exam. The intention of the qualifying exams is to ensure that the student is broadly prepared to engage in research, writing, and teaching across the spectrum of biblical studies. While coursework may cover a significant swath of material, it cannot be comprehensive; the qualifying exams are meant, in part, to help fill in any gaps and to reinforce the essentials of biblical scholarship regardless of a student’s particular intellectual interests. The precise design of the exams - whether standard written responses to questions, research papers, syllabus construction, et al. - are determined well in advance in consultation with the faculty. 

Upon successful completion of the qualifying exams, the student will begin the process of working on the dissertation prospectus. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we expect students to have successfully defended a dissertation prospectus by the end of the fall semester of the fourth year. The selection of a dissertation topic is fundamentally the responsibility of the student, but it is expected that the student will make this decision in close consultation with the Hebrew Bible faculty, one of whom the student will select to be the primary advisor. Though a student may naturally work closely with an individual faculty member whose expertise aligns with the proposed dissertation topic, and who will most likely serve as the primary advisor, the guidance of the dissertation is effectively done by committee, including, but not limited to, the entire Hebrew Bible teaching group. The makeup of the dissertation committee should be a joint decision of the student and the primary advisor. If reasonable, the student should feel free to include in this committee one faculty member from outside of Yale.

A prospectus is not a mini-dissertation. It is not expected that the student should already know the entire shape of the finished product. What is required at this stage is an appropriate question and a clear path to answering that question; it is not necessary that the answer to the question be known at the prospectus stage. It should be the case, however, that either the question or the path to answering it should in some way be new to the field, such that the proposed project would be a definable contribution to biblical scholarship.

Shortly after submission of the prospectus to the committee, a colloquium is held. The colloquium is a cooperative, collegial enterprise, the goal of which is to facilitate the success of the dissertation project. The scope, significance, and feasibility of the topic is discussed, the student receives constructive feedback, and (barring complication) the prospectus is approved. After approval by the committee, the student submits a two-page summary of the prospectus to the entire graduate faculty in Religious Studies and thence (if none object) to the Dean of the Graduate School. The student is then admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. The dissertation colloquium committee will continue to provide support and feedback throughout the dissertation writing process.

The expectation is that the prospectus colloquium and approval will occur before the end of the registration period for the seventh semester – roughly four to six months after the qualifying examinations.

Students begin writing their dissertation in the fourth year, completing either in the fifth or the sixth year of the program. The completed dissertation must be evaluated in writing and approved by a committee of three readers and the departmental faculty. Normally the three readers will be the same as those present at the prospectus colloquium and the first chapter workshop, however in some circumstances different readers may serve. There is no oral defense of the dissertation.