Professor David Downs (Oxford University) discusses ‘The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ in the Pauline Epistles’ in this Biblical Studies Seminar at the University of Edinburgh on October 29, 2020.
Dr Ola Wikander (University of Lund) discusses ‘Divine Sunburns: A Biblical Motif in Central Semitic and Afro-Asiatic Perspective’ in this Biblical Studies Seminar at the University of Edinburgh on February 11, 2021.
Associate Professor Laura Quick (University of Oxford) discusses ‘Bitenosh’s Orgasm, Galen’s Two Seeds, and Conception Theory in the Hebrew Bible’ in this Biblical Studies seminar at the University of Edinburgh on January 14, 2021.
Symposium website “The Social Worlds of Early Christians: A Symposium in Honor of L. Michael White” includes recorded presentations and live Zoom panel discussions (October 24, 2020, at 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm CST). Registration is free, but required (scroll down to the bottom of the page to sign up).
Professor Wil Gafney (Brite Divinity School) provides a short talk on light and darkness in the Bible, and its employment as a basis for White Supremacist interpretations of the Bible.
NYU has made available full recordings from the Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship: A Public Conference, which took place virtually on May 17-20, 2020.
Chair and Opening Remarks – Alex Jassen, New York University
Welcome- Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority & Joe Uziel, Curator and Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit
Contributions of the Israel Antiquities Authority to the Preservation and Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority
Where are We in the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
Chair: Eileen Schuller, McMaster University
Before the Canon – The Role of Extra-biblical Literature in Second Temple Judaism – Armin Lange, University of Vienna
Scribes as Authors in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Molly Zahn, University of Kansas
Chair: Dennis Mizzi, University of Malta
New Archaeological Investigations of Qumran Cave 3Q – Marcello Fidanzio, Faculty of Theology, Lugano
Inkwells residues as a Pre-screening Tool for Characterizing DSS Ink – Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Israel Antiquities Authority
Trade and Manufacture at Qumran, with Special Attention to the Inscriptions – Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska
Chair: Alison Schofield, University of Denver
Mimetic and Literary Performance in Ancient Judaism – Hindy Najman, Oxford University
Mimetic and Scribal Performance in Ancient Judaism – Eibert Tigchelaar, KU Leuven
Chair: Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
Jubilees and the Visions of Amram – James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame
Deciphering Fragments: Tefillin or an Amulet? – Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School
Reimagining Israel: The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism in the Hellenistic Period – Daniel Machiela, McMaster University
Digital Exploration of the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scripta Qumranica Electronica – Bronson Brown-deVost, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Chair: Robert Cargill, University of Iowa
Researching the DSS with Imaging Technologies – Orit Rosengarten, Israel Antiquities Authority
Modern Forgeries: The Scientific Analysis of Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible Collection – Colette Loll, Art Fraud Insights, LLC
The Hands that Wrote the Bible. Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Identifying and Dating Manuscripts – Mladen Popović and Maruf Dhali, University of Groningen
Chair: Erik Larson, Florida International University
Virtue Signaling in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham
Metaphysics of Financial Relations in Qumran Wisdom – Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University
Patterns of Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls – George Brooke, University of Manchester
Chair: Moshe Bernstein, Yeshiva University
Women in the Sectarian Texts from Qumran – Esther Chazon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Reconstructing the Life and Message of Jesus – Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University
Why NOT the Essenes: How to Talk about the Dead Sea Sectarians – Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland
The Sectarian Movement and Qumran – John Collins, Yale University
Chair: Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University
The Many Faces of the Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“2300 Evenings and Mornings” (Dan 8:13-14) Recalculated according to the Damascus Document – Michael Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Perfect Marriage in the Genesis Apocryphon – Esther Eshel, Bar-Ilan University
Chair: Joseph Angel, Yeshiva University
Treasures from a Small Box: Recently Discovered Fragments from Cave 11 – Oren Ableman, Israel Antiquities Authority
The Hydra-headed Mysteries of the Temple Scroll – Andrew D. Gross, Catholic University of America
The Utopian Temple Plan of the Temple Scroll – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
Chair: Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University
What Was Given on Mt. Sinai? – Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University
The Early Study of Jewish Law in the Damascus Document – Alex Jassen, New York University
Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority
On August 4, 2020, Dr Fatima Tofighi (University of Religions, Qom) and Prof James Crossley discussed “Paul and the Construction of the European Self”.
