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The biblical writers saw the Jewish people as latecomers, outsiders, and underdogs in a harsh ancient world that worshiped power and not only excused but even celebrated cruelty. They developed a culture based on the principle of the rule of law, the requirements of justice, and compassion for the weak and the oppressed. The mission of the Genesis writers was to provide an alternative to societies dominated by pharaohs and warlords. They did this by exploring the most intimate human relationships as a microcosm of the human condition: the relationships between parents and children, the rivalries between siblings, the meaning of marriage, the responsibility of members of families for each other. Composing their stories at the dawn of what we now call the Iron Age, they created a form of literature that has shaped and inspired Western civilization for more than 2000 years.
Bruce Thompson is a lecturer in the Departments of History and Literature and the Associate Director of Jewish Studies at U.C.-Santa Cruz, and also teaches at the Institute. He received his Ph.D. in History from Stanford; his areas of scholarly research include European intellectual and cultural history, French history, British Isles history, American Jewish intellectual and cultural history, the history of cinema, and the history of espionage.
