It happens every year. Yet it always seems to surprise us. Just about as soon as you recover from the conferences and the holiday season, and finally get back into a working groove, the calls for papers go out.

Today I want to draw attention to the European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS), which, like the Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) and other organizations, has a conference every year. This year, it will be held in Helsinki, Finland, from 30 July – 3 August, in conjunction with the International SBL meeting (ISBL).

Helsinki

Even if EABS/ISBL were not great events that are worth going to (which they are), this meeting would need serious consideration anyway. That’s because Helsinki is an amazing city. Situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea, this vibrant city has a lively academic culture and absolutely fascinating history, including everything from Nordic mythology to Lutheranism and Russification. You will not be bored in this city!

It also has a rich history of Septuagint scholarship. There are two units dedicated to Septuagint that are accepting paper proposals.

1) Septuagint Studies

This unit is chaired by Kristin De Troyer and Tuukka Kauhanen, and will have two separate sessions. The first is dedicated to Septuagint syntax (a long-standing subject of study in the so-called “Finnish school” of Septuagint studies). Notably, this session is meant to continue the work at the Soisalon-Soininen Centennial Symposium, Helsinki 2017 (see here and here). The second session is open to any other topic in the discipline. You can submit a proposal here.

However, if you have something related to the Historical Books, there is…

2) Septuagint of Historical Books

This second unit is chaired by Timo Tekoniemi, Tuukka Kauhanen, and Ville Mäkipelto. It is open to any topic related to the Greek version of the Historical Books, but they particularly wish to encourage proposals on the books of 1 and 2 Samuel and their Greek revision history. Here is a blurb from Ville:

“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.”

You can submit a proposal here.

Don’t Wait Too Long!

The call for papers for EABS/ISBL Helsinki July 30th-August 2nd (2018) closes February 14th.