| “Literary Features” – Fact or Fiction |
The
research group provides a forum for scholars with an interest in
“literary features” in the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern
texts. |
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| Anthropology and the Bible |
The
aim of this unit is to foster ethnographic readings of biblical
stories, both Old and New Testaments, and anthropological perspectives
on the archaeology, the history and the literature of ancient Palestine
in its Near Eastern context. Relevant topics for discussion are:
-Political and historical anthropology of ancient Palestine
(city-states, urbanization, state-formation processes, ethnogenesis).
-Mediterranean anthropology in biblical narrative (patronage,
hospitality, feud, honour and shame, food).
-Sociology and anthropology of religion and ancient Palestinian cultic
and ritual data (aniconism, iconography, burial, cultic places, etc.).
-Sociology and anthropology of biblical studies (the production of
academic knowledge and its impact on society).
-Comparative analysis of Biblical and Eastern Mediterranean literature
from an anthropological perspective. |
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| Archaeological Fieldwork in the Bronze and Iron Age Levant |
This
session introduces and discusses recent archaeological investigations
in the Levantine region with a focus on the Bronze Age, Iron Age and
Persian period. The session aims to familiarize scholars of the Hebrew
Bible and cognate studies with recent archaeological research related to
their time period, as well as recent technical and methodological
advancements in the field of archaeology. |
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| Archaeological Fieldwork in the Hellenistic-Roman Mediterranean |
This
session introduces and discusses recent archaeological investigations
in the Mediterranean basin with a focus on the Hellenistic, Roman and
Byzantine worlds. The session aims at familiarizing scholars of New
Testament and cognate studies with recent archaeological research
related to their time period, as well as recent technical and
methodological advancements in the field of archaeology. |
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| Bible Translation Workshop |
This
workshop focuses on issues of Bible translation. Since the Bible has
been the most frequently translated book through the ages, the history
of its translation and the theoretical and historical background of
these endeavors create a fascinating field of research. The workshop
proposes an investigation of the field based not only on a historical
overview of the epistemological approach to Bible translation, but also
an investigation based on interdisciplinary approaches: biblical
studies, linguistics, translation studies, literary criticism, social
and cultural studies. Our main interest is not only to identify but to
address issues that pertain to the field of Bible translation within its
historical, social, ideological and cultural context. |
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| Biblical Reception History and Authority in the Middle Ages and Beyond |
In
recent research in biblical studies, reception history has become an
increasingly important but controversial topic of discussion. We
maintain that new understandings and interpretations of biblical
narratives are strongly linked with given cultural and social milieu and
often serve practical aims in the given community. This emphasis of the
context of interpretation brings along an important question of power
and authority. Whose interests the new biblical interpretations serve?
How novel expression of traditional texts become authoritative? How is
the authority of biblical narratives upheld in changing circumstances? |
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| Bodies of Communication |
‘Bodies
of Communication’ is a research unit fostering conversations on the
body as a location of religious expression. As the study of religion
moves away from religious doctrines and institutions towards an
increasing interest in the lived experience of religion, the human body
takes up a more central place. In Biblical and related texts, issues in
which the body is inevitable bound up, such as food and sexuality, birth
and death, are never far away. While bodies are often policed in
religious settings, they also offers a site for resistance and deviance,
and a means of opposing traditional norms. Both the abstract and
idealized body and the concrete body that exists and lives in time and
space can be understood to express religious narratives and structures.
This session aims to increase understanding of the body as a significant
site in the period of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, as well
as in contemporary interpretations and resonances. It especially
encourages engagement with issues that are relevant for contemporary
culture and society. |
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| Canonical Approaches to the Bible |
The
research group »Canonical Approaches to the Bible« focusses on the role
of the Bible as canon, an aspect long considered by mainstream
historical-critical scholarship to be marginal and preliminary to the
actual task of exegesis. The canonical approach considers it necessary
to explore both the different shapes of the canon (diachronically and
synchronically) as well as the relationship between different
communities of faith and practice that emerge from the different shapes
of canon.
The »canonical quality of the Bible« is not a secondary attribute; it is
a factor intrinsic to the literature itself. As biblical texts came
into existence they were from the outset canonical, i.e. highly relevant
for a community. For the recipients of these texts, »canon was and is
the primary context for interpretation« (Georg Steins). The concept of
canon thus encompasses literary, sociological and theological aspects of
the biblical text. Historical questions are also not ignored; quite to
the contrary: they play a vital role, as each aspect of canon has a
historical dimension.
This research group gathers scholars from the fields of Old and New
Testament who are interested in the different shapes and aspects of the
Bible as canon.
From 2016 to 2018 we are going to focus on the special function of the
beginnings and endings of biblical books. The title of this ongoing
project will be: “In the beginning… .”
2016: The openings of biblical books as a hermeneutical key
2017: The endings of biblical books as a hermeneutical key
2018: The openings and endings of biblical books – topics on the way
to a canon conscious Biblical Theology |
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| Centralization and Cult in Persian Period Israel: Biblical, Historical and Comparative Perspectives |
"The
special session aims at renewing the conceptualization and
understanding of centralization in ancient Israel, especially during the
Persian/Early Hellenistic periods, from a combined perspective
including biblical, historical and comparative approaches. It is based
on the following issues raised by the current scholarly discussion: (a)
The discussion involves various levels of analysis—biblical texts,
history, archaeology, comparative evidence—which have not always been
adequately distinguished; in addition, the discussion has not given
enough attention to the contribution of theoretical approaches of
centralization.
(b) Since W.L.M. de Wette, centralization has usually been limited to
cultic aspects. In light of more recent approaches, it is essential to
understand centralization as a more comprehensive process, in which the
cultic aspect is only one among several others (i.e., administrative,
economic, political, etc.).
(c) Up to now, the debate on centralization has largely focused on
Deuteronomy and 2 Kgs 22–23, without acknowledging the plurality and
diversity of centralization concepts within the Hebrew Bible itself.
(d) In former research, centralization was predominantly analyzed from a
Judean
perspective, without taking into account the textual evidence suggesting
a broader Israelite perspective (esp. Deut 12; 27 in MT and SamP).
(e) Comparative evidence often serves only as an “analogy-argument”, but
has not been fully investigated for reshaping the
conceptualization/understanding of centralization.
Against this background, the session will bring together experts of
various fields in order to discuss biblical, epigraphic and
archaeological evidence as well as aspects of material culture related
to processes of centralization in the Persian period." |
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| Citizens and Aliens in Greco-Roman Antiquity |
Citizenship
is one of the most debated issues in the present-day Europe, and
therefore we wish to open up contextualized discussions on its roots in
the Greco-Roman Antiquity. Citizenship and its criteria were redefined
many times during the Roman rule in the Mediterranean area. In the
conquests and crises, new ideas of defining the good members of Roman
society emerged. The Constitutio Antoniniana by Emperor Caracalla in 212
granted citizenship to all free provincials. Philosophers and orators
cherished the idea of cosmopolitan citizenship. Recognition of loyal
Roman citizens/subjects in terms of religion became more emphatic from
the early 3rd century CE onwards and this continued in the course of the
Christianization of the Empire. |
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| Comparative Methodology |
"The
Comparative Methodology unit explores methodological questions
foundational to comparative analyses, specifically between Jewish and
Greco-Roman texts of the Second Temple period. The goal of this research
unit is to make explicit what is too often only implicit in scholarly
comparative work, the underlying justifications and methods which make a
comparison “work”. Participants are encouraged to challenge past
assumptions about the how and why of comparisons by drawing upon
philosophical and phenomenological
resources, and additionally, to consider the perceived benefits of the
comparative endeavour.
