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.
Trinity Term 2025
Weeks 1–8, please note variations in dates and time
Convened by Hindy Najman
Consult at the Oriel College porter’s lodge for the 4-digit code to enter the Harris Seminar Room & Harris Lecture Theatre
Please direct any enquiries to ocsb@oriel.ox.ac.uk
Week 1
Friday, 2 May 10:00 – 15:00, H.B. Allen Centre, Keble College; 15:00 – 19:00, Harris Lecture Theatre and Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Oxbridge Day
Schedule TBD
Week 2
Monday, 5 May 14:30 – 16:30, Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Nature and Creation Lecture Series
Hindy Najman (Oriel) and Lea Niccolai (Cambridge)
Nature, Creation, and Hope in ancient Jewish and Greek writers
Week 3
Monday, 12 May 14:30 – 16:30, Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Nature and Creation Lecture Series
Anna Angelini (Siena)
Nature and its Laws in the Second Temple Period
Week 4
Monday, 19 May 14:30 – 16:30, Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Nature and Creation Lecture Series
Mark Wynn (Oriel)
Divine glory in nature: some theological and philosophical perspectives
Week 5
Monday, 26 May 14:30 – 16:30, Harris Seminar Room, Oriel College
Nature and Creation Lecture Series
Mark Harris (Harris Manchester)
Is “the sea” of the crossing (Exodus 14) to be found in nature or supernature?
Week 6
Thursday, 5 June 10:00 – 11:30, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Speaker’s Lectures Series
Judith H. Newman (Toronto)
The Anticipatory Past: Rethinking Time and Text in Jewish Antiquity
Week 7 (Three sessions)
Monday, 9 June 14:30 – 16:00, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Speaker’s Lectures Series
Judith H. Newman (Toronto)
Birth and Re-Creations
*Special Session – Wednesday, 11 June 17:00 – 18:00, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Book launch: Scriptural Vitality: Rethinking Philology and Hermeneutics, Hindy Najman (OUP 2025)
Followed by a drinks reception in the Provost’s Lodgings
Thursday, 12 June 10:00 – 11:30, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Speaker’s Lectures Series
Judith H. Newman (Toronto)
Transformational Encounters
Week 8
Monday, 16 June 14:30 – 16:00, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Speaker’s Lectures Series
Judith H. Newman (Toronto)
The Latter Days
Tuesday, 17 June 12:00 – 13:30, Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College
Speaker’s Lectures Series
Judith H. Newman (Toronto) with Hindy Najman (Oriel)
The Future of Prayer and Hermeneutics in Biblical Studies
For programme updates please see the website: https://www.centreforbible.oriel.ox.ac.uk/events/hebrew-bible-old-testament-seminar/