The annual Septuagint Summer Course hosted by the John William Wevers Institute of Septuagint Studies at Trinity Western University (Langley, British Columbia, Canada) has just been announced. The course "The Septuagint and Law" will be held June 24-28, 2024. It is possible to attend either in-person or online. For registration or information, download the poster here.

The dates for Sébastien Morlet’s second series of Grinfield lectures have just been announced. Download the poster here. 

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

Following a distinguished six years of service to the IOSCS, at the end of this year Prof. Rob Hiebert is stepping down as President. His contribution to LXX studies has been significant, not least through his involvement in the New English Translation of the Septuagint, the SBL Commentary on the Septuagint Series, and his leadership of the John Wevers Institute at Trinity Western University. He is also preparing the forthcoming volume on 4 Maccabees for the Göttingen Septuaginta series. We are grateful for his leadership over his two presidential terms.

Prof. Hiebert’s successor in the role, Prof. Alison Salvesen, studied with James Barr and Sebastian Brock at Oxford and wrote her DPhil on Symmachus in the Pentateuch (1988). She was the main editor of the Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint (2021) and is one of the founding members of the Hexapla Project. Among her many interests, she regularly writes on the later Jewish Greek versions and their reception history. She looks forward to serving the IOSCS community in this capacity.

— Alison Salvesen and Jean Maurais

We report the sad news that Robert A. Kraft, a founding member and longtime participant in the IOSCS, died on September 15, 2023 at the age of 89. Bob was a scholar with interests that encompassed the entirety of ancient Jewish and Christian literature. He was a member of the first Executive Committee of the IOSCS (see BIOSCS 2) and served the organization in a range of capacities since its inception. He presented the paper “Translation Technique and Jewish Greek Idiom: Some Examples and Prospects” at the 1968 organizational meeting of the IOSCS. In addition to his publications on the Septuagint, he edited the first two volumes in the SCS series, Septuagintal Lexicography (SCS 1; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1972), which laid the groundwork for a lexicon of the Septuagint and the CATSS project, and 1972 Proceedings of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies and the Society of Biblical Literature Pseudepigrapha Seminar (SCS 2: Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1972). He was a pioneer in and evangelist for the use of computer technology in textual study, particularly with respect to the Septuagint. He co-directed with Emanuel Tov the Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies (CATSS) project, which produced the first parallel aligned text of the Septuagint with morphological analysis. Among his publications on the Septuagint, which included a collaboration with Tov on the DJD publication of the Naḥal Ḥever Minor Prophets Scroll, he edited with Tov and contributed to Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies Volume 1: Ruth (SCS 20; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986), which introduced the results of the CATSS project to the scholarly public, and he edited the PHI CCAT/CATSS Demonstration CD ROM #1, which contained the CATSS databases and showed the benefits of electronic storage and distribution of textual data. Throughout his career, Bob pushed the boundaries of what might be possible in the scholarly study of ancient texts, and the IOSCS and the scholarly academy more broadly are in his debt. In addition to his scholarly work, he would often grace friends and colleagues with a poem for important occasions, and he could always be counted on to try to fix something that others thought irredeemably broken. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

— Benjamin G. Wright, on behalf of the IOSCS Executive Committee

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that the 2023 John W. Wevers prize for an outstanding paper in LXX studies goes to Ryan Comins for his paper "The Linguistic Register of 3 Maccabees and its Sociocultural Implications." Ryan Comins is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge working under the supervision of Dr Marieke Dhont and Prof Katharine Dell. We congratulate Ryan for this achievement.

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 winning essay will be published in the Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies. Many promising young scholars have gained recognition in this field over the last years. The call for submission remains open until the first of september. For further information, please visit the IOSCS homepage.