The discussion is the 13th in the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible’s 2020 Online Discussion Series.
On July 13, 2020, Drs Sarah Rollens (Rhodes College), Chris Keith and James Crossley debated which terms should be retired from New Testament Studies.
The discussion is the 11th in the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible’s 2020 Online Discussion Series.
On July 6, 2020, Professors Chris Keith and James Crossley had a Zoom discussion with Professor Adele Reinhartz (University of Ottawa). The subject of discussion is the Gospel of John and the Johannine community, also the subject of her most recent book, Cast Out of the Covenant: Jews and Anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John (2018).
The discussion is the tenth in the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible’s 2020 Online Discussion Series.
The fifth of the 2020 CSSSB Online Discussion Series is held on Monday, May 11, at 7pm BST (2pm EST/11am PST). Prof Mark Goodacre and CSSSB’s Prof Chris Keith discuss “John’s Knowledge of the Synoptics.”
The Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University (NYU) is hosting a free, four-day online conference, “The Dead Sea Scrolls in Recent Scholarship”, May 17-20, 2020.
Register for each day of the conference here.
Chair and Opening Remarks – Alex Jassen, New York University
Welcome– Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority &
Joe Uziel, Curator and Head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit
Contributions of the Israel Antiquities Authority to the Preservation and Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls – Pnina Shor, Israel Antiquities Authority
Where are We in the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls? – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
Before the Canon – The Role of Extra-biblical Literature in Second Temple Judaism – Armin Lange, University of Vienna
The Canon and the Canonical Process: The Evidence of the Scrolls – Eugene Ulrich, University of Notre Dame
Scribes as Authors in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Molly Zahn, University of Kansas
New Archaeological Investigations of Qumran Cave 3Q – Marcello Fidanzio, Faculty of Theology, Lugano
Inkwells residues as a Pre-screening Tool for Characterizing DSS Ink – Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Israel Antiquities Authority
Essenes at Masada – Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina
Trade and Manufacture at Qumran, with Special Attention to the Inscriptions – Sidnie White Crawford, University of Nebraska
Mimetic and Literary Performance in Ancient Judaism – Hindy Najman, Oxford University
Mimetic and Scribal Performance in Ancient Judaism – Eibert Tigchelaar, KU Leuven
Jubilees and the Visions of Amram – James C. VanderKam, University of Notre Dame
Deciphering Fragments: Tefillin or an Amulet? – Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School
Reimagining Israel: The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls and Judaism in the Hellenistic Period – Daniel Machiela, McMaster University
Digital Exploration of the Dead Sea Scrolls with Scripta Qumranica Electronica – Bronson Brown-deVost, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Researching the DSS with Imaging Technologies – Orit Rosengarten, Israel Antiquities Authority
Modern Forgeries: The Scientific Analysis of Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible Collection – Colette Loll, Art Fraud Insights, LLC
The Hands that Wrote the Bible. Digital Palaeography of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Identifying and Dating Manuscripts – Mladen Popović and Maruf Dhali, University of Groningen
Virtue Signaling in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Charlotte Hempel, University of Birmingham
Metaphysics of Financial Relations in Qumran Wisdom – Jonathan Ben-Dov, Haifa University
Patterns of Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls – George Brooke, University of Manchester
Women in the Sectarian Texts from Qumran – Esther Chazon, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for Reconstructing the Life and Message of Jesus – Cecilia Wassén, Uppsala University
Why NOT the Essenes: How to Talk about the Dead Sea Sectarians – Maxine Grossman, University of Maryland
The Sectarian Movement and Qumran – John Collins, Yale University
The Many Faces of the Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Reworked Pentateuch and Genesis Apocryphon: Close or Distant Relatives? – Moshe Bernstein, Yeshiva University
“2300 Evenings and Mornings” (Dan 8:13-14) Recalculated according to the Damascus Document – Michael Segal, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Perfect Marriage in the Genesis Apocryphon – Esther Eshel, Bar-Ilan University
Treasures from a Small Box: Recently Discovered Fragments from Cave 11 – Oren Ableman, Israel Antiquities Authority
The Hydra-headed Mysteries of the Temple Scroll – Andrew D. Gross, Catholic University of America
The Utopian Temple Plan of the Temple Scroll – Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University
What Was Given on Mt. Sinai? – Cana Werman, Ben-Gurion University
Law and Order in the Dead Sea Scrolls – Sarianna Metso, University of Toronto
The Early Study of Jewish Law in the Damascus Document – Alex Jassen, New York University
Lawrence H. Schiffman, New York University &
Emily Master, Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority
Professor Bart Ehrman (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) discusses Heaven and Hell in the Western tradition.
