Department chair: Prof. Dr. Koert van Bekkum
Studies in Old Testament
The department of Old Testament conducts research on the Hebrew Bible and the surrounding cultures. The biblical texts are studied in their original ancient Near Eastern context with the help of a broad range of historical, literary and linguistic methods. Questions relating to the use of the Old Testament texts in the context of the Bible as a whole and in relation to the present world are an integral part of the department’s activities. The canonical form of the texts is taken as the starting point of all investigations; however, questions about the pre-history of the texts are also addressed.
Perspectives derived from other scientific fields like sociology, comparative religious studies and others are used where applicable. More recent approaches like liberationist, psychological or feminist interpretations are taken into consideration. In addition to the Hebrew Bible, texts and cultures of the ancient Near East are studied as well. The early translations and interpretations of the Hebrew Bible as attested in the Septuagint and the Targumim are an additional part of the department’s focus, as are interpretations found in rabbinic and early Christian sources.
Independent Academic Personnel
| Prof. Dr. Koert van Bekkum |
Literary, Historical, and Theological Aspects of Genesis – 2 Kings; Archaeology of the Southern Levant; History of Interpretation |
| Prof. Dr. Geert W. Lorein |
Exilic and Post-Exilic Biblical writings; Early Old Testament Interpretation; Psalms in the Targum; Hebrew Prose |
| Dr. Creighton Marlowe |
Bible Translation; Wisdom Literature; Hebrew Poetry |
| Prof. Dr. Mart-Jan Paul |
Pentateuch; Archaeology of the Southern Levant; Hermeneutics |
| Prof. Dr. Markus Zehnder |
Old Testament ethics; Old Testament Law in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern context; Immigration in the OT; Interreligious Relations in the Old Testament |
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Special Academic Personnel
External Instructors
| Dr. Benjamin Kilchör |
Pentateuch; Old Testament Law; Pentateuchal Criticism; Ezekiel |
| David van Acker MA (Ph.D. candidate) |
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| Wouter Wakker |
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Doctoral Students (with or without AAP/SAP-status)
| Randall Ford |
“The New Covenant” in Jeremiah 31 in Jewish Literature from the First Century ceuntil the Time of Don Isaac Abravanel |
| Jürgen Schulz |
Shame [בושׁ and cognates] in the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts, With Main Focus on the 10th to 6th Centuries bce: A Linguistic Study and Its Implications |
| Bram van den Heuvel |
Memories of a Flood: The Search for Patterns in the Worldwide Attestation of Flood Stories |
| Vladimir Yakim |
Resurrection in the Book of Daniel |