The program book for the SBL in San Antonio is out! Our amazing SBL program chair and program coordinator, Reinhart Ceulemans, has finalized this year's sessions for the San Antonio Annual Meeting with the help of his team (Alison Salvesen and Felix Albrecht). You can look up the details concerning the four sessions and fifteen papers on the SBL's website (keyword: IOSCS). Please note that our annual business meeting will be held at the end of one of these sessions, on Nov 20th. Make sure to stop by if you are a member or interested in finding out more about what is going on in LXX studies.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. James Aitken, Professor of Hebrew and Early Jewish Studies at the University of Cambridge. Members of the IOSCS also knew him as an active scholar within the discipline of Septuagint Studies, a member of the executive committee, and a regular participant at IOSCS conferences. Among his many important publications are No Stone Unturned: Greek Inscriptions and Septuagint Vocabulary (Eisenbrauns, 2014) and, as editor, The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint (2015). He also delivered the 2021–22 Grinfield Lectures at the University of Oxford on the topics, “The Septuagint and Scribal Creativity in Egypt,” “The Septuagint—A Translation Among Translations,” and “The Septuagint, Editing, and Textual Production in Ancient Judaism.” These contributions to scholarship were indicative of his keen interest in the language, exegesis, and place within Second Temple Jewish society of the Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures. But more than an outstanding scholar, Jim was also a good friend to many, someone who gave generously of his time and his wisdom to both colleagues and students alike. He will be sorely missed.

— Rob Hiebert and Alison Salvesen, on behalf of the IOSCS Executive Committee

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that the 2022 John W. Wevers prize for an outstanding paper in LXX studies goes to Kyle Young for his paper "Aquila's Secunda Editio: Evaluating the Appropriation and Evolution of a Concept." Kyle Young (BA, MAR, MA, Grad. Dipl.) is PhD Candidate in Ancient Judaism, Trinity College Dublin working under the supervision of Dr. David Shepherd. We congratulate Kyle for this achievement.

The IOSCS will organize sessions (and hold a business meeting) in San Antonio in conjunction with the annual meeting of the SBL (Nov 18–21, 2023). Paper proposals are welcome and can be submitted here. The deadline for proposing papers is March 14.

It is not necessary to be an SBL member to participate and present in the IOSCS sessions. We do expect the presenters to be IOSCS members. Please direct any queries to Reinhart Ceulemans.

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to co-sponsor a three-credit course entitled “Josephus and the Septuagint.” The course will be taught by Dr. Andrew Krause and class sessions will be live-streamed via Zoom during the week of June 5-9, 2023. The course can be audited or taken for credit. See the flyer (PDF). Feel free to spread the word far and wide.

A new series of the Grinfield Lectures has been announced for February 2023. Prof. Sébastian Morlet, Professor of Greek language and literature at Sorbonne Université, is giving three lectures on the theme, "The plurality of the biblical text - past and present". See the poster here.

On behalf of the IOSCS executive committee, I would like to express sincere thanks to Jay Treat for the many years that he has served as the IOSCS webmaster. The IOSCS web page has functioned very well as the public online face of our organization, providing information regarding conferences, projects, and membership application or renewal, furnishing access to back issues of our Bulletin/Journal, and serving as a hub for links to other sites of interest pertaining to our discipline. Jay’s connection with the University of Pennsylvania has afforded us access to that institutional server, but now that he has retired it is necessary for us to make a move. Many thanks, Jay, for all that you have done!

— Rob Hiebert, IOSCS President

IOSCS has a Facebook Group Page. Visit for periodic announcements

The 2022 SBL International Meeting will be held in beautiful Salzburg, Austria on July 17-21). Several IOSCS members are involved including Kristin De Troyer, who is organizing the meeting, and Tuukka Kauhanen, chair of the Septuagint Studies program unit.

This year, there will be two thematic joint sessions:

1. The first held in conjunction with the "Qumran and Dead Sea Scrolls" unit will revisit the contributions of the Qumran biblical scrolls to the understanding of the Septuagint both as a textual witness to the Hebrew Bible and a historical document in its own right.
2. "Textual criticism: revisions and recensions" will focus on the well-known recensions of the Septuagint (Kaige, Hexaplaric, Lucianic/Antiochian) or other revisional activity concerning the Greek Bible.

