This seminar, co-sponsored by the Faculty of Theology and Religion, is the flagship seminar of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament subject area in Oxford. It runs each term and hosts an international array of scholars in the field of Biblical Studies. The seminar is attended by a variety of faculties across the University of Oxford. Students and faculty members participate in discussions during the formal sessions, as well as in more informal discussions each week after the seminars.
Hilary Term 2025
New Research in the Dead Sea Scrolls
Weeks 1–8
Mondays, 14:30–16:00** (unless stated otherwise)
Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College*** (unless stated otherwise)
Convened by Hindy Najman
Week 1, 20 January
Arjen Bakker (Cambridge): ‘Offering of the Lips: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Jewish Prayer’
Week 2, 27 January
Marcello Fidanzio (USI): ‘The Great Isaiah Scroll: A Biography’
**Week 3, 3–4 February (Monday & Tuesday)
Judaism in Antiquity: New Sources, New Perspectives
A joint TAU-Oxford Workshop
Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
See OCSB website for full schedule of speakers
Week 4, 10 February
Bill Schniedewind (UCLA): ‘Essene Scribal Practice, Synagogues, and the Proto-MT Tradition’
Week 5, Monday, 17 February
Noam Mizrahi (Hebrew University): ‘A Case of Identity: Text, Language, and Interpretation of Isaiah as Witnessed by 4QIsa-g (4Q61)’
**Week 5, Wednesday 19 February, 11:00–12:30
Jakob Wöhrle (Tübingen): ‘“There was no Human to till the Ground”: The Formation and the Religious Historical Background of the Non-Priestly Creation Account Genesis 2-3’
Week 6, 24 February
Mladen Popović (Groningen) and Maruf Dhali (Groningen): ‘Using Sciences and Humanities to Study the Materiality of the Dead Sea Scrolls’
**Week 6, Tuesday, 25 February, 17:00–19:00
Knapp Lecture:
Mladen Popović (Groningen) and Maruf Dhali (Groningen): ‘Combining AI, the Sciences and the Humanities to Innovate the Study of Ancient Handwritten Manuscripts’
Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Followed by reception in the Harris Seminar Room
Week 7, 3 March
Charlotte Hempel (Birmingham): ‘The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Second Temple Rural Economy’
**Week 8, 10 March
Workshop on the Dead Sea Scrolls
Organised by Sarah Wisialowski (Oriel) and Wenyue Qiang (St Cross)
Schedule and list of speakers TBD, see the OCSB website for further updates
Please consult at the Porter’s lodge at Oriel College to get the 4-digit code to access the area where the Harris Seminar Room is located. Please direct any enquiries to ocsb@oriel.ox.ac.uk. For programme updates, please see this website.