Furthermore, comparisons seek to grant new insights into source
materials, but how these results are measured in terms of quality has
yet to be determined. The Comparative Methodology unit seeks to address
these shortcomings by encouraging scholars to think deeply about the
means and outcomes of their comparative work, in order to generate new
heuristic tools through which comparisons might be more explicity
defined and beneficially
utilized." |
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| Concepts of Leadership in the Hebrew Bible |
The
research group focuses on the different conceptions of leadership in
the Hebrew Bible. By analyzing the diverse and sometimes even
contradictory concepts of leadership in the Old Testament it aims at
reconstructing the history of religious and/or political “authorities”
in Israel and Early Judaism. Various functions and aspects of human
leadership like “judge”, “priest”, “prophet” and “king” will be examined
in a literary, (religious and tradition) historical and theological
perspective with special emphasis on conceptual changes, developments
and shifts. In methodo- logical respect, the unit appreciates multiple
approaches (e. g. from literary studies, sociology, cultural studies)
and seeks to combine synchronic and diachronic perspectives. It will be
asked, which aspects and functions are portrayed positively or
negatively and how the relation between human and divine leadership is
described and evaluated. Moreover, the respective literary and
theological contexts of the different human leadership concepts and
their relation to Ancient Near Eastern traditions will be analyzed. A
further important aspect concerns changes or discrepancies within the
biblical illustration of leadership: Can the alternation or
transformation of leadership concepts be linked to the phenomenon
“innerbiblical exegesis/ interpretation”? How can discrepancies between
the texts be explained? Do changes in the attitude towards certain
aspects and functions of human leadership follow a linear development
throughout the biblical history? Are there any hints at the
“Trägerkreise” behind the texts? By addressing these questions the
research group seeks to contribute not only to biblical theology, but
also to the relation between the history of Israel/Early Judaism and the
literary history of the Hebrew Bible. |
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| Construction of Identity in the Ancient World: Intersections and Reflections |
Questions
of identity and identity formation have begun to make inroads into the
study of the ancient world in recent years. Especially questions of
gender and ethnic identity have been in the focus of scholarly
attention. With more and more material available and more
differentiation in the methodological tools, the study of ancient
identities is diversifying and requires an interdisciplinary approach.
This research group aims at bringing together scholars working on the
ancient Near East and those who specialize in Greek and Roman Antiquity,
as well as other ancient cultures. |
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| Deconstructive Poetics |
In
the 1980s there was an efflorescence of books on the poetics of the
Hebrew Bible, such as Adele Berlin Poetics and Interpretation of
Biblical Narrative; Robert Alter’s two books on the art of biblical
narrative and poetry; and Meir Sternberg The Poetics of Biblical
Narrative. Since then, however, there has been rather little. More
recent work on poetics, moreover, has tended to be formalistic, to
separate structure and style from questions of meaning and
interpretation. The Deconstructive Poetics research group has two
objectives: i) to investigate how the biblical writers constructed their
literary works through the intricate interplay of sound, sensation,
argument, and symbolism; and ii) how the biblical writers simultaneously
deconstructed their poetic worlds, through phenomena such as ambiguity
and word-play. Deconstruction evokes the playfulness and
uncontrollability of writing, the tendency of every whole to fragment,
to impart the incoherence of the world. It also implies an openness to a
variety of post-structuralist approaches and agendas. Structuralism was
an heroic attempt to reduce all human cultural productions to a limited
set of logical operations and issues. Post-structuralism is both more
subjective, in that it calls attention to the plurality of readers and
reading communities, and less so, since the subject him/herself is in
question. Post-structuralism engages with the strangeness of the text,
its resistance to interpretation, its diverse voices, the text as
performance, for example of gender. Approaches to be engaged with in the
group may include parapoetics, the poetics of reception, as well as
stylistics and rhetorics. |
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| Developing Exegetical Methods |
This
unit aims is to reach a more detailed and precise description of the
processes of literary history in the Hebrew Bible. The main interest of
the group is to develop exegetical methods by analyzing the synergy
effects which will appear by combining various methodological
perspectives on the text. In the first year we will concentrate on the
literary history and tradition criticism, in the following on form
criticism and tradition history, as well as on textual and literary
history. One intention in the discussion of relations between different
methodological approaches is to encourage also a discussion between
different exegetical traditions.
To each respective topic we will open a two-part session. In the first
part we will start with detailed textual analyses and in the second part
open methodological reflections by papers and a final panel discussion.
All sessions will be open for papers for scholars on all levels;
student member’s papers are also warmly welcome especially when
presenting results from PhD studies. |
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| Diachronic Poetology of the Hebrew Bible and Related Ancient Near Eastern and Ancient Jewish Literat |
Description:
The research group focuses on historical developments in the use of
poetic figures during the creation, editing and transmission of the
Hebrew Bible. It is based on the assumption that the stylistic figures
used by the authors of ancient Hebrew poetry did not remain completely
unaltered during the long history of the Hebrew Bible, but were modified
and changed in the course of time, and also new poetic figures were
created. The large number of diversified poetic forms that we find in
the transmitted texts of the Hebrew Bible is, at least in part, due to a
complex development of form and style. In order to deepen the
diachronic perspective, and in dialogue with genre history, the research
group will also investigate in a comparatistic perspective related
literature from the Ancient Near East and Early Judaism, e.g., from the
Ugaritic corpus or from the Dead Sea scrolls.
By analyzing the poetry of the Hebrew Bible and of related Ancient Near
Eastern and Ancient Jewish literature in a diachronic perspective, the
research group intends to bring together two strings of research that
seldom have had contact in the last decades: the poetological study of
the Hebrew biblical and related texts, and the literary and redaction
critical perspective on the formation of the Hebrew Bible, which in
recent research has been applied extensively to the poetical books of
the Hebrew Bible (particularly in the Psalms and in the book of Job).