Details concerning the call for papers can be found here. The deadline for submissions was February 1, 2022.

The second Septuagint international congress will take place from the 30th of September through to the 2nd of October 2022 at the Department of Ancient Studies, University of Stellenbosch. It is organised by Johann Cook, Martin Roesel and Wolfgang Kraus, who have invited over 20 speakers to address aspects of a theology of the Septuagint. It will be presented in a hybrid format so that more people can attend and participate. If you have any questions, email Johann Cook. For more information, see the program (PDF)

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to co-sponsor a three-credit course entitled “Exploring the Septuagint Pentateuch.” Class sessions will be live-streamed via Zoom by Fellows of the Wevers Institute during the week of May 16-20, 2022. The course can be audited or taken for credit. See the flyer (PDF) and syllabus (PDF). Feel free to spread the word far and wide.

The next IOSCS congress will take place on Aug. 5-7, 2022 in Zurich, right before the IOSOT Congress (8-12). The call for papers is now out and can be accessed here.

The main theme will be 'The Septuagint and Literary Culture,' encompassing questions of history, textual and literary development, cultural context, and (history of) interpretation.

Questions concerning the IOSCS congress can be sent to Alison Salvesen (alison.salvesen@orinst.ox.ac.uk) or Marieke Dhont (md790@cam.ac.uk).

The second series of the Grinfield Lectures have begun (February 2022). James K. Aitken, Professor of Hebrew and Early Jewish Studies at the University of Cambridge, is giving three lectures on the theme, "The Septuagint and the History of the Book". See current details and the the event flyer.

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that the 2021 John W. Wevers prize for an outstanding paper in LXX studies goes to Maximilian Häberlein for his paper “‘Superfluous Lines?’ Minuses of OG Job in the Context of Alexandrian Scholarship.” Maximilian is a PhD student at the University of Würzburg working under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Barbara Schmitz. We congratulate Maximilian for this achievement.

As always, the IOSCS has a program unit and will organize a number of sessions at the SBL Annual Meeting 2021 in San Antonio. Two important developments invite papers from perhaps more senior scholars and might encourage some of you to take part: the appearance of the Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint and the start of the Göttingen Psalter project.

Please note the upcoming "Editing the Greek Psalter" conference in Göttingen on Dec. 1-3 2021. The conference signals the launch of the Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters project at the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. It will be available via Zoom but registration is required. Details are available at the link below).

https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/conference2021

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that the 2020 John W. Wevers prize for an outstanding paper in LXX studies goes to Joel Korytko for his paper "The Death Penalty in OG Exodus in Light of Graeco-Egyptian Legal Formulations." Joel is a PhD student at the University of Oxford working under the supervision of Prof. Alison Salvesen.

The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) is appalled by the revelation that Prof. Jan Joosten has been convicted in France of possession of images and videos of child pornography. We express our utter abhorrence of his actions, and our profound sympathy for the victims of such crimes. In the light of these developments, the IOSCS executive committee has voted to remove Joosten from his position on the committee and from membership in the IOSCS.

— IOSCS Executive Committee, 24 June 2020

The annual SBL conference will be taking place online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions regarding travel and large group gatherings. Among other changes, the conference will extend over the period between Sunday, 29 November and Thursday, 10 December, with no sessions scheduled on Friday, 4 December and Saturday, 5 December. The IOSCS will have sessions, which Reinhart Ceulemans has been planning in his role as Program Chair & Meeting Coordinator. Please note that, if you are planning to attend (virtually), you need to make sure that you have registered for the annual meeting. The deadline for registration is 30 September.

