Between Hebrew and Greek

Morris, Ida and Alan Heilig Lecture in Jewish Studies with Hindy Najman, Oxford University

September 12, 2023, 5:30pm, in-person event.
UNC Sonja Haynes Stone Center, Aud
Directions & Parking in Bell Tower Deck ($1 after 5pm)
Free and open to the public.
UNC Heel Life Credit will be available.

Between Hebrew and Greek: The Transformation of Hebrew Traditions into a Greek Register

How much Greek is there in Jewish culture? The Hellenistic period is one of great creativity and innovation for ancient Jewish materials. This talk will explore the ways in which Jewish texts, written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, from the time of Alexander the Great’s conquests to shortly after the turn of the Common Era, are shaped by ancient Jewish and Israelite traditions and texts as well as by Greek philosophical and literary culture. It is during this period that some of the earliest works of Jewish philosophy, Biblical theology, and commentary were produced, leaving a lasting legacy on Judaism.

Hindy Najman (MA and PhD Harvard) is the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, a fellow at Oriel College, and the director and founder of the Centre for the Study of the Bible. At Oxford, she is a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and Classics. Prior to Oxford, she held posts at the University of Notre Dame, University of Toronto, and Yale University. Her areas of research include Reading Practices in Jewish Antiquity; Comparative Philology; Formation of the Self and the Subject; Collection and Canon; Authority and Author Function; Biblical Figures and Exemplarity; Practices of Pseudepigraphy; Revelation; Diaspora and Exile; Trauma Studies; and Nature and Law. Her major publications include Losing the Temple and Recovering the Future: An Analysis of 4 Ezra (Cambridge University Press, 2014); Past Renewals: Interpretive Authority, Renewed Revelation, and the Quest for Perfection (Leiden: Brill, 2010); and Seconding Sinai: The Development of Mosaic Discourse in Second Temple Judaism (Leiden: Brill, 2003).  She has published over 50 articles and has edited 18 volumes. She is currently associate editor for the Journal of Biblical Literature, the thematic issues editor for Dead Sea Discoveries, and associate editor for the Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement Series. She is currently completing a volume for Oxford University Press entitled, Vitality of Scripture: Reading Practices in Ancient Judaism.