The Biblical Hebrew Reading Group provides an opportunity to read biblical texts under the guidance of great international scholars, junior Research Fellows and advanced postgraduate students. The reading group allows students, ranging from undergraduate to doctoral ones, to improve their fluency in Hebrew and connect the philological working of the biblical text with conceptual frameworks. This group also allows students to engage at all levels—those with more fluency read and translate, and those with less experience contribute to the conceptual work while practicing reading and grammar.
Hilary Term 2025
Weeks, 1–2, 4–7 (no sessions in Weeks 3 and 8)
Mondays, 11:30–12:30** (unless otherwise stated)
Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Convened by Cian Power
Week 1, 20 January
Arjen Bakker (Cambridge): 1QS 9:26–10:14
Week 2, 27 January
Marcello Fidanzio (USI): 1QIsaa Col. 32. Isa 38, 9–22
Week 3, 3 February
No session
Week 4, 10 February
Bill Schniedewind (UCLA): 1QHod col. IX, lines 21–31
Week 5, Monday 17 February
Noam Mizrahi (Hebrew University): Isa 42–43 with special attention to Isa 43:22–28
**Week 5, Wednesday 19 February, 9:30–10:30
Jakob Wöhrle (Tübingen) Genesis 2:4-9
Week 6, 24 February
Mladen Popović (Groningen) and Maruf Dhali (Groningen): 4Q109, Qohelet, and 4Q114, Daniel (no specific verses to prepare)
Week 7, 3 March
Charlotte Hempel (Birmingham): 1QS 6:1c–8a
Week 8, 10 March
No session
Consult at the Oriel College porter’s lodge for the 4-digit passcode to enter the Harris Seminar Room. For any enquiries, please write to ocsb@oriel.ox.ac.uk. For programme updates, please see this website.