The Göttingen edition of the Psalms of Solomon, edited by F. Albrecht, was published in 2018, and the Göttingen edition of Ecclesiastes, edited by P. Gentry, in 2019. An additional volume on the Psalms of Solomon (Greek text, German translation and commentary) was published in 2020, and the Textual History of Ecclesiastes will be published in 2022. Several other volumes are in preparation (see the Report on the Göttingen Septuagint).

In 2020, a new long-term Academy project was established: “Die Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters” (Academy of Sciences and Humanities Göttingen). This project, which is dedicated to the edition of the Greek Psalter (Psalms and Odes), has launched a new platform for the “Göttinger Septuaginta“, on which all resources of the former Göttinger Septuaginta-Unternehmen (1908—2015), including the Rahlfs catalogue of LXX manuscripts, will be made available within the upcoming years.

The John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies now has a YouTube channel. People can subscribe to it and be automatically notified when new content is made available.

Larry Perkins will offer a course on "Septuagint and the New Testament" this fall through ACTS Seminaries. Class sessions will run from 28 September to 2 October. The course is designed to accommodate both English-Bible students and those with proficiency in Greek who can read the Septuagint text directly. For more information, see the course syllabus.

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and The John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to co-sponsor a three-credit course entitled “Septuagint Approaches and Methods” (formerly, “Septuagint Studies: Theories, Principles, and Methods.” Class sessions will be led by Dr. Dirk Büchner, Professor of Biblical Studies, Trinity Western University. This course is scheduled to take place May 4–8.

Due to the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now envisaged that the course will proceed entirely online. For more information, see the flyer (PDF) and the April 10 update (PDF).

Even more information is now available.

- The course syllabus for "Septuagint Approaches and Methods" (PDF)

- video interview about the course with Dr. Dirk Büchner (on the new Wevers Institute YouTube channel)

"Biblical Poetry: the Legacy of the Psalms in Late Antiquity and Byzantium" will be the subject of a colloquium organized by Reinhart Ceulemans and others at Ghent University, 23–24 April 2020. In preparation of a volume on the reception of the Psalms in their Greek Septuagint translation from Late Antiquity and Byzantium, the organizers invite scholars of all levels of experience to present a 20-minute paper at the colloquium.

The deadline for proposals was 31 May 2019. Visit the Psalms 2020 colloquium website and especially its Call for Papers for details.

A new reader’s edition of the Septuagint became available in November 2019. Edited by William Ross and Gregory Lanier, it includes the entire Septuagint (the text is that of Rahlfs-Hanhart). To facilitate reading, each page is annotated with lexical information. More information is available from Christian Books.

The jury of the John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2019 prize is Bryan Beeckman of the Catholic Universities of Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. He won the prize with a paper entitled “Unitas Vegetabilium? The Greek Rendering of Hebrew Floral, Plant and Herb Names in LXX-Proverbs and LXX-Job."

The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) will hold its annual meeting in Boston in conjunction with the annual meeting of the SBL. One session will be devoted to the Göttingen Septuagint (and chaired by Felix Albrecht). (The deadline for proposing papers was March 11.) Please direct any queries to Reinhart Ceulemans at reinhart.ceulemans@kuleuven.be.

The next International Meeting of the IOSCS will be held in Aberdeen, concurrently with IOSOT. The IOSCS meetings will be scheduled on the afternoons of 5th, 6th, and 8th of August, 2019, with a business meeting in the late afternoon or early evening of Thursday the 8th.

The main theme of the IOSCS meetings will be “The Septuagint in its Hellenistic Jewish setting,” encompassing questions of history, textual development, interpretation, religious outlook, cultural context, and lexicography. Papers relating to this theme will be especially welcome. However, papers on other subjects will also be considered.

The Call for Papers is available. (The deadline for proposals has passed.)

Both the IOSCS projects (NETS, Hexapla, LXX.D, SBLCS) and other allied groups (e.g. HTLS, Göttingen volume editors, La Bible d’Alexandrie) are encouraged to offer panel sessions, either on the conference theme or on aspects of their current work. Joachim Schaper wishes all proposals from sister organizations to go through the IOSOT Aberdeen site. IOSOT will send the proposals on to IOSCS in due course.