What difference does it make for our understanding of the poetry of the
Hebrew Bible if we investigate the stylistic and poetic features of the
Hebrew texts diachronically? How have poetical features been modified in
the course of time? What is the use of poetological observations for
discerning editorial processes and reconstructing redaction layers in
the Hebrew biblical texts? How can we describe the impact of alternation
in form and genre on the function of a text? Which role does the
difference in genre play in a diachronic poetology? What evidence
exactly holds as empirical and solid if we try to map the dynamics of
poetic and stylistic figures? What methodological conclusions need to be
drawn from these discussions? |
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| Digital Humanities in Biblical Studies, Early Jewish and Christian Studies |
This
research group focuses on the transformation of Biblical studies, early
Jewish and Christian studies in the emerging digital culture. Initiated
in the forties by Fr. Roberto Busa, the field of the Digital Humanities
has been so called since 2001. This label is linked to several research
centers, with PhD, master and bachelor degrees and qualifies the
computing transformation of Humanities and Social sciences. Biblical
studies, Early Jewish and Christian studies are integrating
progressively the digital culture to their fields, and the purpose of
this seminar is to make visible and to stimulate this topic in EABS. |
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| Dispelling Demons: Interpretations of Evil and Exorcism in Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Biblica |
This
session considers the different interpretations of demons and monsters
as seen in ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Biblical material. It aims
to understand how such liminal beings were represented in these
different, though connected, contexts, and how they were characterized
in both textual and artistic depictions. Demons and other supernatural
beings were often constructed in negative: created and defined through
measures that could be taken to protect against them or exorcize them
from an afflicted individual. The ways in which such figures could be
fought or expelled, as well as the qualities that defined a number of
benevolent supernatural figures that worked to oppose their malevolence,
speaks to their important, but often fluid and shifting, roles in each
context and culture. |
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| Early Christianity |
The
constitutive idea of this seminar is to treat Early Christianity as a
multivalent phenomenon, characterized by a fundamental diversity. The
focus is on interchanges and interactions between various groups and
movements in the ancient Mediterranean world that had an impact on
developing Christianity, including the interrelations between various
Christian groupings. Papers offered to this seminar may focus on both
canonical and non-canonical writings as well as other source materials
and may apply a variety of methods. We highly encourage
interdisciplinary approaches and particularly welcome contributions that
cross boundaries between traditional disciplines. |
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| Editorial Techniques in the Hebrew Bible in Light of Empirical Evidence |
The
research group focuses on the editorial techniques applied by ancient
scribes during the creation and transmission of the Hebrew Bible. It
investigates ancient editorial techniques in light of empirical or
documented evidence provided by parallel versions in different books or
divergent textual traditions. What can be learned from this evidence
about the factual scribal techniques or ancient methods of editing, and
how do they relate to the classic methodological assumptions made in
redaction criticism which seeks to reconstruct redaction history without
empirical evidence?
Leading questions of the research group are: How do the editorial
changes that are empirically observable relate to the respective older
text, how do they impact its form and message? Would the changes we
observe by comparing parallel versions and divergent manuscript
traditions be detectable also in the case that such documented evidence
would be unavailable? What methodological conclusions need to be drawn
from these observations? |
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| Emotions and the Biblical World |
The
last few decades have witnessed a growing interest in the study of
emotions among scholars of antiquity, reflecting a more general interest
among scholars of various disciplines in how different societies
throughout the centuries have conceptualised and represented emotions.
The Emotions and the Biblical World research group explores the role
that emotions play in biblical writings, and in Early Judaism and Early
Christianity more generally. This includes but is not limited to
patterns of articulating emotions, their significance in worship and
broadly understood religious experience, the role of emotions in
strategies of persuasion, the vocabulary used to describe emotions and
their manifestations, translating emotions discourse, as well as the
social and cultural factors that influence their expression, suppression
or repression, with a particular focus on the relationship between
emotions and gender, and between emotions and the construction of
otherness. The literary corpora that we consider are not limited to the
Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, but include also other Early Jewish
and Early Christian writings. |
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| Enoch within and outside the Books of Enoch: parabiblical writings, iconography and oral tradition |
"The
corpus of parascriptural writings attributed to the biblical patriarch
Enoch was originally composed in either Aramaic or Hebrew no later than 1
st cent. BCE, although some of its constituents (e.g. The Astronomical
Book, The Book of Watchers) are dated to a much earlier period (3 rd
cent. BCE). Its intellectual offspring survived in multilingual cultural
landscape of the apocalyptic Judaeo-Christian traditions in three
versions. 1 Enoch is fully attested in Ethiopic, with a number of extant
segments in 2 Aramaic from Qumran, as well as Greek passages (embedded
in the Byzantine chronographic compositions); there are also fragments
in Latin. 2 Enoch is wholly extant only in Church Slavonic (hence its
designation as the Slavonic Apocalypse of Enoch), and 3 Enoch is
attested exclusively in Hebrew. Significantly, The Book of Watchers,
which was also known to the Church Fathers (e.g. Tertullian and Origen),
was quoted as “scripture” in the Epistle of Jude (1:14-15). Since
hitherto the scholarly
discourse has been focused predominantly on apocryphal compositions
ascribed to Enoch (i.e. 1, 2 and 3 Enoch), the current session will be
aiming at the interdisciplinary analysis of his image not within, but
outside of the writings designated by his name." |
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| Europe Contested: Contemporary Bible Readings Performed by “Ordinary” Readers in a European Context |
Building
on the success of our inaugural workshop at the 2015 annual meeting, we
have now established a 3-year research unit to begin a thorough
investigation into the following:
• How “ordinary” Europeans read and interpret biblical texts;
• How the unique contextual realities of present-day Europe impact upon
the readings produced by “ordinary” European readers;
• How to meet the methodological challenges experienced when undertaking
such research in a European setting.
In this context, we use “European” to refer solely to Europe’s
geographical borders, as opposed to appealing to definitions derived
from ethnicity or history. Similarly, “ordinary” refers to any
pre-critical reader of the Bible (i.e. someone that does not have
knowledge of Hebrew, Greek or Latin, or the higher-critical methods of
biblical interpretation).
Once a prominent player in global affairs, and the birthplace of Western
culture, Europe now finds itself on the cusp of great political,
economic, and cultural change. With an increased movement between people
from within the borders of Europe and a growing influx of migrants and
refugees from other continents (caused partly by war and partly by
economic and ecological crises), the notion of “European-ness” has
become fluid and contested. This research group therefore seeks to
analyse the way in which “ordinary” European readers engage with
biblical texts as a means of investigating this changing nature of
Europe and European identity.
This unit ultimately therefore seeks to ask: Who are “Europeans” today?
Which kind of values should be seen as “European”? How do “ordinary”
Europe readers engage with biblical texts? Does a “European” reading of
the Bible even exist? And how do these “Europeans” engage with the Bible
in order to clarify European identity issues? |
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| Fan Fiction and Ancient Scribal Cultures |
This
unit brings together scholars and practitioners to investigate scribal
culture in biblical and para-biblical literatures in comparison and
contrast with the practice of writing fan fiction.
Writers of fan fiction are well-versed in specific canons, for example a
book or TV series. They engage with their canons in depth and create
literature either set in the same fictional world as their canonical
material or featuring the same characters. The material produced by
fans, known as fan fiction, is a way of engaging with perceived
canonical material that is intuitive and emotional, and can also be
subversive. This research unit investigates possible intersections of
fans’ ways of creating material based on a canon and (post-) biblical
interpreters’ or redactors’ ways of compiling commentary or
supplementary material on biblical canons in antiquity. The unit invites
constructive and critical engagement with discontinuities (as well as
continuities). For example, fan fiction is a contemporary phenomenon
whose increased visibility is due to the Internet; put more generally,
production and distribution is based on infrastructure different from
ancient writings; therefore one may also expect different power
relations and institutional contexts.