1. Zoom session facilitated by Clare Castro, Oxford University Press, April 20, 2020
“An author-led discussion of the afterlife in the Classical and Biblical worlds. Oxford author Bart Ehrman (The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to The Early Christian Writings, Seventh Edition; A Brief Introduction to The New Testament, Fourth Edition; and The Bible: A Historical and Literary Introduction, Second Edition) explores a variety of fascinating questions: How did the ancient Greeks and Romans think of life, death, and the afterlife? How are these phenomena depicted in the Old Testament? What were the views of the historical Jesus? How did they change after his death? And how do all these ideas differ from those widely held in the Christian world today?”
2. Discussion with Michael Shermer, Science Salon Podcast # 110, March 31, 2020
“Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
– Is the Kingdom of Heaven within us?”
3. Interview with Terry Gross, Fresh Air – Heaven and Hell Book Interview, National Public Radio, March 31, 2020
“She interviews Bart D. Ehrman on March 31, 2020, and centers the discussion to reflect on Bart’s book “Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.” Bart, the best-selling author of Misquoting Jesus takes on two of the most gripping questions of human existence: where did the ideas of heaven and hell come from, and why do they endure? He recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for the damned.”
4. Interview with Seán Moncrieff, Newstalk, January 13, 2020
“Seán Moncrieff hosts an eclectic Irish radio show on Newstalk which is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp. He interviewed Bart on January 13th, 2020 during a seven-minute spot in brief discussion about his new book, “Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife” to be published by Simon & Schuster. The interview asked questions like: Was Heaven and Hell discussed in the Old Testament? Does Judaism believe in the afterlife? Did the belief in Heaven and Hell exist during Jesus’ lifetime? Did there exist an early belief that a deceased person entered limbo after death? Doesn’t the physical depictions of Hell only make sense if a person is physically tortured? Why do more people in the U.S. believe in Heaven than in Hell? Other thoughts are considered during this succinct segment.”
The third of the 2020 CSSSB Online Discussion Series was held on Monday, April 20, at 7pm BST (2pm EST/11am PST). CSSSB’s Prof James Crossley and Prof Chris Keith discuss Keith’s new book, The Gospel as Manuscript: An Early History of the Jesus Tradition as Material Artifact (OUP 2020).
On April 13, 2020, Professors Helen Bond and Chris Keith will have a Zoom discussion on Bond’s book due out later this month, The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark’s Gospel (Eerdmans, 2020). The discussion commences at 7pm BST (2 EST/11 PST).
The discussion is the second in the Centre for the Social-Scientific Study of the Bible’s 2020 Online Discussion Series.
The Theology Programme at the University of Otago is offering three free Zoom talks on selected Biblical topics: The sexually abused Jesus, Passover traditions in the Bible, and New Testament house churches.
Each session will involve input followed by facilitated discussion.
Click links to enrol:
Tuesday 7 April, 7:30-8:30pm (NZ Time; 8:30-9:30am UK Time)
David Tombs: Seeing His Innocence, I See My Innocence: Responses to Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse
Wednesday 8 April, 7:30-8:30pm (NZ Time; 8:30-9:30am UK Time)
James Harding: Biblical traditions relating to Passover (Recorded)
Thursday 16 April, 7:30-8:30pm (NZ Time; 8:30-9:30am UK Time)
Paul Trebilco: House Churches in the First Century: Community in the New Testament
Biblical Studies Online 