It is our great pleasure to inform you that the SBL Unit, “Biblical Exegesis from Eastern Orthodox Perspectives” will have four sessions at the SBL Annual Meeting 2021 that will be held on November 20-23 in San Antonio TX.

We hope you will consider proposing a paper for one of the sessions! We welcome proposals on the following topics:

1. Image of God in Paul, Middle-Platonism, and the early Fathers (joint session with the Pauline Letters Unit): References to the concept of creation "according to the image of God" in the Septuagint translation of Gen 1:26 and its reception by Hellenistic-Jewish authors presuppose a broad cultural discourse between biblical and Hellenistic philosophical traditions. This session will focus on the way Paul and the Pauline school draw on this discourse and create new concepts by interpreting the "εἰκὼν Θεοῦ" notion against new Christological backgrounds. The research papers will be expected also to consider the voices of ancient philosophers and exegetes of Paul.
2. Fresh Perspectives on John Chrysostom as Biblical Exegete: John Chrysostom is the most celebrated exegete in Eastern Orthodox traditions. An increasing number of scholars describe John Chrysostom's profile as that of a son of both 4th century Christianity and Hellenism who conceives of exegesis as a kind of care for the soul. This session invites papers that consider current scholarly debates on John Chrysostom and reconstruct his exegetical background, techniques, and strategies.
3. Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible/Septuagint and its Christian Interpreters: We invite abstracts on the identification of Jesus with the God of the Hebrew Scriptures, not only in theological treatises and exegetical texts, but especially in hymnography and iconography. How does this “liturgical exegesis” express the relationship between the Father and the Son on the basis of Scripture?
4. On the occasion of the recent critical edition and German translation of short chronographic Paleja (Die Kurze Chronographische Paleja, Gütersloh 2019), we solicit proposals which examine the impact of these Slavonic literary traditions on the study of the Pseudepigrapha and Eastern Orthodox Hermeneutics (Joint Session with the Pseudepigrapha Unit).

Proposals must present a clear thesis, explain the theoretical and methodological approaches of the research, and identify a specific body of evidence that the research will interpret. See also our official website: www.orthodoxbiblical.org. The call for papers closes at 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time, on March 23.

SBL offers grants for scholars outside North America to attend the Annual meeting. Please consider the relevant information here: https://www.sbl-site.org/membership/SBLAwards.aspx

We are aware of the troubles and the continuing uncertainty due to the pandemic, but we remain optimistic regarding the SBL Annual Metting.

With all best wishes

Program Unit Chairs

James Buchanan (Bru) Wallace                        Athanasios Despotis

PS: How to Propose a Paper for this Program Unit

The link to the page for submitting paper proposals is here:  https://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/AnnualMeeting.aspx

If you are an SBL member, you must login on the SBL HP before you can propose a paper for this session. Please login by entering your SBL member number on the left in the Login box.

For all other persons wanting to propose a paper, you must communicate directly with the chairs. Chairs have the responsibility to make waiver requests. SBL provides membership and meeting registration waivers only for scholars who are outside the disciplines covered by the SBL program, specifically most aspects of archaeological, biblical, religious, and theological studies.