Fan fiction can be compared to the practices of groups of interpreters
who have impacted the Bible and biblical interpretation in significant
ways. This comparison can raise and answer questions about group
identity, power, subversion, and impact of derivative works upon the
canon. Fan fiction as a heuristic model allows us to study historical
responses to antique corpora of texts, expressions of identities couched
in derivative works, subversive manipulations of a canonical status
quo, and emotional reactions to a canonical work. |
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| Graeco-Roman Society |
The
research group focuses a) on various aspects of the social life of the
Graeco-Roman world in which Jews and Christians operated (e.g. household
networks and religion, kinship, friendship and other relationships,
slavery, prostitution, social and geographical mobility, social groups,
everyday life in Graeco-Roman cities etc.) that are part of the
socio-historical context of the New Testament texts and therefore
provide insight into them, and b) on artifacts from the Graeco-Roman
world (e.g. inscriptions, papyri and archeological findings) that can
shed light into the life of Jewish and Christian groups of this time.
Papers that present interdisciplinary approaches to the topics under
discussion and offer new insights and fresh interpretations of Jewish
and Christian sources placing them within their socio-historical context
are welcome. |
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| Group 1 Community |
This is a sample community for development of abstracts. |
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| Hellenistic Judaism |
This
research group provides a forum for discussing the broad scope of
Hellenistic Judaism: history and historiography, theology, literature,
society, economy and culture of the various Hellenistic Jewish
communities, as well as the relationship between the motherland and
Hellenistic Diaspora Jews, and their attitude towards the native
population, society and culture |
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| Historical Approaches to the Bible and the Biblical World (HABBW) |
This
research unit provides a forum on historical method when dealing with
the history of Palestine/Israel (“Geschichte Israels”) and the relevant
media mainly in the second and first Millennium BCE. We seek to foster
scholarly and open-minded discussions integrating archaeology, history
of media (incl. literary theory) and cultural studies. Beside a
core-panel with frequent presence, invited papers are scheduled as well
as open sessions. |
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| Iconography and Biblical Studies |
Why
iconography? Archaeology provides Biblical Studies with information
essential for understanding the biblical text in its historical context.
An important branch of archaeology is iconography, the study of
pictorial expressions. Pictorial expressions depict a vast range of
subjects: the natural and cultivated world, daily life, rituals, ideas –
even imaginative notions (e.g. symbols, imagery). Thus, ancient Near
Eastern iconography provides the (scholarly) community not only with
information about the world in which the Bible emerged and was written,
but also evidence relating to the perception, symbol systems, and so
forth of the people who inhabited this ‘world’. Studying pictorial
material contemporary to the biblical documents (Hebrew Bible and New
Testament) affords insight into the historical context of the text and
facilitates an awareness of how the people contemporaneous with the text
thought, imagined, and observed reality. For these reasons, and others,
iconography merits sustained attention and effort as a road which leads
to a more nuanced and more complete picture of many aspects of Biblical
Studies.
Papers presented in this programme will deal with methodological issues
and/ or address case studies in the common area of ancient Near Eastern
iconography and Biblical Studies. Papers can be presented in the field
of exegesis or history of religion (Israelite, Judaist, early Christian
and pre-Islam). Because of methodological interests, occasionally papers
can address topics of later date or cover larger time periods in
presenting iconological overviews (history of a motif). |
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| Intersections: A Forum for Research on Ancient Israel, Hebrew Bible, and Cognate Topics |
‘Intersections’
provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussion of the full
range of methods and interdisciplinary investigations currently being
applied to the study of the Hebrew Bible, ancient Israel, and cognate
topics, including their contemporary receptions. It celebrates diversity
and encourages presentations by scholars working in less-trodden
areas/approaches. ‘Intersections’ aims at countering current tendencies
toward the fragmentation of our field into separate mini/micro-fields
and at furthering interactions among scholars using various approaches
and working in different areas in order to stimulate new insights
through cross-fertilization. |
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| Israel and the Production and Reception of Authoritative Books in the Persian and Hellenistic Period |
The
goal of this research programme is to explore the social processes,
ideological matrices, and matters of identity formation involved in the
production and use of authoritative texts in the Persian and Early
Hellenistic periods.
Papers (and thematic sessions) may deal with:
How the various books in the Hebrew Bible have been shaped in order to
serve as guidelines and authoritative illustrations for behaviour for
the emerging Jewish communities in Yehud or in the diaspora in the
Persian and early Hellenistic periods;
How some books were intended to socialize their readers by constructing
shared images of the past;
How authoritative books shaped and reflected a system of shared sites of
memory that contributed to self-understanding and social cohesion;
How and why books became authoritative and what ‘authoritative’ may mean
in this regard;
Anything related to the production and reception of authoritative books
in the Persian and Early Hellenistic period, from socio-political
considerations to studies of the discursive environment within which the
books emerged or read and reread.
Thematic sessions may deal with individual books, collections of books;
or may focus on some aspect of the production and reception of the
relevant books.
Papers will be invited, but EABS members are also welcome to submit
proposals. |
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| Israel in the Ancient Near East |
Ancient
Israel was in all phases of its history embedded in the different
cultural frameworks of the ancient Near East.
The research group aims at creating a common forum for scholars
investigating issues of religion, language and culture in the ancient
Near East and welcomes participants from across the range of subjects
and time periods. |
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| Judaeans in the Persian Empire |
This
research group seeks to treat the Persian Empire as a significant
social and historical context for the development of Second Temple
Judaism rather than just a chronological time frame. The emphasis is
more on historiographic than literary questions, with a strong
commitment to interaction with cognate disciplines (e.g., Assyriology,
Achaemenid studies, Iranology, social sciences). |
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| Law and Narrative |
The
amalgamation of law and narrative is not only a key feature in the
formation of the Narrative Books of the Hebrew Bible, but proves to be a
dominant aspect of Early Jewish literature as well. The research group
aims at illuminating the complex interplay between legal and narrative
material in both areas by bringing together redaction criticism with a
focus on reception history. In this way, it aspires to enhance the
understanding of continuities and discontinuities in the development of
Biblical and Early Jewish texts. |
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| Medicine in Bible and Talmud |
This
research unit/ panel is generously sponsored by the Collaborative
Research Center – SFB 980 “Episteme in Motion”, Freie Universität Berlin
and the German Research Foundation/ Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG)
Knowledge and practice of medicine was a well established field in Late
Antiquity and must have been formulated within the context of a medical
curriculum to which we do have access only via Graeco-Roman and Syriac
texts, while no Hebrew or Aramaic work has been transmitted.