Registration and accommodations may also be arranged through the IOSOT Aberdeen site.

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies have announced their Septuagint Summer School course for 2019. The course, “The Septuagint, Translation & Jewish Scribalism” will be taught by Dr. John Screnock, Research Fellow in Hebrew Bible, University of Oxford. It is scheduled to take place June 24-28, 2019, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm (Pacific Daylight Time). See flyer (PDF) for more information.

The 2018 Wevers prize goes to Daniel Olariu for his paper, “The Mechanics of the Recensional Process: Theodotion’s Treatment of First-Found Equivalents in Old Greek Daniel.” Daniel is a PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research project is “An Analysis of the Revisional Process in Theodotion’s Greek Text of Daniel,” being carried out under the supervision of Profs. Emanuel Tov and Michael Segal.

The Annual Meeting of the SBL will be held in Denver, Colorado, 17–20 November 2018. See details.

The International Meeting of the SBL will be held in Helsinki, Finland, 30 July to 3 August, 2018. See details at SBL Site.

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to co-sponsor a 3-credit course entitled “Exploring Septuagint Job.” Class sessions will be led by Dr. Claude Cox, Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at McMaster Divinity College, May 22–26, 2018. Video live-streaming of class sessions will be an option for students who live at a distance from campus.

Download a flyer (PDF) for further details and to publicize this opportunity.

2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of IOSCS and its Journal.

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that the 2017 John W. Wevers prize has been awarded to Jelle Verburg for his paper "The LXX of the Law of Deposit in Exodus 22:6-14.” Jelle is a doctoral student at Oxford working under the supervision of Jan Joosten.

We have received a call for papers to be presented at the Soisalon-Soininen Symposium on the Septuagint — in celebration of the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen. The Symposium will take place 1st-3rd June 2017 at the University of Helsinki. Paper proposals should be submitted by 31st October 2016. See the full Call for Papers (PDF) and the symposium website for further details.

Our colleague, Peter Flint, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday, 3 November 2016. Needless to say, this is sad news and a great shock to all who knew him as a friend and as a colleague.

The IOSCS is pleased to announce that Dr. Nesina Grütter (Abteilung Altes Testament, Theologische Fakultät der Universität Basel) has been awarded the 2016 John William Wevers prize for her paper, "A Tale of One City (Nah 3:8–9): A Text-Critical Solution for an Often Discussed Problem Provided by a Reading Preserved in the Septuagint.” Dr. Grütter completed her doctoral degree in Sept 2015.

The next International Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies is to be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on 5-6 September 2016 (together with the IOSOT conference, on 4-9 September, 2016). See more details.

The Associated Canadian Theological Schools of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies are pleased to co-sponsor a three-credit course, “Exegeting the Septuagint Psalms: Theory, Method and Interpretation,” May 30–June 3, 2016. Class sessions will be led by Dr. Cameron Boyd-Taylor, co-editor of the Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint series, and a supervisor of the Greek Psalter Project sponsored by the Scholars Initiative, the research arm of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. Video live-streaming of class sessions will be an option for students who live at a distance from campus. Share the flyer (PDF) with students.

Congratulations to Dr. Christoffer Theis, who has been awarded the 2015 John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies for his paper, “Θεκεμείνας und תַּחְפְּנֵיס in 1. Könige 11,19.”

Congratulations to Natalio Fernández Marcos, who was elected a "Corresponding Fellow" of the British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences on 16 July 2015, in recognition of academic distinction in scholarly research and publication. The election noted:

"Natalio Fernández Marcos is one of the foremost Septuagint scholars in the international scene. While his work is primarily relevant to biblical studies, he has also written about such subjects as Hellenistic Judaism and the history of scholarship."

Professor Fernández Marcos is Profesor Vinculado ad Honorem at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Madrid. He co-directs the Biblia griega project.

