I hope I won’t regret this post indicating that I hope to be back on track in regards to my blogging! We have settled into our new abode to a degree that I hope I can actually get some other work done besides house-related work! I have run the ethernet lines for my office and my wife’s computer; I have installed the new washer and dryer and plumbed in the laundry sink so that we can have clean clothes; I have disposed of the myriad of boxes that have been littered throughout our house. My home office still needs some work, though the essentials are unpacked and set up.

There have been a number of interesting “discussions” in the biblio-blogosphere of late that I have wanted to post on; perhaps now I will have the chance!

At the May 2005 meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies / Société canadienne des Études bibliques (CSBS/SCÉB) in London, ON, the membership approved a three-year renewable seminar on ancient historiography. The Ancient Historiography Seminar / Conférence antique d’historiographie is a professional, academic working group of the CSBS. Its purpose is to advance the study of ancient historiography within the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and the broader biblical studies and ancient Near Eastern studies communities. This encompasses issues relating to the form and function of ancient historiographic texts, comparative historiography of the ancient world, methodological problems related to employing ancient historiographic texts for modern historical reconstruction, as well as various themes and tropes in biblical and cognate historiography. While certainly not limited to biblical texts, the Seminar will bring comparative material to bear on the understanding of the historiographic texts of the Bible.

Seminar Steering Committee

The Seminar is chaired by fellow biblioblogger Ken Ristau and the Steering Committee is made up of the following:

• Patricia G. Kirkpatrick, Associate Professor and Chair, Biblical Area, Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
• Gary Knoppers, Professor and Department Head, Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
• Dilys N. Patterson, Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec.
• Ken Ristau (Seminar Chair), Doctoral student, Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
• Tyler F. Williams (Communication Officer), Assistant Professor and Chair, Religion & Theology Department, Taylor University College, Edmonton, Alberta.
• Ehud Ben Zvi, Professor, Department of History and Classics & Interdisciplinary Program of Religious Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.

Seminar Website

One of my tasks as a member of the Steering Committee, was to develop a Seminar website, which is now online at https://three-things.ca/historiography. The website will allow the Seminar members to communicate with each other and with the broader academic community. It will also serve as a means to disseminate information about the Seminar and resources for the study of historiographic writings of the ancient Near Eastern world. You will note that the resources page is still under construction. If you have any resources that you think should be included on this page, please let me know.

York 2006 Call for Papers

The CSBS will be meeting at York University in Toronto in May 2006. The Call for Papers for the Seminar is available here. The theme for the Seminar’Â’s inaugural year is “The Function of Biblical and Cognate Historiography.” We invite papers that examine biblical and cognate historiography within its historical contexts. It is important that submissions remain strictly focused on the biblical and cognate historiography of antiquity (pre-1st century C.E.) and analyze its function for the communities that wrote and/or received these texts in the ancient world. Papers can be methodological or practical, that is, in the latter case, scholars may apply a particular critical approach to a problem or text(s) and so engage the questions implicitly rather than explicitly. Contributors must be or become members of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies. For more information on the call for papers, please see the Seminar website.

For questions regarding the Seminar please contact Ken Ristau (email: ken.ristau [at] anduril.ca). Questions and/or comments on this website may be forwarded to Tyler F. Williams (email: historiography [at] biblical-studies.ca).

The Review of Biblical Literature for this week is a bit sparse, though there are some noteworthy books under review. Based on the positive review, David Carr’s work looks quite facinating. From a comparative study of the educational curriculum of several ancient Near Eastern societies, Carr argues that rather than understand the production of Israelite Scripture being the result of editorial activity on actual manuscripts (e.g., documentary hypothesis), it is the result of “the ability of the erudite scribes to recite from memory long passages from the authoritative curriculum and to use them as templates in the composition of new texts.” I quite liked Carr’s Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (WJK, 1996), and it appears this work is worthy of perusal. For those intersted in a more synchronic analysis of the Hebrew Bible, then David Dorsey’s book is for you. Dorsey performs a comprehensive examination of the books of the Hebrew Bible looking for literary connections and patterns (especially pivot patterns or palistrophes). Shapira’s rant review brings up some interesting points, perhaps the most important is the general lack of awareness on the part of English scholars of research written in modern Hebrew. While I agree that there are many excellent works on the Hebrew Bible being published in modern Hebrew by Israeli scholars, it is quite difficult to access many of them in North America (at least Canada). That being so, the fact that Dorsey missed a recent work expressly devoted to pivot patterns in the Hebrew Bible just because it was written in modern Hebrew is unfortuant to say the least. Finally, the collection of essays edited by Marguerat includes what looks like some interesting essays that relate to ancient Israelite historiography.

• David M. Carr, Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature. Reviewed by Itamar Singe
• David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi. Reviewed by Amnon Shapira
• John Eaton, Meditating on the Psalms. Reviewed by Gerald Wilson
• Rex Mason, Micah, Nahum and Obadiah (T and T Clark Study Guides; previously Shefffield Guides). Reviewed by Julia O’Brien
• Daniel Marguerat, ed., La Bible en récits: L’exégese biblique a l’heure du lecteur. Reviewed by Jean-Francois Racine [in French]
• Frank Anthony Spina, The Faith of the Outsider: Exclusion and Inclusion in the Biblical Story. Reviewed by Thomas Kraus

Today was Canadian Thanksgiving. Besides getting together with my extended family, I was working hard painting our duplex and getting it ready for renters (As I have posted, we have just moved into a new house. We are keeping our old duplex as a rental property).

During my solitude (just me and my paint) I was reflecting on thanksgiving and what I am thankful to God for — and I have much to be thankful for. I have a beautiful supportive wife who has stuck with me for 17 years (despite my own faults which outnumber hers by far!). I also have three wonderful children who I am very, very proud of. I have a great extended family, a wonderful house, a fulfilling teaching position, and much much more.

I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty thinking about how very much I have considering how many people around the world are in such need (especially thinking of Pakistan, and the places affected by Katrina and the Tsunami). I find that the key things to remember is that (1) there is nothing I have done to deserve my blessings; and (2) to those who have been given much, much will be required.

I only hope that I may be faithful with all I have been blessed with.

Mental Note: In the future, don’t move into a new house during the beginning part of a semester.

OK, so we are emerging from the boxes and some rooms are actually partially set up, including my home office. Despite the rain the move went very well. I had a number of very good friends show up Saturday morning at 9 am to help move. I was able to upsize my the rental truck, so I had a 26 foot truck and friends brought three other pick-ups. We were pretty much finished the move at around 1:30 pm when we sat down to a feast prepared by my mother-in-law (it was a good thing we had pretty much finished since no felt like carrying much after lunch!).

Well, I need to do some work for my courses. I will have to put some more pictures of the hosue and my new office soon.