Nevertheless, some indications of medical ideas and healing practices
are alluded to in the Bible, in many Rabbinic sources, as well as in the
healing texts and magico-magical passages of the New Testament and the
apocrypha. Furthermore, one may suggest that all these sources adapted
and/ or appropriated earlier and contemporary medical knowledge that
prevailed in their surroundings, be it from ancient Babylonian,
Egyptian, Graeco-Roman or Syriac traditions or knowledge systems. The
panels will focus on the complex and often subtler processes of
reception, adaptation and production of (secular or scientific) medical
knowledge in the transformative period of (Late) Antiquity. Particular
attention will be paid also to the interplay between form and content in
the representations of medical discourses. Recent studies have begun to
discuss how the use of rhetoric strategies, literary structures, or the
choice of genres affects also the conveyed ideas and concepts in
ancient “knowledge cultures”. In which way did specific hermeneutics
(Listenwissenschaft/ encyclopaedism/ linguocentrism/ exegesis) not only
serve as a ‘container’ or ‘channel’ for transmission or as a seal for
authority but also as a method for acquiring knowledge? An analysis of
these specific ways of appropriation of medical ideas and practices
might show also the particular cultural or religious (Mesopotamian,
Jewish, Christian, Graeco-Roman) character of the epistemologies and the
knowledge generated through these exchanges. |
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| Metaphor in the Bible |
This
seminar understands itself as continuing the tradition of the
longstanding and prolific EABS seminar “Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible.”
The new factor is the expansion of the subject unto the study of the New
Testament. It is the goal of this research program to foster a dialogue
and mutual enrichment between the study of metaphors in the areas of
the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible and of the New Testament. The
seminar will focus both on the aspect of metaphor theories and on using
multiple theories for the interpretation of metaphors in the Bible. In
the comparison of the presence or absence of metaphors and their role
and function in Biblical texts, we shall be looking for the specifics of
the use of metaphor in particular time periods, genres, contexts or
other traditions. |
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| Nationalism, Religion, and Archaeology |
As
a discipline rooted in the 19th century world of European colonialism
and nation-state formation, archaeology has throughout its history been
entangled in politics of nationalism, race, ethnicity, and religious
worldviews. Because of the visual and tangible nature of its evidence,
archaeology has been (and still is) at the forefront of identity
construction and communication. No country in the Mediterranean basin,
as elsewhere, has been left undebated; from the Acropolis in Athens to
the Temple Mount/Haram esh-Sharif in Jerusalem.
This session aims to increase understanding of the modern political
impact of archaeological fieldwork and interpretation, as well as of
site preservation and presentation. It especially encourages engagement
with issues relevant today and best practices in terms of fieldwork,
site management, and public outreach. The session topic is important to
address, especially to non-archaeological audiences, who are often not
fully aware of the political and ethical implications and decisions of
fieldwork and site conservation practices.
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| Northwest Semitic Epigraphy Related to the Biblical World |
This
research group will further develop the work of the unit “Epigraphical
and Paleological Studies Pertaining to the Biblical World”, which met at
Lisbon in 2008 (EABS), Vienna in 2007 (SBL), Rome in 2009, London in
2011, Amsterdam in 2012 and St Andrews in 2013. The group was chaired by
Prof. Meir Lubetski of the City University of New York. In 2014 (SBL
Vienna), Annalisa Azzoni (Vanderbilt University) and Robert Deutsch
(independent scholar) were the co-chairs.
The objective of the present research group is to advance the Ancient
Near Eastern research by integrating the constantly growing corpus of
epigraphic material from the 1st millennium BC. Northwest Semitic
inscriptions, found mainly on ostraca, seals and seal impressions are
important prime sources, contemporary with the formation of the biblical
texts. Equally important for our epigraphical research are all the
relevant fields of study in the material culture of the 1st millennium
BC from the southern Levant. According to EABS’ policy, only papers
dealing with material from controlled excavations will be considered. |
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| Orality and Literacy in Early Christianity |
Exegetes
and historians of Early Christianity are gradually rediscovering the
importance, principles and functions of orality in ancient
communication. Although this discovery has led to some excesses and
simplifications (cf. the recent criticism by L. Hurtado, 2014), the
status and interaction of orality and writing within the cultures of the
Greco-Roman world as well as the Christian subculture deserve being
taken seriously and analyzed in depth. This inquiry, involving a strong
hermeneutic and methodological potential, is nowadays being led (almost)
exclusively in the English speaking world and in (South) Africa.
Our research group proposes to fill in the blank within European
exegesis and bring its own contribution to the debate. Its intention is,
to start with, to describe the status and role of orality in the
context of the cultures of the 1st century Mediterranean world,
especially of the Christian subculture, its interactions with written
texts and the degree of literacy in the proto-Christian microcosm. Once
this cultural background has been set, we aim to explore two different
cases and forms in the ancient Christian communication – the Pauline
letters and the Gospel of Mark – and the interface of orality and
writing in them. |
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| Parables in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity: Towards a New Comparative Approach |
Within
ancient Judaism only the Jesus movement and the pharisaic / rabbinic
movement share the extensive use of parables as a form of religious
teaching, reflection and propaganda. This research group examines the
methodological problems, the scientific benefits and pitfalls of
comparative research into parables of Jesus transmitted in early
Christian literature and the parables extant in Rabbinic literature. |
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| Pauline Literature |
The
research group “Pauline Literature” has a historical-critical focus,
including material evidence from the first century world of Paul. At the
same time, this seminar wants to foster dialogue between historical and
contemporary perspectives, between exegesis and contemporary
discussions in theology and religious studies. In both the historical
and contemporary perspectives the seminar is particularly interested in
the traces of Paul’s theology in the making that we can discover in the
texts of his letters. |
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| Pleasure in Early Christian and Jewish Literature |
Pleasure
is a frequent topic in ancient sources across philosophical and
religious boundaries. Often ancient authors view pleasure as a threat to
the virtuous life, many echoing the maxim that it is the source of all
evil. At the same time, depictions of the human/divine encounter are
peppered with rich language of delight and enjoyment. Furthermore, many
ancient authors acknowledge that religious discourse and spiritual
formation require a pleasurable component in order to hold the
audience’s attention and ensure its continued participation. The
ambiguous role of pleasure is reflected in attempts to differentiate
between acceptable and unacceptable forms and sources of enjoyment. |
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| Prophecy and Foreign Nations |
In
the course of the last decades, research in the prophetic books of the
Hebrew Bible has undergone a major change: The phenomenon of the
prophetic book as a literary genre sui generis has drawn more and more
attention – regarding both its so-called final form and its literary
history. In this context, especially for those interested in diachronic
research, the comparison with the extra-biblical Ancient Near Eastern
prophecies has become an important issue not least for the questions of
the origins of the prophetic books and the emergence of a theologically
reasoned prophecy of doom. Thus, it has been especially the
interrelation between salvation prophecy and a theology of judgment that
has become the focus of scholarly attention. Compared with that, the
oracles concerning foreign nations have passed a little bit from view,
even though they take up a large part of the Biblical prophetic
tradition. Therefore, in a recent publication on the topic (Holt et al.
[eds.], Concerning the Nations, 2015), Martin Sweeney regards it as a
worthy task to try an “attempt at stimulating research on the Oracles
concerning the Nations” (xvii). The proposed research unit wants to
contribute to this field of research and intends to approach the current
discussion of the literary history of the prophetic books from this
angle. The leading questions are:
What is the literary and theological interrelation of the oracles
concerning foreign nations with the Ancient Near Eastern salvation
prophecy on the one hand and the Israelite prophecy of doom on the
other?
