As a first step in this course, Old Syriac inscriptions and contracts from Edessa and its vicinity (1st to 3rd centuries CE) are read. These texts belong to a late Aramaic dialect and, therefore, a description of the grammatical features of this dialect is given, as contrasted with Imperial Aramaic. As a second step in this course, sections from the Peshitta version of the Bible, namely the Pentateuch, are read and analyzed. Comparison of vocabulary, expressions, and verb usages in the Peshitta and in the various Targumim will be made. Exegetical commentaries of the Bible, verse homilies and hymns, historiographical literature, and spiritual and mystical writings could also be read. Syriac literature is of interest to Near and Middle Eastern studies, religious studies, church history and theology, Jewish studies, classics, mediaeval studies, etc.