Category:Learned Societies

• BACK TO THE GENRES--INDEX

The category: Learned Societies, includes academic groups of specialists who work on Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins.

Overview

The first international societies were British-based, Christian missionary societies, such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1698-) and the British and Foreign Bible Society (1804-). The latter generated national chapters all around the world, which since 1946 would be united under the umbrella of the United Bible Societies. The major goal of these first societies was to publish and distribute the Christian Bible in modern translations.

In the second half of the nineteenth century the first scholarly societies specifically devoted to the study of the Bible and its world were created, notably, the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1865 in Great Britain, and the Society of Biblical Literature in 1880 in the United States.

The first half of the 20th century saw the beginning of the activities of other national scholarly societies--the Israel Exploration Society in 1914, the British Society for Old Testament Study in 1917, the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies in 1933, the Catholic Biblical Association of America in 1937, and the Finnish Exegetical Society in 1938.

In the aftermath of World War II the first truly multi-national societies were created, notably, the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas in 1947 and the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament in 1950, while numerous new national Biblical Societies appeared, such as the Associazione Biblica Italiana in 1948 and the Association Catholique Francaise pour l'Étude de la Bible in 1967.

In the 1960s the field of Judaic Studies also began to gain wider recognition in the academic curriculum; the Association for Jewish Studies was born in North America in 1969, the European Association for Jewish Studies in 1981, and the Australian Association of Jewish Studies in 1987. Although the emphasis of these associations was on modern and contemporary times, their meetings hosted sessions on antiquity providing a non-Christian framework for the Study of Second Temple Judaism and Early Judaism.

Since the early 1950s the discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls had generated an unprecedented international interest. In the 1990s the first societies specifically devoted to the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls were created--the International Organization for Qumran Studies (1992-) and the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1995-).

The 2000s the Enoch Seminar began its activities, the first international society to have the study of Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins as its central focus.

Today, scholars in Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins have an abundance of opportunities to pursue their interests of research. The Society of Biblical Literature has consolidated its world leadership; its annual Meeting in North America and its International Meeting around the world are the largest gatherings of biblical scholars and numerous sessions are devoted to Second Temple Judaism. The General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testament Societas offers papers and workshops on the Historical Jesus and the New Testament in their Jewish environment. Sessions on Second Temple Judaism are also organized by the major Associations of Jewish Studies, notably, the World Congress of Jewish Studies, the American Association for Jewish Studies, and the European Association for Jewish Studies. The network of Catholic Biblical Associations is particularly active at the national level. Finally, a series of societies focus more specifically on the Second Temple period and its literature, notably, the Enoch Seminar, the International Organization for Qumran Studies, the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, and others.

In its NEWS section, Enoch Seminar Online provides a comprehensive list of forthcoming meetings and conferences in the field of Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins, as well as a detailed archive of past events, from 1880 to the present.