Old Testament Senior Seminar

This Seminar is chaired on a termly basis by Dr Katharine Dell, Dr James Aitken, and Dr Nathan MacDonald.

It hosts papers from both invited visitors and Cambridge scholars on the broad theme of the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, as well as the historical and archaeological contexts, Hebrew language, reception of the Bible, and some second temple topics.

It is the main gathering for graduate students, scholars and visiting scholars in the University interested in the field of Old Testament studies.

Visitors are welcome to attend, and are invited to contact one of the chairs in advance to introduce themselves. Suggestions of possible speakers or topics may also be made to the chairs.

Related seminars are also hosted by the Cambridge Forum for Jewish Studies.

Michaelmas Term 2017 Programme:

Certain weeks of the seminar are on the theme of “Translation and Interpretation,” a joint Seminar with Oxford. Members are welcome to attend the Oxford seminars too.

• 11 October – Mark Sneed (Lubbock Christian University) ‘The Sage “Concerned with Prophecies” (Sir 39:1): The Scribal Cooption of Prophecy’

• 25 October – Jonathan Stökl (King’s College, London) Translation and Interpretation: ‘Catching an Allusion in a Net: Thoughts on the “Translation” of Mesopotamian Motifs, Allusions and Tradition History’

•  8 November – Marieke Dhont (Metz) and James Aitken Translation and Interpretation: ‘Cultural Assumptions of the Septuagint Translation’

• 29 November – Ben Outhwaite (Cairo Genizah Unit) ‘The Bible as Read in the Old Synagogue: Form and Format of the Medieval Bible in the Judaeo-Islamic World’

Oxford Seminars on Translation and Interpretation:

Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College at 2:30–4.00 p.m

• Mon 16 October: Hindy Najman (Oriel) and Arjen Bakker (Oriel) – ‘Conceptual Translation and Transfer of Culture’

• Mon 30 October: Jan Joosten (Christ Church) and Jelle Verburg (St John’s) – ‘Acculturation and Identity: Lexical Choice in the Septuagint’

• Thu 9 November – 10.00 a.m. exhibition Imagining the Divine; 11.00 a.m. presentation by Jaś Elsner (in the Headley Lecture Theatre)