Upcoming Course in Septuagint Exegesis – May 2015

The Wevers Institute

A few months back I posted a roundup of graduate programs in North America that specialize in Septuagint studies. One of the main features on the menu in that respect is the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies at Trinity Western University, in Vancouver, B.C.

Aside from getting the natural beauty of Vancouver area (If you like hiking, I recommend doing the Grouse Grind), you also get access some excellent scholars. The Institute’s fellows include Drs. Robert Hiebert (director), Larry Perkins, Dirk Büchner, and Peter Flint, each of whom are working on Pentateuchal commentaries in the SBLCS.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the Wevers Institute is the only place in North America where a full-fledged Septuagint degree is offered, as both a Master of Theological Studies and the shorter Master of Theology. If you are interested in LXX studies, you should definitely look into this promising program.

The NETS Translation

A few of the fellows of the Wevers Institute were closely involved in the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) project. I wrote an introductory post to NETS a little while back overviewing some of its guiding principles and how they fit into the larger scholarly discussion. When I took the summer course, it was entitled “Current Issues in Septuagint Studies.” We spent a significant amount of time going through the NETS principles and seeing how they apply, which was very helpful to me as I developed my own approach to the Septuagint and its many intricacies.

It is difficult to come by an opportunity to learn about the Septuagint in a classroom setting, much less from several active scholars in the discipline. That is why I was excited to see that the course is on offer again this coming summer.

The Summer Course: May 25-29

I only just received an email about this course, and it did not include a great deal of information. But the course will be 3 credit hours and cover the issues involved with Septuagint exegesis. The methods and principles of the SBLCS will feature prominently in this, no doubt, which will provide a helpful framework for those new to the field. To get a flavor for some of the issues involved, however, check out this post on the topic of messianic exegesis in the LXX.

Most interesting of all, the course will be made available via live streaming, so that those unable to physically attend can still participate. I think this is a great way to allow students for whom the cost of travel would make the course prohibitive.

If you are interested in further information, email acts@twu.ca.

 

 

 

 

A Compact Study of Numbers: A Review

Just a brief post here to mention a review I just completed of William T. Miller’s A Compact Study of Numbers (Wipf & Stock, 2013), which will appear in Themelios in the near future. In this book, William T. Miller, adjunct asscociate professor of Old Testament at Loyola University Maryland, presents just what its title suggests, a (very) compact study of a not-that-compact Old Testament book.

As I mention in the review, Miller aims his work somewhat vaguely at a Christian audience. He formats the book in brief chapters each with a handful of discussion questions at the end, and supplies answers at the back of the the book. A significant amount of Miller’s content is directly drawn from or dependent upon Baruch Levine’s Anchor Bible commentary on Numbers. Consequently, this amounts to Miller’s adoption of Levine’s critical methodology.

For a book purportedly written to assist Christians read and understand Numbers, the level of technical detail and the almost exclusively diachronical approach to the text left me unsatisfied. For some more depth in these issues, you can read the review here.

International Septuaginta Summer School – July 2015

Septuaginta-Unternehmen

For the fifth year running the Universität Göttingen will host the International Septuaginta Summer School, from July 6-10. This is an exciting and unique program run at one of the foremost institutions of higher educations in the discipline. The university is home to some significant figures in Septuagint studies, and has produced many others. Both Alfred Rahlfs and Robert Hanhart were professors at Göttingen (of the Rahlfs-Hanhart Septuagint), and the list of previous Old Testament faculty reads as a who’s-who of biblical studies, among whom are figures such as Wellhausen, Smend, von Rad, and Zimmerli for starters (not to mention figures in New Testament such as W. Bauer and J. Jeremias).

In the early 20th century, Rahlfs and Smend undertook the foundation of the Göttingen Septuaginta-Unternehmen. With backing from Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin, the institute launched in 1908 and has had an illustrious history since then. The main production of the Septuaginta-Unternehmen has been a critical edition of the Septuagint, taking into account every known textual witness to date. While there are still several books to be completed (including, regrettably, my chosen book of study, Judges), the finished Göttingen LXX volumes are the gold standard of the discipline, as they reflect a text that hypothetically precedes all recensions.

Septuagint Summer School

Situated at the Lagarde-Haus in Göttingen, the Septuaginta-Unternehmen hosts annual “summer school” for the Septuagint. This is no remedial program for slackers and flunkies, like the American notion of “summer school.” Run by the Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen in conjunction with the Faculty of Theology at Göttingen, the summer school only takes 16 applicants in either graduate or postgraduate stages.

More importantly, each year the summer school has been conducted by a keynote speaker. In 2014 this was Dr. Alison Salveson of the University of Oxford, lecturing on Greek Isaiah in interpretive history. This year the speaker is Dr. James K. Aitken of the superlative University of Cambridge.

Complete information, including application procedures, is given on the Septuaginta-Unternehmen website (here).

Greek Language & Septuagint Vocabulary

Aitken’s topic is “From Language to Social Context: The Pentateuch and Later Traditions.” As the site states, this year’s summer school “will examine the evidence and methods for interpreting the context of the Septuagint, while contrasting the Pentateuch to the later traditions of translation (Kaige). The course will introduce students and doctoral students from Europe and all over the world to the issues and methods in Septuagint study, and in particular will teach analysis of the language and vocabulary as a means for evaluating the Septuagint text.” This should be an excellent lecture series, as study of the language and vocabulary of the Septuagint is the foundation for so many other aspects of the discipline.

The best part about the Septuagint Summer School is the cost. At only €300, inclusive of five nights hotel lodging with breakfast, all sessions and materials, and a “cultural program,” it is an incredible deal.