Author: William A. Ross

Assistant Professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte, NC)

The End of 2013

Just a brief note here between final exams. The term has come to a close and, although I have not finished all my reading yet, I am getting there amidst studying (and avoiding studying by writing this post). But there is much more to be done other than sit for exams. As mentioned before, I am polishing up my IOSCS Congress paper for peer review, which should be finished in the next week or two. I also hope to finish Abi T. Ngunga’s recently published dissertation, Messianism in the Old Greek of Isaiah (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013) and produce a review before Christmas (update: review available here). Over the January break, I plan to apply for scholarships, work on German, and also begin to dabble in Classical Greek. If time permits, I will put together a paper proposal for SBL ’14 in San Diego.

I have heard back from three of the five doctoral programs I applied to, which include the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strasbourg, the University of Aberdeen, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Cambridge. Only one of which responded negatively thus far. I am of course very happy with that, but will wait to hear from all before making any firm decisions.

WAR

IOSCS Munich Review & Application Season

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.

2013-08-02 09.51.50

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

Spring ’13 Papers

I thought I would post the two papers I wrote this past spring semester.

One was for my Old Testament Poetry and Wisdom class, for which I wrote an exegetical paper on Psalm 115, which engages in a so-called Christological “second reading,” (a hermeneutical methodology which some at Westminster find objectionable for reasons too arcane to get into here). Find the paper here: Psalm 115: The Resurrected Remnant as a Smouldering Stump.

The second paper is an exploration of Paul’s uses of Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17 from text-historical and exegetical perspectives. This I wrote for an elective in Biblical Translation, and which also ended up winning an award entitled the Thomas E. Welmers Memorial Prize in Biblical Languages and Exegesis (here). The paper, which is rather uncreatively titled, can be found here: Paul’s Use of Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17.

WAR