Questions for Enheduanna:

Who is Enheduanna? Looking at the last four poems, what story is being told here?

Have you any feeling for who the writer is as a person? What about the view of women given here?

Questions for Gilgamesh:

1. How would you characterize the Gods of Gilgamesh, their relationships to humans, and the differences between them as male and female gods. How does this difference relate to the human characters?

2. What is the story arc of Gilgamesh's development as a human being, can you describe the stages? What theme does this arc incorporate?

3. In men, what line divides enmity from friendship? Is this the same for friendships between women?

4. Consider the themes of the wild and the cultivated in Gilgamesh; what do they tell us about the world at that time? In the story, how are these labels shown to be not what they seem at first?

5. What broader social movements might we be able to see in this story? For example, the Forest Journey can be seen as an ecological tale as well as an adventure, the encounter with Istar marks a change in customs, and the very friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is presented as a new thing in the world.

Questions for Adapa, the Man:

What are some parallels and contrasts to Old Testament stories?

Who is Ea and why does he give such council? What forces might be represented by Ea and Anu that are different from each other, so that the man trusts the one and rejects what the other could give?

What is the lesson, purpose of this story?

Questions for The Hebrew Bible

1. What are some possible interpretations of the 'knowledge of good and evil'? Are there kinds of knowledge that could be risky for humans to have?

2. Consider the role of the serpent, how do you see it? How about other comparative readings of the symbols found in the Garden story, the tree for example? Are there further stories in Genesis that can be looked at again as well?

3. What is the J version of the Hebrew Bible, the P version? How are these connected to the making of the Hebrew Bible and how might they affect how we see these texts? (Extra: How have recent archeological findings contributed to our understanding of what's told in the Hebrew Bible?)

*********************************************************************************************

3. Who receives the Blessing according to the text? It is not just the oldest son, how?

4. Restate the core arguments offered by Jobs three friends; how do they differ from one another? How does he respond? (you may have to refer to the full text for this)

5. What do you think of God's answer to Job?

Comparison Homer and the Hebrew Bible from “Odysseus’ Scar”

External description                             Parts in high relief, others obscure

Uniform illumination                           Abruptness

Uninterrupted connections                   Suggested influence, unexpressed

Free expression                                    Layers of writing

Events in foreground                           Background assumed, suggested

NO:                                                     Many meanings, interpretation needed
Historical development                        Universal historical claims
Psychological ‘sickness’                      Love of the problematic