CAMS 496 Independent Study

This independent study explores the deep cultural entanglement between ancient Egypt and the biblical world. Students examine how Egyptian literature, religion, and administrative practice left traces throughout the Hebrew Bible: the Exodus narrative's echoes of Near Eastern flood and birth legends, the Joseph story's parallels with Egyptian court tales, and the striking similarities between the Book of Proverbs and the Instruction of Amenemope.

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The course also considers theological cross-pollination – comparing Akhenaten's Great Hymn to the Aten with Psalm 104 – alongside Egyptian influence on Israelite iconography, scribal training, and legal traditions, and the presence of Egyptian loanwords and burial customs in biblical texts. Later units turn to historical flashpoints: the Merneptah Stela's mention of Israel, Cushite pharaohs and Judah's monarchy, and Egyptian-Judahite communities during the Persian period. Through close reading of primary texts and current scholarship, students gain a nuanced picture of Egypt not as a Biblical backdrop, but as an active shaping force in Israelite religion and literature.