The collection of texts known as the Hebrew Bible is one of the foundations of Judaism and it comprises most of what Christians call “the Old Testament.” This corpus grounds not only of the Abrahamic religions but Western literature, politics, conceptions of gender, colonialism, and liberation. The Hebrew Bible contains material that spans thousands of years, emerging between the tenth century and the second century before the common era. This course will serve as an introduction to the Hebrew Bible itself and to how humans have used it. Looking mainly at Jewish interpretations we will encounter the sectarianism of Late Antiquity, Medieval scholars who pushed the boundaries of the acceptable while always staying “faithful” to the Hebrew Bible, Early Modern and contemporary political theorists who saw all around them potential to live out its lessons. We will engage in the text's contradictions, a touchstone for enslavers as well as Abolitionists, a template in our own time for prophetic struggle as well as political reaction. This class is designed for students with no previous experience in religious studies or Jewish culture.