Recent scholarship has turned its attention to the role of the Bible in the Byzantine world, notably with two recent Dumbarton Oaks Colloquia on the Old and New Testaments respectively, but much remains to be done in bridging the gap between mainstream Byzantine studies and the activities surrounding the reading, studying and copying of the principal sacred text in Christianity. Following a successful and stimulating paper session organized within the European Association of Biblical Studies meeting in Cordoba (July 2015), we would like to continue to open a dialogue between Byzantinists and biblical scholars by proposing a broader thematic session at the 23rd International Congress of Byzantine Studies, Belgrade, 22-27 August 2016.

Proposals should be submitted by 30 September 2015. See the full announcement for details.

Ediciones Sígueme of Salamanca has published the final volume of their Spanish translation of the Septuagint: La Biblia griega. Septuaginta. IV. Libros proféticos (Salamanca: Sígueme 2015).

Oxford University is seeking to appoint a lecturer for two academic years. The lecturer will give three lectures in each academic year on the LXX version of the Hebrew Scriptures, its history, its philological character, its bearing on the criticisms of the New Testament, and its value as an evidence of the authenticity of the Old and New Testaments.

Candidates should submit their proposals by 5 May 2015. See the full announcement for details.

The Graduate School of Theological Studies of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies will offer a three-credit course, “Septuagint Exegesis,” May 25-29, 2015. Class sessions will be led by the Fellows of the Wevers Institute who are preparing volumes on the first four books of the Pentateuch for the Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint (SBLCS) series. Students will be introduced to the foundational principles and methodology of the SBLCS project, and to current, cutting-edge research in the discipline of Septuagint Studies. Video live-streaming of class sessions will be an option. Share the flyer with students.

Scholar’s Publisher is seeking contributors for the forthcoming Dictionary of the Septuagint and Early Greek Jewish Scriptures (DSEGJS). The aim of the DSEGJS is to provide a comprehensive reference guide to the Greek Jewish Scriptures in their Greco-Roman context as well as their subsequent influence on the early church and post Second Temple Judaism. The scope of the dictionary is to provide factual information about books, persons, places, and events, as well as define words and explain theories as they relate to the Greek Jewish Scriptures. The DSEGJS will serve as a handy reference for specialists but the primary audience is non-specialists. For more information, visit the announcement at the Scholar's Publisher website.

The IOSCS is accepting paper proposals for the 2015 annual meeting of the SBL, which will take place in Atlanta this fall.

The 6th International Septuaginta Summer School will take place in Göttingen from July 6 to July 10, 2015. This year’s lecturer will be Dr. James Aitken (University of Cambridge), and the subject is "From Language to Social Context: The Pentateuch and later traditions." Please encourage doctoral and other advanced students to apply. The deadline for application is March 15, 2015. For more information, please consult the full announcement (and flyers in German and English).

Congratulations to James R. Covington, a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity School! He has won the 2014 John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies for his essay titled, “How to Do Things with God’s Words: Translation Technique of Divine Speech Acts in LXX Genesis.”

Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn have edited a Festschrift for Marc Vervenne: A Pillar of Cloud to Guide: Text-critical, Redactional, and Linguistic Perspectives on the Old Testament in Honour of Marc Vervenne (2014). It is available as volume 269 in the Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium series from Peeters.

The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) is soliciting papers for its annual meeting in Baltimore, to be held in conjunction with the SBL. In addition to open sessions, where papers on any topic will be considered, IOSCS is also sponsoring a session to discuss a new monograph in our field: J. Ross Wagner, Reading the Sealed Book: Old Greek Isaiah and the Problem of Septuagint Hermeneutics. IOSCS is also co-sponsoring a session, Greek Biblical Traditions and the Partition of Ancient Judeo-Christian Culture, with EJCR and Greek Bible. Proposals should be presented through the SBL Annual Meetings website by March 1, 2013. Please direct any queries to Leonard Greenspoon at ljgrn@creighton.edu.