Was there a fixed genre of “prophecy concerning foreign nations”, and if
so, where was its Sitz im Leben?
How can the intertextual relationship between the respective passages of
the several Biblical books be determined?
Which processes of re-reading and actualising of tradition finally lead
to a kind of uniform prophetic image which is reflected by the so-called
tripartite eschatological pattern of the prophetic books? |
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| Prophets and Prophecy |
This
unit aims to provide an open forum for scholars to present papers on a
variety of topics germane to the study of ancient Israelite prophecy and
prophetic literature.
All approaches to prophetic literature are welcomed, including
historical, literary, rhetorical and theological.
We invite paper proposals through the open call for papers. |
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| Relationship between the "Major Prophets" and the "Scroll of the Minor Prophets": text, methodology, |
"The
study of prophetic texts has often been characterized by fragmentation;
little interest has been reserved to the composition within individual
books, and to the relationships between the so-called Major Prophets and
the Twelve Minor Prophets. Exegesis has usually been interested into
the identification of the original forms of the oracles or into the Sitz
im Leben of the various biblical passages, without giving enough
attention to the text in its present form; moreover, little space has
been devoted to hermeneutical and theological issues. A diachronic
method was often followed, attentive to the origins and to the history
of the formation both of individual books and of the prophetic corpus,
rather than a synchronous, canonical methodology, more oriented to the
theology of the texts. These observations are the background from which
to advance the study. Without denying the value of the studies so far
elaborated and the methodology predominantly used, our goal is to
explore the links and the relationships between the major and minor
prophets from a methodological, hermeneutical, and theological point of
view. The questions we will try to answer are the following:
• How to study the relationships within the prophetic corpus, and what
methodology /methodologies to use?
• What consequences can be derived from the hermeneutical and
theological point of view?
• Which texts can be taken into consideration?" |
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| Septuagint of Historical Books |
"The
workshop focuses on the Septuagint versions of the historical books and
their influence on the larger methodological framework of Hebrew Bible
studies. Since the scholarship of Septuagint historical books is
currently in a state of flux and many questions are open, there is a
need for a forum to discuss these issues on a wider scope. The aim of
this workshop is to illuminate various
aspects relating to the textual history of the Greek versions and their
underlying Hebrew source texts. This includes questions concerning
translation technique, vocabulary and syntax; text-critical issues;
revision history; daughter versions; and the impact of Septuagint
studies on the textual and editorial history of the Hebrew Scriptures.
In Helsinki we plan to organize session(s), with a special focus on
various aspects of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel since the Göttingen
critical editions for these books are being prepared at the University
of Helsinki." |
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| Slavonic Apocrypha |
This
intentionally broad research unit keeps the old name, “Slavonic
Apocrypha,” but provides a forum for discussion for both biblical
scholars and Slavicists. It includes both the traditionally understood
Slavonic Apocrypha, i.e. translations of Hellenistic pseudepigrapha, as
well as diverse sacred literature in Slavonic, such as theological
discourses, historiographies, hagiographies, liturgical texts, and folk
tales that are intertwined with biblical texts in both manuscripts and
religious practices.
Slavonic Apocrypha are studied as biblical reception history. Because
the mechanism of intertextuality in Slavic religious literature was more
powerful and longstanding than the assessment of marginality and the
differentiation of the texts according to canonical/noncanonical, our
forum aims to contribute to the ongoing search for a comprehensive term
for apocalyptic, pseudepigraphical, and apocryphal literature. This unit
addresses the pressing need for a platform where European scholars of
“Slavonic Apocrypha” can express their concerns, discuss solutions, and
set mutual goals. It promotes the publication of critical editions of
“Slavonic Apocrypha” and discusses the concerns over the digitization
project of Slavonic manuscripts. While the name “Slavonic Apocrypha” is
inadequate for this corpus of literature, we will wait and allow the
scholarly consensus in the field to lead us to a better one. |
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| Slavonic Parabiblical Traditions |
The
appreciation of apocryphal apocalypses, as well as other early
pseudepigrapha preserved in Slavonic, goes far beyond their significance
for Slavonic studies. Even though the Slavonic texts themselves date
from a relatively late period, they are considered to be translations or
re-workings of much earlier texts (written not only in Hebrew and
Aramaic, but also in Greek, as well as Syriac and Latin). For many of
these compositions, their Vorlagen may be dated to the early Second
Temple period. Hence these Slavonic parabiblical writings can contribute
significantly to a better understanding of Judaism of the Hellenistic
age and thus of the roots of Rabbinic Judaism, early Christianity,
Gnosticism, and later mystical thought.
The present GIF (German-Israel Fund) project proposes a case study of
one overarching thematic cluster of narratives concerning ascents from
earth to Heaven and descents from Heaven to earth, with Slavonic
cultural heritage as the primary focus of the research. The topoi of
“visitors to and from Heaven”, for which there is an extensive but
well-defined literature in Jewish and Christian sources, presents a
challenging case. Christian traditions for the theme of the journeys to
the Beyond are well-known in the Byzantine Commonwealth, but these are
usually not compared to contemporary rabbinic accounts or later
vernacular Slavonic stories. The cluster of narratives concerning not
just the dialogue but the “exchange” of inhabitants of the two realms
can be roughly divided into two different but interconnected clusters:
(1) the celestial ascents of humans and (2) descents of celestial
beings.
The celestial journey became a central motif for early Jewish
apocalypticism and proved to be highly significant for the birth of the
Christianity. Apocalyptic literature is among the most influential
ancient genres representing innovative thought in the field of imagining
immaterial space in its connection with the physical and historical
reality. Medieval Slavonic literature has preserved a unique and rich
corpus of ancient apocalyptic writings. Of the six major early Jewish
apocalypses—the Ethiopic Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), the Slavonic Book of
Enoch (2 Enoch), the Apocalypse of Abraham, the Syriac Apocalypse of
Baruch (2 Baruch), the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (3 Baruch), and the
Fourth Book of Ezra (4 Ezra)—three have survived in Slavonic. Two of
these—2 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham—have been preserved
exclusively in Slavonic, while 3 Baruch is available both in Greek and
Slavonic recensions. To these we should add the Ladder of Jacob, a short
but important apocalyptic composition known only in Slavonic, a Hebrew
fragment of which has been found in the Cairo Geniza. Other ancient
Christian languages are less represented in the apocalyptic tradition: 1
Enoch survives in Ethiopic and Aramaic fragments, 2 Baruch is preserved
in Syriac, and 4 Ezra is known in many versions, including Latin,
Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Georgian. This fact makes Old Church
Slavonic, at least statistically, a main source language for early
Jewish apocalypticism.
Angelic visitors to earth represent one of the noteworthy topoi of the
same apocalyptic genre. The intense dealing with the mediating forces
within the monotheistic paradigm was one of the central features of
mythologizing tendencies in Jewish thought in the Second Temple period
and laid the basis for the development of Christology and later
mysticism. Early Jewish texts preserved (often uniquely) in Slavonic
contain crucial data for this topic. For example, the image of Metatron
as a surrogate for God, so significant for the development of bi- and
trinitarian Christology, has its early and detailed documentation in the
Apocalypse of Abraham. Other themes, such as fallen angels, celestial
demonology, angelic intercessors, warrior angels, etc., provide unique
and underexplored material for contextualizing many enigmatic texts and
motifs in the New Testament, Rabbinic literature, Hechalot and Kabbala
traditions.
