The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to announce the upcoming live-streamed Septuagint Summer School course, which will take place 9 – 13 June 2025. The course is entitled “The Reception of the Septuagint in the New Testament and the Early Church” and will be taught by Dr. Edmon Gallagher, Professor of Christian Scripture at Heritage Christian University in Florence, Alabama, and author of The Translation of the Seventy: History, Reception, and Contemporary Use of the Septuagint (ACU Press, 2021). Further details are provided here.

Annual John William Wevers Prize Competition: The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) offers an annual prize of $500 to be awarded to an outstanding paper in the field of Septuagint studies. The prize has been named in memory of John William Wevers to honor his many contributions to Septuagint studies.

The field of Septuagint studies is construed broadly, and a paper may focus on any aspect of the study of the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures. The IOSCS wants to encourage the study of these translations by scholars early in their careers, and eligibility is thus limited to advanced graduate students or recent Ph.D. recipients (4 years or less after receiving the degree).

The papers will be judged by a committee of IOSCS members, with the expectation that the winning paper be published in the Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies (JSCS).

The deadline for submitting papers for the current year is November 1, 2024. Papers should be between 4500–5500 words in length. Please submit the paper electronically to Dr. Theo van der Louw at the following address: theo_vanderlouw@sil.org. The winner will be announced in early 2025.

Call for Papers: XIX Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Berlin, 11-12 August 2025 in conjunction with IOSOT. 

The main theme of the IOSCS meeting will be ‘The Septuagint: Text, Language, and Transmission’, encompassing questions of critical editing, linguistic features, translation, and reception.

In addition, we invite panel sessions from several IOSCS projects (Hexapla Project, LXX.D, SBLCS) and other allied groups (e.g. HTLS, Göttinger Septuaginta, La Bible d’Alexandrie) on aspects of their current work.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 31st December 2024. Abstracts of up to 250 words should be sent to the secretary of IOSCS, Dr. Felix Albrecht (felix.albrecht@adwgoe.de) for consideration by the programme committee. Decisions will be made by 31st January 2025. Presenters will be required to hold paid-up membership of the IOSCS.

The Electors of the Grinfield Lecturership propose to appoint a lecturer to hold office for two years from 1 October 2025.

The lecturer is required to give three lectures in each academic year in Oxford, on the LXX version of the Hebrew Scriptures, and addressing any aspect of its history (including its material culture as represented by papyri and manuscripts), its versions, its philological character, or its bearing on the criticism of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.

The stipend of the lectureship is £1,500 per year of the lectureship. A grant may be made towards the cost of travelling and other expenses. The lectures are normally held in February of each year of the tenure of the post.

Candidates for the lectureship should send their names, a curriculum vitae, and a detailed statement of the subject of the lectures which they propose to deliver, together with any further information which they may consider appropriate, by email to the Head of Administration and Finance (haf@theology.ox.ac.uk), not later than 1st October 2024.

The choice of the Electors will not be limited to those who apply, and preference will be given to proposals that would form the basis for a book.

For examples of recent lecture series, see https://vimeo.com/ochjs under ‘Grinfield Lectures'.

The recent horrific events in Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip have occasioned numerous acts of violence and hate. Particularly concerning is the exponential rise in the number of antisemitic incidents that have taken place even in our universities and various academic settings. These have affected many of our Jewish colleagues and students or those close to them, who now fear for their safety. The history of Septuagint research is not exempt from such sentiments, which is why we feel compelled to express our solidarity with our Jewish colleagues and state in the strongest possible terms our opposition to all forms of antisemitism. At the same time, we deplore the rise of Islamophobia in western societies: as scholars in the field of religion we are committed to promote understanding and harmonious relations with our Muslim neighbors.

— The IOSCS Executive Committee