Spirit of Scholarship
Dec. 12–14, 2022
University of Notre Dame Jerusalem Global Gateway
Tantur Ecumenical Institute
The conference investigates the groundbreaking scholarship by Catholic priests in the burgeoning disciplines of ancient Near Eastern studies from the late-19th to the mid-20th centuries and also considers where these efforts have led to today.
Speakers:
- Mark Avila, O.M.V., Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome)
- Josef Mario Briffa, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome and Jerusalem)
- Dominique Charpin, Collège de France (Paris)
- Yoram Cohen, Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv)
- Wayne Horowitz, The Hebrew University (Jerusalem)
- Enrique Jiménez, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (Munich)
- Teije de Jong, University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam)
- Michael Jursa, Institut für Orientalistik der Universität Wien (Vienna)
- Jacob Lauinger, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore)
- Hanna Liss, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien (Heidelberg)
- Daniel Machiela, University of Notre Dame (South Bend)
- Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
- Dominik Markl, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome)
- Galit Noga-Banai, Hebrew University (Jerusalem)
- Laurie E. Pearce, University of California (Berkeley)
- Jean Jacques Pérennès, O.P., École biblique et archéologique française (Jerusalem)
- Hervé Reculeau, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago (Chicago)
- Mark S. Smith, Princeton Theological Seminary (Princeton)
- Ingo Schrakamp, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster) and Freie Universität (Berlin)
- Abraham Winitzer, University of Notre Dame (South Bend)
- Annette Zgoll, Georg-August-Universität (Göttingen)
Sponsors:
- Notre Dame Research
- Notre Dame International
- Department of Theology
Schedule:
Unless otherwise noted, all sessions will take place in the Chapel room and all meals will be in the Main Dining Room.
Sunday, December 11
5–6 p.m. Welcome Reception Bethlehem Room
Monday, December 12
9–9:30 a.m. Welcome remarks
- Anthony Giambrone, O.P., École Biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem
- Daniel Schwake, Tantur Ecumenical Institute
- Dominik Markl, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute
- David Vanderhooft, Boston College
- Abraham Winitzer, University of Notre Dame
9:40–11:10 a.m. Session 1: Introduction
On the Catholic Background to Ancient Near Eastern Studies (ca. 1875-1950), by way of an Analogy
Abraham Winitzer, University of Notre Dame
“Totoque in orbe Hammurabi, legeris, probaris!” The Contributions of Jean-Vincent Scheil to Ancient Near Eastern Studies as Reflected in His Latin Poems
Enrique Jiménez, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
11:10–11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Sesson 2: Akkadian and the Akkadian World
French Ecclesiastics and Assyriology (1879–1908)
Dominique Charpin, Collège de France
A Hundred and Twenty Years Since the Laws of Ḫammurabi: the Legacy of Jean-Vincent Scheil in Old Babylonian Studies
Hervé Reculeau, The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
1–2:30 p.m. Lunch
2:30–4 p.m. Session 3: Ugaritic and the Late Bronze Age
Édouard (Paul) Dhorme and Ugaritic Studies
Mark S. Smith, Princeton Theological Seminary
The End of the Late Bronze: Evidence from the House of Urtenu Archive at Ugarit
Yoram Cohen, Tel Aviv University
4–4:30 p.m. Break
4:30–6 p.m. Session 4 Roland de Vaux and Biblical Archaeology
Roland de Vaux in the Context of His Time
Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Archaeology and Bible: A New Equilibrium?
Josef Mario Briffa, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute
6:30 p.m. Dinner
Tuesday, December 13
9–10:30 a.m. Session 5: Treaty and Covenant
Treaty and Covenant: The Contributions of William Moran and Dennis McCarthy
Dominik Markl, S.J., Pontifical Biblical Institute
Premises and Possibilities in the Study of Ancient Near Eastern Treaties: Reflecting on the State of the (Sub)Field
Jacob Lauinger, Johns Hopkins University
11 a.m.–1 p.m. Session 6: Anton Deimel and Sumerology
Anton Deimel (1865–1954), Jesuit and Assyriologist
Mark Avila, O.M.V., Pontifical Biblical Institute
The “Sumerian Temple State” from Current Perspective: Reevaluation of a Long-lived Concept
Ingo Schrakamp, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster and Freie Universität Berlin
Sumerology Today: Milestones Achieved, Further Needs
Annette Zgoll, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
1–2:30 p.m. Lunch
2:30–4:30 p.m. Session 7: Babylonian Astronomy
Jesuit Scholarship and the Rediscovery of Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy
Teije de Jong, University of Amsterdam
Neo-Babylonian Constellations
Laurie E. Pearce, University of California, Berkeley
Cuneiform Astral Tablets: An Overview with a Look at Prayer Times
Wayne Horowitz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
4:30–5 p.m. Break
5–6 p.m. Guest lecture
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Historical, Theological, and Art-Historical Aspects
Galit Noga-Banai, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
6:30 p.m. Dinner
Wednesday, December 14
9–10:30 a.m. Session 8: Contemporary Jewish Ancient Near Eastern Scholarship
Archeology and Ancient Oriental Studies as a Tool against ‘Higher Criticism’
Hanna Liss, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg
The Philology of David Heinrich Müller, an Outsider Turned Insider in Fin-de-siècle Vienna
Michael Jursa, Institut für Orientalistik der Universität Wien
10:30–11 a.m. Break
11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Session 9: Roland de Vaux and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Roland de Vaux: A Major Contribution to the Dialogue between Scripture and Archaeology
Jean Jacques Pérennès, O.P., École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem
From de Vaux’s Generation to Today: Some Trajectories in Study of the Literature Associated with Qumran
Daniel Machiela, University of Notre Dame
1:30 p.m. Field trip—more details to come
Thursday, December 15
Field trip—more details to come