Past conferences
Meetings of 2025
The record
Meetings of 2025
Winter: 9 January 2025 · Summer: 21–24 July 2025
Winter Meeting 2025
9 January 2025 · online (recording of evening lecture available) · under the presidency of Dr John Jarick
Programme
In its 108th year, the Society for Old Testament Study is delighted to host its second:
ONLINE WINTER MEETING
On Zoom, Thurs 9th January 2025
President: Dr John Jarick
The public evening lecture is available on this page (after the programme, below) and is also available on YouTube.
PROGRAMME
All times are UK times
| 2.00 pm | Zoom room opens — participants gather online |
| 2.15 pm | President’s welcome: John Jarick (Oxford) |
| 2.25 pm | Juan Cruz (Aberdeen), “Benjamin Harshav’s Theories of Metaphor, with Examples from the Hebrew Bible” |
| 2.55 pm | 5-minute break |
| 3.00 pm | Alinda Damsma (London), “Outlawing the Witch: A Reappraisal of Exodus 22:17” |
| 3.30 pm | 5-minute break |
| 3.35 pm | Charlie Hadjiev (Cardiff), “Picturing the Divine: Problematic Metaphors for God in Hosea” |
| 4.05 pm | 20-minute break |
| 4.25 pm | SOTS Business Meeting (a short meeting for SOTS Members only) |
| 4.55 pm | 5-minute break |
| 5.00 pm |
Roundtable Discussion: Biblical Archaeology, with panellists Hugh Williamson (Oxford), Felicity Cobbing (London), and Oded Lipschits (Tel Aviv) |
| 6.00 pm |
The Conference will pause (the Zoom room will be closed for an hour) |
| 7.00 pm |
Zoom room opens — participants regather online |
| 7.15 pm |
Lecture: Thomas Römer (Paris), “The Question of Wisdom Influence in the Composition of the Joseph Narrative” |
| 8.30 pm |
End of the event |
Summer Meeting 2025
21–24 July 2025 · Collingwood College, Durham · under the presidency of Prof Stuart Weeks
Programme
The Society for Old Testament Study in its 108th year is delighted to host its 100th Summer Meeting:
Collingwood College, Durham
21st-24th July 2025
Under the presidency of Prof Stuart Weeks
The main venue for sessions will be in the Conference Room.
Booking information is available here.
Information about things to do in Durham is available here.
MONDAY 21st July
| 2.00pm | Committee Meeting in the Conference Room |
| 4.30 pm | Registration at the SOTS desk in the college reception |
| 6.00 pm | Reception in the college |
| 7.00 pm | Dinner |
| 8.15 pm | Presidential Paper: Stuart Weeks (Durham), ‘What the Scribes did to Tobit’ |
| 9.30 pm | Bar open until 11pm |
TUESDAY 22nd July
| 8.00 am | Breakfast |
| 9.15 am | Dwight. D Swanson (London), ‘Biblical Studies and the Qur’an: Current Approaches’ |
| 10.00 am | Richard Briggs (Durham), ‘Dungeons and Dragons: History and Truth in Readings of Daniel 6 and 14’ |
| 10.45 am | Coffee |
| 11.15 am | Panel Presentations and Discussion: ‘Challenges and Issues in Writing an ICC Commentary Today’ – chaired by Stuart Weeks (OT series editor). Contributions from Hugh Williamson, John Day, and Jacqueline Vayntrub |
| 1.00 pm | Lunch |
| 2.00 pm | Free time |
| 3.30 pm | Tea |
| 4.00 pm |
PG/ECR Short Papers – 5 presentations of 20 mins each from members of SOTS including 5 mins Q&A for each one, with a 10 minute break around 5pm [1] Jack A. Day (Cambridge), ‘The Ethics of Military Deception in the Deuteronomistic History’ [2] Robyn Ashworth-Steen (Leeds), ‘Female Prophetic Leadership: An Exploration of Its Liberative Future in Present-Day Jewish Patriarchal Religious Structures’ [3] Ryan Comins (Cambridge), ‘Metalinguistic Awareness in the Second Temple Period’ [4] Kengoro Goto (Manchester). ‘Developing New Linguistic Tools for Identifying Northern Hebrew Features and Measuring Regional Association of Biblical Texts: A Variationist Sociolinguistic Approach’ [5] Rachel Lillycrop (Durham), ‘Is the Good Life All About Security? Uncertainty, Control and Agency in the Book of Daniel’ |
| 6.00 pm | Reception in the college |
| 7.00 pm | Dinner |
| 8.15 pm | Jacqueline Vayntrub (Yale), ‘Speaking and Hearing in Instruction and Petition’ |
| 9.30 pm | Bar open until 11pm |
WEDNESDAY 23rd July
| 8.00 am | Breakfast |
| 9.15 am | David Janzen (Durham), ‘Trauma Theories and Their Discontents: The Problem of Trauma and Category Mistakes in Biblical Studies’ |
| 10.00 am | Elizabeth Hare (Durham), ‘Tabernacle as Template: Human and Divine Participation in Mesopotamian Sacred Space Construction’ |
| 10.45 am | Coffee |
| 11.15 am | Brandon Hurlbert (Durham), ‘YHWH as a Gentle Warrior in Psalm 18’ |
| 12 noon | Business Meeting: SOTS members only |
| 1.00 pm | Lunch |
| 2.00 pm | Sightseeing options in Durham (arranged privately) – information is available here. |
| 4.00 pm | Presidential Tea in St Chad’s College |
| 7.00 pm | Dinner |
| 8.15 pm | John Day (Oxford), ‘How should we explain the seeming dislocation between the Sons of God(s) incident in Genesis 6:1-4 and the subsequent Flood Story?’ |
| 9.30 pm | Bar open until 11pm |
THURSDAY 24th July
| 8.00 am | Breakfast, followed by departure |