Although it has been almost two months now, I wanted to write a brief review of the IOSCS subcongress this past August 1-3, held just before the IOSOT Congress. The program can still be found here, and the abstracts here as of today. The Congress was well attended, but still tiny by contrast to, say, the annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting. I would estimate about seventy five attendees, most of which presented a paper. Lectures were held on Thursday evening, all day Friday into the evening, and part of Saturday, with three sessions occurring at once organized by theme (roughly). The venue, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, was stunning and far more space than our small group needed, although it was nice to be doted on by the servers at the tea breaks, and I’m certain it was the right size for the much larger IOSOT Congress which immediately followed IOSCS.

My own lecture went well, at least from my perspective. An abstract of my paper is available here, and the appendix here. I would make the paper itself available, but it will be submitted for inclusion in the published proceedings from the congress, so I had better wait. Overall, the paper was well received, although I have some misgivings about the extent to which my proposal for historical linguistic lexicography applied to LXX studies was understood by some. That probably reflects on me more than anything. Still, it was a fantastic time that I will remember fondly.

Now that the Congress is over, I have moved into doctoral applications. These are proving quite time consuming, particularly the task of repeatedly stating my personal brilliance (or the brilliance of the institution) in various ways on each application. Far more interesting is the task of dissertation proposals. I am considering two broad topics within the (narrow) field of LXX studies. First, that of eschatology/messianism in translation, particularly in the books of Exodus and the Twelve. Secondly, lexicography in light of Koine documentary evidence, which is along the lines of my Congress paper, applied particularly to Judges. I currently am waiting to hear from two universities across the pond, which should respond in the next few weeks. One further application was made today, and likely a last will come within a few weeks. When the dust settles, I will post again, if not sooner.

WAR