Hear ye! Hear ye! This very morn hath broken the sixteenth occasion of that bléssed day, declared in the ancient times of 2006 by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS). Rejoice!

Each year for quite a while I have posted something (that I think is) interesting on this most special of occasions. Usually it is an interview of some kind. You can talk a walk down memory lane — or check things out for the first time if you’re new — with this rundown of posts from previous years:

ISD 2021    |    ISD 2020    |    ISD 2019    |    ISD 2018

ISD 2017    |    ISD 2016    |    ISD 2015    |    ISD 2014

This year I’m doing something slightly different. Since I have something of a backlog of things to post about, I thought I would simply do a roundup here of recent and upcoming events or notables within Septuagint scholarship. Enjoy!

Grinfield Lectures (Year 2)

Last year I posted about the Grinfield Lectures on the Septuagint held at Oxford by my Doktorvater, James K. Aitken. His topic is the Septuagint within the history of ancient book culture, which he is exploring over the three-year course of the lecture series. Last year’s lectures were delivered via Zoom and are still available here. Information about the second series of lectures is available here, or you can just peak at Jim’s tweet:

UPDATE : It is now possible to register for the digital event through the OCHJS website here. Be sure to grab a spot!

Updated Doctoral Advisors for Septuagint Studies

According to my site metrics, one of the most popular pages I maintain here is the rundown of scholars actively supervising Septuagint topics at the doctoral level. In addition to doing some basic maintenance of the page, I have also added some information about two supervisors:

Sébastien Morlet (France)

With the retirement of Olivier Munnich in 2020, Sébastien Morlet has stepped into the gap at the Sorbonne. Morlet’s specialty is in Patristics and Late Antiquity, as well as the reception of Classical antiquity. But he is turning increasing focus to the Septaugint, as he is also a member of the editorial board of La Bible d’Alexandrie, and is preparing the 2 Kingdoms volume in the series. He is interested in any aspect of the Septuagint as a Greek text.

Christopher J. Fresch (Australia)

Chris who is a friend of mine from Cambridge, a Doktorbruder (to perhaps coin a term), and most importantly an excellent scholar. He is now able to supervise doctoral students through the PhD program at the Australian College of Theology, of which his home institution BCSA is a member. This program is a research degree, where the candidate produces an 80-100k word thesis and submits it for examination by three examiners (no viva).The candidate would have a principal supervisor and, often, a co-supervisor. The degree is 3 years full time, 6 years maximum.

In his own words, Chris’s interests include the application of linguistic theory to the language of the Septuagint (primarily with respect to syntax and pragmatics). Here the application of cognitive grammar, functional linguistics, discourse grammar, and construction grammar are of particular interest. He is also interested in the language of the LXX in its postclassical context (e.g., documentary papyri), as well as the translators, their decisions, and the relationship between the translation and its Vorlage.

Trinity Western LXX Summer School

One of the rare and valuable opportunities to actually take a graduate level course in the Septuagint from “real” Septuagint scholars occurs at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, through the John William Wevers Institute of Septuagint Studies. I have participated in some of these myself and also posted these each year for a while now (see the posts here: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015).

This year the course will be held the week of May 16-20, 2022 and is entitled “Exploring the Septuagint Pentateuch.” Notably, this is a three-credit Zoom course only (from what I can tell). The syllabus is available here.

Three New Septuagint Books

It’s always news when books come out that focus directly on the Septuagint. Over the last month or two, no fewer than three new books have gone to press that are worth taking note of.

1. Gilles Dorival, La Bible d’Alexandrie, 16/1 Les Psaumes, Livre 1, Psaumes 1-40 (Paris: Cerf, 2021) — This book is another volume in the ongoing and important BdA series, on which see here and here. 

2. Gilles Dorival, The Septuagint from Alexandria to Constantinople: Canon, New Testament, Church Fathers, Catenae (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021) — Although still not available in print for some reason, this volume (which I have viewed in electronic format) fills a much needed gap in scholarship, focusing in long form on the early reception history and textuality of the Septuagint.

3. Jennifer Brown Jones, Translation and Style in the Old Greek Psalter: What Pleases Israel’s God (Leiden: Brill, 2022) — This book is a revision of Jen’s dissertation and is the first volume in a brand new monograph series that is associated with the SEPT commentary series. Congratulations to Jen for her accomplishment!

Other Fun Stuff

In random other news, Septuagint scholarship now has a YouTube Channel and a vocabulary app! It’s a great time to be in this discipline.

Septuagint Vocabulary App