The overall research questions in this proposal have several different
aspects to be taken into account. 1) Comparisons of particular topoi
within Slavonic apocryphal heritage which are known to be attested in or
based on earlier Jewish and/or Christian traditions. 2) More detailed
analyses of the religious and ritual contexts of these topoi in
parabiblical writings from the point of view of calendar, liturgy, etc.,
as a prerequisite for improved results in understanding the Slavonic
texts. 3) Higher resolution consideration of the original language (e.g.
Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) of topoi later appearing in Slavonic. The
present project proposes a case study of one thematic cluster of
narratives concerning “Visitors From Heaven, Visitors To Heaven”, which
can be found in all these literatures and languages (including
Slavonic); its parallel attestations in Judaeo-Slavonic contexts will
allow the combined expertise of the research team to focus on a common
question from differing perspectives. |
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| Sociological and Anthropological Approaches to the Study of the Evidence of the Mishnah |
What
can we know of the society and culture of Jews of Roman Palestine
generally or of the early rabbinic movement specifically at the end of
the second and beginning of the third centuries? While we have relevant
archaeological evidence and writings (primarily of non-Jews), there is
arguably only one major literary source produced by Palestinian Jews
themselves of the era. It is the early rabbis’ Mishnah (and arguably,
perhaps some of Mishnah’s companion sources, notably in Tosefta). |
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| Textual Criticism of the New Testament, the Old Testament and the Qur’an |
This
research group focuses on the textual study and criticism of sacred
texts from the ancient Eastern Mediterranean world that later had a
global influence; the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur’anic
text. All three have similarities and differences. They have influenced
other writings and at the same time have themselves undergone external
influence bearing on questions of interrelationship, orality, textuality
and language. Not only the aforementioned characteristics, but also
their preservation and the copying as well as the proliferation of
manuscripts are of particular interest to textual scholars.
The sine qua non of this research unit for Textual Criticism is the
study of the major witnesses to the text of the Old Testament – the
Hebrew Bible, the texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text –
as well as the Aramaic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate,
Commentaries and others. Of course, also the study of the Critical and
the Majority Text, of the versions of the New Testament, as well as the
Patristic citations and commentaries, but also Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha and others. And finally, the research unit includes the
textual criticism of the Qur’an, standard text or authoritative text,
and the qira’at tradition (that corresponds to different readings); the
cultural milieu and context in which the Qur’anic text has been
transmitted and used and the tradition of the commentaries.
This research unit seeks to inspire debate among textual critics from
all three fields.The scope/objectives of this group have the potential
for expansion based on the materials, texts and approaches under
discussion. Relevant topics for discussion would include:
The study of OT, NT or Qur’anic writings not only in manuscripts, but
also inscribed or printed,
The texts themselves and the circumstances of their transmission
Types or groupings of texts
Reconstructions of forms of text
Textual Criticism and history
Textual Criticism and exegesis
Textual Criticism and theology
Textual Criticism and the world |
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| The Bible and Ecology |
Ecological
crisis is one of the main challenges in need of combined response in
the last decades. In the critical discussion regarding its roots,
biblical scholars have turned to the biblical text and its
interpretation through the ages, searching for possible
misinterpretations that supported ideologically the environmental
exploitation and degradation. They also developed different
methodological models for reading the biblical text from an ecological
perspective. In light of the pressing global ecological crisis, the
research unit would like to continue the critical and
inter/trans-disciplinary exploration of the Bible and ecology. The
research unit aims to:
The research unit aims to:
explore and employ various methodological trends in reading well-known
and uncharted biblical and early Christian texts from ecological
perspective;
analyze the use of these texts from the perspectives of various
stakeholders including but not limited to biblical scholars from all
over the world;
to promote dialogue with various groups from different global locations,
within and beyond biblical exegesis and theology, that can improve the
ecological biblical interpretation and contribute to other areas of
knowledge while enhancing knowledge distribution. |
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| The Bible in Arabic in Judaism, Christianity, Islam |
Shortly
after the expansion of Muslim rule in the 7th and 8th centuries CE,
Christians, Jews, and Samaritans living in the Muslim world began to
translate their sacred texts– the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and
the Samaritan Pentateuch– into Arabic. Many of these translations, from
languages such as Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Coptic, have come down to us
in a vast corpus of manuscripts and fragments hailing from monasteries,
synagogues and libraries, especially in the Middle East. Compared to
other translation traditions of the Bible throughout its history, the
Arabic versions in manuscript and later on in print are the most
numerous and reveal an unusually large variety in stylistic and didactic
approaches, vocabulary, scripts and ideologies. Although originally
intended for internal consumption by the different denominations that
produced them, the translations were also quoted and adapted by Muslim
writers, who were familiar with many biblical episodes and characters
through the Qur’an. The study of Arabic translations of the Bible has
only recently started to come into its own, but much remains to be done.
We invite papers on the various aspects of the production and reception
of the Arabic Bible outlined above. |
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| The Bible in the Iberian World: Fundaments of a Religious Melting Pot |
That
the Iberian Peninsula represents a key hub between Christianity,
Judaism and Islam is widely known. However, theologians and historians
have been studying these phenomena as isolated events and not as part of
a much larger Iberian world characteristic, one that should be
understood regarding the broader Western thought.
This session’s goal, though experimental, is to provide a space for
discussion for those of us who work with biblical themes in the context
of the Iberian world. This world includes not only the peninsular area
but also its colonial spaces, e.g., American, African and Asian places
where Portuguese and Spaniards played an influential role starting in
the Early Modern period. Moreover, the subjects to discuss are not
limited nor to a particular time frame nor a specific chronological
period for this first phase.
Our initial objectives are to underline the importance of the Iberian
world as a space of communication, or not, between the different
religions of the Bible, of biblical interpretation, and how the Iberian
world was prone to be influenced by the Bible. |
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| The Bible in the Twenty-First Century: Politization of Bibles and Biblization of Politics |
Biblical
Interpretation today is characterized by a variety of different
concerns and approaches. The focus of this program unit is on the use
and misuse of biblical texts in past and present politics, in the
broadest sense; and conversely, on the use and misuse of politics in
biblical interpretation and transmission. The scope may include analysis
of the biblical and related texts and contexts, questions of method and
theory, and especially attention to interpretations- interpreters and
their contexts. Papers are welcome from such perspectives as psychology
and psychoanalysis, philosophy, postcolonial studies, gender studies,
social studies, economic studies, racial-ethnic studies, and queer
studies. |
|
|
| The Biblical World and its Reception |
This
seminar aims to provide a forum in which participants can engage in the
theoretical issues pertaining to the reception of the ‘biblical world’
throughout the last 2,500 years and/or present specific examples of how
biblical and chronologically-related texts have been appropriated within
later cultural, political, and artistic contexts. Insights drawn from a
wide range of disciplines are encouraged and the reception history of
any relevant text from the biblical period will be considered suitable
material for presentation and discussion. |
|
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| The Core of Deuteronomy and Its World |
"This
research group is attentive to the core of the Book of Deuteronomy
(Deuteronomy 12— 26/28). We want to explore the internal coherence of
the legal prescriptions and to take a close look at the world that is
imagined to be regulated by them. We also want to explore how this legal
core relates to the notion of ‘Israel’ presented in the framework of
the book. The unit will continue investigating the apparent tension
between the utopian character of the
society that is imagined in these ‘laws’ and their focus on
down-to-earth politics and economics, which was the topic of our first
meeting 2017. Relevant topics are:
- Why was Deuteronomy created?
