Description: This class will examine the natural imagery that permeates the Hebrew Bible – trees, mountains, wind, and stars – together with related areas of science – biology, geology, meteorology, and astrophysics – to discover how we might read the Bible in new ways in juxtaposition with science? For example, how does understanding the underground communications of trees graft new layers of meaning onto the metaphor of the Tree of Life? How does considering the formation of stars and the explosion of supernovas shed light on our understanding of God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants will be like the stars? That is, how might contemporary people relate to the images of the Bible, informed by the sciences? What does each biblical source bring to the conversation about our relationship with the natural world? By understanding the science behind these phenomena, as well as the ways that the Bible perceives them, students will be able to deepen the theological and ideological impact that this imagery can have for themselves and those they serve.

Seminary: Academy For Jewish Religion

Science areas: “Playing with the Globe of the Earth”: The Space of Creation; “These Are the Generations of Sky and Earth”: Biblical Texts on Time; “The Earthling Became a Living Being”: Biblical Accounts of the Emergence of Life; “The Moon to Mark the Seasons:” Biblical Texts on the Moon, Sun, and other Heavenly Bodies; Noah’s Ark: Biblical Texts on Cataclysm; The Nature of Animals: Biblical Texts on Other Animate Life; The Earth Opened Her Mouth: Biblical Texts on What Lies Beneath the Earth; “God Loads the Clouds with Moisture”: Biblical Texts on Storms and the Water Cycle; “The Tree of Life”: Biblical Images of Trees; : “Out of the Fire:” Biblical Images of Fire and Heat; Tree of Life Continued