The International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) offers an annual prize of $350 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 the field of Septuagint studies. More information is available. The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2014.

Ben Johnson has won the 2013 John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies for his essay titled, "Narrative Sensitivity and the Variation of Verb Tense in 1 Reigns 17:34-37."

Oxford University seeks to appoint a lecturer in Septuagint for a two-year term beginning 1 October 2013. For further information, please see the full announcement.

The 4th International Septuaginta Summer School will take place in Göttingen from August 12 to August 16, 2013. This year’s lecturer will be Prof. Benjamin G. Wright III (Lehigh University). Please encourage doctoral and other advanced students to apply. The deadline for application is March 15, 2013. For more information, please consult the full announcement (with flyers in German and English).

A seminar session of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS) will be devoted to the Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint (SBLCS). Presenters at the SBLCS seminar will include (in addition to the Fellows of the Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies of TWU) Albert Pietersma, Claude Cox, Jannes Smith, and Cameron Boyd-Taylor. The respondent to these papers will be Emanuel Tov. The seminar will take place June 2-4, 2013 at the University of Victoria, British Columbia. For more information about the CSBS Annual Meeting, see the announcements of the CSBS and the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Graduate School of Theological Studies of Trinity Western University and the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies will offer a three-credit course, “Current Issues in Septuagint Studies,” May 27-31, 2013. Class sessions will be led by the Fellows of the Wevers Institute who are preparing volumes on the first four books of the Pentateuch for the Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint (SBLCS) series. Students will be introduced to the foundational principles and methodology of the SBLCS project, and to current, cutting-edge research in the discipline of Septuagint Studies. The deadline for application is May 20. For more information, please consult the flyer.

We congratulate the Louvain Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism on the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary.

In October 1988, Johan Lust founded the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of Louvain. In doing so, he initiated pioneering work in a subdiscipline of Biblical Studies that enjoys great interest and attention today. His research group, under the direction of Hans Ausloos from 2003 until 2010, and of Bénédicte Lemmelijn from 2010 on, has grown into an internationally renowned research centre, producing important work in the domains of the lexicography of the Septuagint as well as the study of the translation technique used in the individual books of this ancient Greek translation.

Congratulations to Bradley John Marsh, Jr., who won the 2011 John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies!

The German Bible Society has published Septuaginta Deutsch’s commentary on the Septuagint. See 2011 press release. The Commentary is currently available only as a digital download (PDF).

Septuaginta Deutsch. Erläuterungen und Kommentare zum griechischen Alten Testament, vol. I and vol. II, ed. by Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2011).

Research at the University of Cambridge has shed new light on the history of the Bible. Recent work by Professor Nicholas de Lange has demonstrated that, contrary to long-accepted views, the use of Greek versions by Jews continued well into the middle ages. The key to the discovery lay in manuscripts discovered in the old synagogue in Cairo and brought to Cambridge at the end of the nineteenth century. Close study of the Genizah fragments by de Lange revealed that some contained passages from the Bible in Greek written in Hebrew letters. Manuscripts in other libraries confirmed the evidence of the Cambridge fragments. Now, a fully searchable online corpus (http://www.gbbj.org) has gathered these manuscripts together, making the texts available to other scholars for the first time. The result of close collaboration between researchers at the University of Cambridge, including Cameron Boyd-Taylor and Julia Krivoruchko, and a team at Kings College London, the online corpus comprises the exact remains of Jewish Greek Bible versions, edited from the manuscripts. The resource enables comparison of each word of the corpus with the Hebrew text, the Septuagint and fragments of other Jewish translations from antiquity.

The family of the late Professor John William Wevers has donated $400,000 to endow the Septuagint Institute at Trinity Western University. The Institute will be renamed the John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies. Additional funding is needed to establish the John William Wevers Chair in Septuagint Studies. For more information, visit the TWU announcement.