- The nature of ‘Israel’ in the book, especially the relation between
the society that appears in the core legislations and the ‘All Israel’
of the frame.
- The cultic integration of both Judah and Samaria: the adoption of the
cult of the ‘god
of Israel’ within Judah and its possible connection with local religious
practices and Iron-age cults of the two kingdoms.
- Issues related to the book’s further application and authorization in
the Yehud and Samarian communities: Why did Deuteronomy have audiences
in both Samaria and Yehud/Judea who considered themselves to belong to
Israel? |
|
|
| The Dead Sea Scrolls |
The
Research Group provides a forum for discussing the Dead Sea Scrolls,
with a particular emphasis on worship in the Scrolls and in other
sources from the late Second Temple period, such as, some of the late
books of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Chronicles, Daniel, and some Psalms),
the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, as well as available inscriptions and
archaeological evidence. |
|
|
| The Greek of Jews and Christians Through the Pax Romana |
The
writings of Jews and Christians in the Second Temple and early
Christian periods form the basis of all later discussions on Judaism and
Christianity. The dynamics of language used by these authors is
necessarily pertinent to understanding what they sought to convey. This
research unit therefore focuses on the linguistic and exegetical study
of Koine Greek up to the death of Marcus Aurelius. |
|
|
| The Language of Colour in the Bible: From Word to Image |
The
study of the language of colour has generated great attention since the
19th century in several fields, especially philology and art; exploring
the great civilizations considered the bedrock of Europe: Greece and
Rome. Surprisingly the Bible, the other pillar on which European culture
is founded, has been left on the sidelines of this research, creating a
primordial void.
This research project aims to bridge this gap and provide a more
complete picture of the language of colour in a book that has inspired
both literary and artistic works: the Bible. An interdisciplinary study
of the biblical text in its original languages can certainly shed new
light on the interpretation of the image and vice versa.
The objectives pursued in the field of philology are to determine the
chromatic lexicon of the biblical text, the sensory perception it
reflects and the symbolic dimension from which it emanates. In this
sense, we believe that the Apocryphal literature and the early Christian
literature can shed light on the meaning of colour in the biblical
texts both with regard to sensorial perception and symbolism.
Concerning the field of artistic representations which have been
inspired by the Bible, the objective of the research is to study how the
artist uses chromatic language to reflect the biblical scenes, as well
as analysing how the biblical language is used and reinterpreted. The
period chosen to be studied is that covering the 10th-12th centuries.
During that period, many Illuminated Bibles were produced, containing
both the passages of the Old and New Testaments. |
|
|
| The Roman Forum: New Testament, Early Christianity, and Early Rabbinics |
‘The
Roman Forum’ is a forum for the exchange of ideas concerning methods
and interdisciplinary investigations applied to the study of the New
Testament, Judaism and early Christianity in their various forms, their
respective textual corpora in the Roman period (Rabbinics, patristics),
and their contemporary receptions. It celebrates diversity and
encourages presentations by scholars working in less-trodden areas and
approaches. The Forum aims at countering current tendencies toward the
fragmentation of our field into separate micro-fields. It furthers
interaction among scholars who use various approaches and work in
different areas, thus stimulating new insights through
cross-fertilization. |
|
|
| Virtue In Biblical Literature |
"What
did virtue (i.e. human behaviour perceived as morally exemplary) mean
for ancient Jews and Christians? How did they discuss it? This research
unit analyses conceptions of virtue in ancient Judaism and early
Christianity in the ancient Mediterranean context (ca. 500 BCE – 300
CE).
Scholars have typically searched for the roots of western virtue ethics
in Greek philosophy, considering Jewish and Christian sources to be, at
best, of secondary importance. Admittedly, the Semitic languages lack a
specific term designating virtue, but this does not mean that texts
written in those languages could not be interested in, or familiar with,
conceptions of virtue. Moreover, the Greek term ἀρετή is adopted early
on in Jewish and Christian literature composed in Greek.
Today, as the diversity and interrelatedness of Mediterranean cultures
are recognized, ancient conceptions of virtue must be reassessed. The
unit invites scholars to reflect critically on early Jewish and
Christian ideas of virtue. The Greek culture is not given a primacy in
defining what virtue is; rather, the aim is to
acknowledge the variety of ancient discursive practices concerning
morally valuable life." |
|
|
| Vision and Envisionment in the Bible and its World |
"Communication
about visionary experiences and visionary contents is a widespread
phenomenon both, in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament as well as in
acient pagan cultures. The research group focuses on this phenomenon
and seeks to explore rhetorical and narrative strategies that texts make
use of in describing experiences and contents of prophetic vision.
Among others the following texts and traditions may be of primary
importance with regard to our research interest:
- prophetic traditions in the Hebrew Bible,
- apocalyptic traditions in ancient Judaism and the New Testament,
- descriptions of otherworldly journeys,
- accounts on visionary experiences in ancient pagan cultures.
With respect to methodology our main interest lays on the linguistic
characteristics of representations of vision on the one hand, and on the
way that these representations are capable of affecting their intended
ancient audiences. In this regard our group analyses
- rhetorical and narratological features of visionary accounts,
- the implied impact that envisionment unfolds upon its hearers resp.
readers,
- material and bodily aspects of communication about visionary
experiences."
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| What a god is not – the early history of negative theology |
The
question “What is a god?” has been treated extensively in literature.
In this session, we want to approach that question from a different
angle. When people start to answer this question in a negative way,
namely by negating positive statements about gods or by questioning the
human ability to understand the divine at all, this demonstrates a more
sophisticated approach to this question. In treating traditions from
various places within one session and bringing experts from various
field together, we hope to gain new insights in the emergence,
interconnectedness and influence of these traditions. |
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| Wisdom in Israel and in ANE Wisdom Literature |
This
unit seeks to provide a forum for the exploration of current and
emerging approaches to and methodologies in the study of Wisdom
Literature. The primary focus is on Biblical wisdom – Proverbs, Job,
Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes, and the Wisdom Psalms, as well as Qumran wisdom
texts and Deutero-Canonical works such as Ben Sira and the Wisdom of
Solomon. The secondary focus is on wisdom literature from elsewhere in
the Ancient Near East, insofar as these bear on our understanding of
biblical wisdom texts.
Our unit will hold two sessions each year, one of invited papers and the
other of offered papers. |