Coming this January, at a UCLA campus near you (or not so near, as the case may be), I will be presenting a lecture on Hebrew Civilization and Second Temple Judaism within the context of the course “Introduction to Western Civilization: Ancient Civilizations, Prehistory to Circa A.D. 843.” I will be TAing for two sections of twenty each for this course, but this lecture will be for the entire 300-something student class.

So, what would you like the bright and impressionable young minds of UCLA to know about the rise of Hebrew civilization, the history of Israel, the exile, the origins of Judaism, and the Hebrew Bible based upon a 50 minute presentation?

Remember that this is in the context of the broad sweep of ancient history, serving as the foundations for something nebulous called “Western civilization.” The course is unofficially known as “From Caveman to Charlemagne.” The lecture in the class meeting prior to mine is on “Egypt in the New Kingdom; The Mesopotamian Kingdoms,” while the one after is “Minoans, Phoenicians; The End of International Bronze Age (Troy).” We will have already read Hammurabi, Gilgamesh, and The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant. They will be responsible for reading the Book of Exodus the week of my lecture. The only other biblical document they will be reading is the Gospel of Matthew several weeks later.

I have some of my own ideas, of course, but I’d like to hear what others would choose to highlight with such a brief opportunity to cover such an important topic.