The weekend of November 20-23, the Society of Biblical Literature will be hosting their massive annual meeting in Atlanta, GA. Daniel McClellan, who has more than one paper being presented, has compiled a list of papers and sessions that would be especially of interest to latter-day saints. Of special note is a presentation by Margaret Barker speaking as a response to Hugh Nibley’s classic ‘Christian Envy of the Temple’.
My wife says attendance would be an appropriate Birthday gift for me, so if the stars all align, I hope to be there! Go here for registration information. Note that there’s a special reduced rate for spouses…my beloved may potentially be coming with me as well!
Also, right now the SBL member price for signup is $100 less than that for a non-member. An annual associate membership only costs $60, so signing up for a membership would not only get you all the membership benefits, but also save you about $35!
Here’s the list as presented by Dan:
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The program book for this November’s annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Atlanta, Ga. is available online here. I’d like to list some papers and sessions I think are of general or particular interest to Latter-day Saints. If the session isn’t listed you can just search for the name in the program book. You can read each paper’s abstract by clicking on its title in the program book. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. (If you can’t figure out how it’s relevant, the author is probably LDS.)
Tod R Harris, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Still Water, Rushing Water: A Comparison of the River Descriptions in Genesis with Parallel Portrayals in Old Norse Eddic Literature
James F. Berlin, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—Translation Division
"The Stick of Ishmael": A Latter-day Saint Perspective of the Qur'an
Kristian Heal, Brigham Young University
The Irresistible Joseph: Continuity and Discontinuity between Syriac Sources and the Quran
Cory Crawford, Brigham Young University
Rethinking the Relationship between Temple and Tabernacle
John Gee, Brigham Young University
History of the Book of the Dead I
Dave Nielsen, Duke University
Singular Readings in the Text of the ‘Unknown Gospel’
Daniel O. McClellan, University of Oxford
El Elyon, Begetter of Heaven and Earth
Latter-day Saints and the Bible
11/22/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Room TBD – Hotel TBD
Margaret Barker, Independent Scholar
“The Christian Envy of the Temple”: Revisiting Hugh Nibley's Landmark Paper after 50 Years.
John F. Hall, Brigham Young University
When the Lights Went Out: Hugh Nibley on the Passing of the Primitive Church
Laurence Hemming, Lancaster University
High Nibley and Attestations of Missing Traditions: The Lost 40 Days
Marco Frenschkowski, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
Hugh Nibley and German Biblical exegesis
Unity and Diversity in Early Jewish Monotheisms
11/22/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Room TBD – Hotel TBD
Theme: Key Terms in the Debate about Monotheism
Joel Burnett, Baylor University
What is an elohim? Reflections on Chronicles’ Use of the Term
Larry Hurtado, University of Edinburgh
What comprises ‘Jewish Monotheism’ in the late Hellenistic and early Roman Period?
Daniel McClellan, University of Oxford
What is Deity in LXX Deuteronomy?
Michael Hundley, University of Cambridge
What is divine presence?
Robert Barrett, Georg-August Universitaet-Goettingen
What Does it Mean to Follow Other Gods?
Matthew J. Grey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Epigraphical Rabbis” and Epigraphical Priests: Using Inscriptions to Evaluate the Relationship between Priests and Rabbis in Late Antiquity
Aaron Schade, Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus
Fronted Word-Order in Phoenician Inscriptions
Latter-day Saints and the Bible
11/23/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Room TBD – Hotel TBD
David J. Larsen, University of St Andrews
Hugh Nibley and the New Year Festival
Frederick M. Huchel, The Frithurex Athenaeum
How the Lights Went Out: The Loss of the Temple in both Testaments
Dana M. Pike, Brigham Young University
"Formed in and Called from my Mother's Womb"
Michael Biggerstaff, Vanderbilt University
Bloodless Sacrifice and the Fulfillment of the Mosaic Law of Sacrifice
Dustin M. Naegle, Brite Divinity School – Texas Christian University
Approaching Isaiah: Hugh Nibley’s Use of Isaiah in Approaching Zion
Stephen D. Ricks, Brigham Young University and John W. Welch, Brigham Young University
Hugh Nibley and the Continuing Pursuit of the Forty-day Literature
