Founded 1917
Scholarship in the Hebrew Bible
& the Old Testament
A community of scholars and students across the British Isles and beyond — committed to rigorous, collegial study of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament and its world.
A learned society since 1917
The Society for Old Testament Study is a learned society, based in the British Isles, of professional scholars and others committed to the study of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. Founded in 1917, it has met twice a year for over a century.
Membership brings together university teachers, clergy, research students and independent scholars. The Society meets in winter and summer, commissions publications in the field, and maintains a reference wiki written by its members.
About the Society
Next meeting
Winter Meeting 2027
7 January 2027
Online
A single day of papers, held online.
The work of the Society
Three strands run through the Society's year: meeting together, publishing scholarship, and building a shared reference for the field.
Twice yearly
Meetings
A winter meeting and an in-person summer meeting, with papers, discussion and the Society’s business.
See the programmeSince 1946
Publications
The annual Book List, the Monographs series, Guides to the Old Testament and Oudtestamentische Studiën.
Browse publicationsA–Z reference
The SOTS Wiki
An A–Z reference on the Hebrew Bible and its world, written and maintained by members of the Society.
Open the wiki
“A community of scholars, meeting twice a year for over a century to read the Old Testament together.”
The Society for Old Testament Study
News & notices
1 September 2026
New SOTS website launched
The Society's website has been rebuilt.
4 September 2025
SOTS GDPR Policy
Information we hold about you We are committed to preserving your privacy, to letting you know how we use your personal information and to making responsible use of your data. References to ‘we’, ‘us’, or ‘our’ are references to the Society for Old Testament Study based in Great Britain and…
25 August 2025
SOTS Bulletin 2025
BULLETIN 2025 The Society’s website (https://www.sots.ac.uk/) is its main source of all information, including details on how the Society operates, its future meetings, a (permanent) call for papers, other notifications and items of news. Guidance to find specific items is offered here: Meetings In…
Join the Society
Membership is open to those with a scholarly interest in the Old Testament. Applications are considered at each meeting of the Society.