I leave tomorrow morning for The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS) 2006 Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario. This year’s meeting is being held at York University and runs for three days (May 28-30).

A glance at the programme reveals many interesting papers related to the Hebrew Bible, including papers in the Ancient Historiography Seminar (For those interested more in New Testament/Christian Origins or the history of interpretation there are many papers that would interest you, so check out the full programme).

Here are some highlights of papers relating to the Hebrew Bible:

Sunday 28 May 2006

8:45-12:00 (ACE 002) Hebrew Bible/Old Testament / Bible Hébraïque/Ancien Testament

• 8:45-9:15 – “The Restrictive Syntax of Genesis 1.1” by Robert D. Holmstedt (Universtity of Toronto)
• 9:15-9:45 – “The Cult Term הֶשּ×?Ö´×? (isheh): Remarks on its Meaning, Importance, and Disappearance” by Christian A. Eberhart (Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon)
• 9:45-10:15 – “The ‘Complementary Hypothesis’ Reconsidered: Exploring Methodological Matrices in Psalms Scholarship” by Derek Suderman (Emmanuel College, Toronto)
• 10:30-11:00 – “Fresh Light on Hosea from History, Archaeology and Philology” by J. Glen Taylor (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto)
• 11:00-11:30 – “The Birth of Samson” by Joyce Rilett Wood (University of Toronto)
• 11:30-12:00 – “Prayer as Rhetoric in the Book of Nehemiah” by Mark Boda (McMaster Divinity College, McMaster University)

Monday 29 May 2006

8:45-12:00 (ACE 005) Curses and Curse Stories in Antiquity / Les Malédictions dans l’Antiquité Ancienne

• 8:45-9:15 – “Studying Curses and Curse Stories: Some Musings on Methodology” by Tony Chartrand-Burke (York University)
• 9:15-9:45 – “Joshua’s Curse on Jericho: Fulfillment and Partial Reversal” by Daniel Miller (Bishop’s University)
• 9:45-10:15 – “Writing / Elijah / Cursing: 2 Chronicles 21:11-20” by Christine Mitchell (St. Andrew’s College)
• 10:30-11:00 – “Curses and Ideology among the Qumran Covenanters” by Sarianna Metso (University of Toronto)
• 11:00-11:30 – “Divine Violence and Righteous Anger” by Kimberly Stratton (Carleton University)

13:30-16:15 (ACE 002) Literary Approaches I / Approches littéraires I

• 13:30-14:00 – “Textually Violating Dinah: Literary Readings and the Construction of the Interpreter” by Todd Penner (Austin College) and Lilian Gyde Gates
• 14:00-14:30 – “The Golden Calf Story, Constructively and Deconstructively” by Dmitri Slivniak (York University)
• 14:30-15:00 – “God is Not a Mortal He Should Repent: The Role of Samuel in God’s Rejection of Saul and the Shift to an Unconditional Covenant with David” by J. Richard Middleton (Roberts Wesleyan College)
• 15:15-15:45 – “Some Advantages of Recycling: Jacob in a Later Environment” by Keith Bodner (Atlantic Baptist University)
• 15:45-16:15 – “Brecht’s David” by David Jobling (St. Andrew’s College)

19:00-21:00 (Vanier College 135) Special Joint Lecture / La Conférence Conjoint

• 21:00-23:00 (Vanier College – The Renaissance) – “The Alternative Vision of the Gospel of Judas” by Bart Ehrman (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)

Tuesday 30 May 2006

8:45-12:00 (ACE 002) Ancient Historiography Seminar / Groupe de Travail sur l’Historiographie Ancienne
Function of Historiography – Hebrew Bible / La Fonctionne de l’Historiographie – Bible Hébraïque

• 8:45-9:05 – “Is the Book of Kings Deuteronomistic? And is it a History?” by Kurt Noll (Brandon University)
• 9:15-9:35 – “Uses of the Past: The Stories of David and Solomon as Test Cases” by John Van Seters (Waterloo, ON)
• 9:45-10:05 – “Sennacherib’s Campaign Against Judah: What Saith the Scriptures?” by Paul Evans (Alliance University College)
• 10:30-10:50 – “The Chronicler as Elite” by Tim Goltz (McGill University)
• 11:00-11:20 – “The Function of Historiography: A Synthesis and Response to Kurt Noll, John Van Seters, Paul Evans, and Tim Goltz” by Tyler Williams (Taylor University College)

Ancient Historiography Seminar / Groupe de Travail sur l’Historiographie Ancienne
13:30-16:30 (ACE 002) Function of Historiography – Classics, Intertestamental Literature, and the Gospels / La Fonctionne de l’Historiographie – Les Littératures Classiques et Intertestamentaire, et les Évangiles

• 13:30-13:50 – “The Gospel of Mark in context of ancient historiography” by Eve-Marie Becker (Oberassistentin Institut für Neues Testament)
• 14:00-14:20 – “Once Upon a Time: Women as Leaders in Historiography and the Ancient Novel” by Dilys Patterson (Concordia University)
• 14:30-14:50 -“Ancient Greek Historiography and its Methodology: How Does Luke Relate?” by Sean Adams (McMaster Divinity College)
• 15:15-15:35 -“When in Rome…: Scripting Gender in Acts” by Todd Penner (Austin College)

13:30-15:30 (ACE 003) Literary Approaches II / Approches littéraires II

• 13:30-14:00 – “Bug Splats: Squishing Joel’s Verbal Effigy” by James Linville (University of Lethbridge)
• 14:00-14:30 – “Lament for a Broken Body: The Complaint Psalms and the Fragmented Biblical Subject’ by Fiona Black (MT. Allison University)
• 14:30-15:00 – “Apocalypse and Apophasis: Paronomasia, Proverbs, and Prolixity in Isaiah 28.19-22” by Francis Landy (University of Alberta)
• 15:00-15:30 – “A Divine-Human Cherub: The Primal Figure of Ezekiel 28” by Daphna Arbel (University of British Columbia)

As with last year, I will provide daily reports on the sessions, so stay tunned.