Tenth Meeting of the International Organization for Qumran Studies (Aberdeen, Scotland, 4‒8 August, 2019)

(23rd Congress of the International Organisation for the Study of the Old Testament)

The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Context of Hellenistic Judea

Call for papers

The Scrolls are viewed more and more within their wider cultural, historical, and geographic context, and previous categorizations based on sectarianism, canonicity, or genre are being re-thought. For the special topic of the IOQS meeting, we welcome papers that consider the scrolls in their wider context of Hellenistic Judea and beyond.

The field of Qumran studies is no longer necessarily focused on the area where the scrolls were discovered. For example, archaeological study of Judea and Galilee has made advances during recent years, and the history of the Hasmonean rulers and their policies is increasingly placed in the wider context of power negotiations throughout the region. Papers may investigate how the scrolls should be viewed in light of new results in other fields (e.g., archaeology, history, paleography), or how the scrolls help to understand this particular cultural, historical, and geographic context. Proposals by scholars with expertise in other fields relevant to the scrolls are also welcome. Papers may seek to address how the scrolls and their producers interact with or represent a part of the wider landscape of Second Temple Judaism: how we negotiate balance between what is distinctive about Qumran evidence and what is “universal” or more broadly shared.

IOQS wishes to encourage scholars and PhD candidates at all levels who are working on the topic to propose a paper for the meeting. Papers that are directly related to the topic of the meeting will be considered for publication in a corresponding volume of the STDJ series. In addition, those working on other topics are encouraged to submit papers on any area of Qumran studies for one or more open sessions.

The call for papers will be opened soon at IOSOT website and all proposals should be submitted through the local organizers online system, see here. For any questions concerning IOQS, please contact IOQS president, Jutta Jokiranta, jutta.jokiranta|at|helsinki.fi, or secretary Molly Zahn, mzahn|at|ku.edu. For any questions concerning the accommodation, registration, or any other general conference information, please contact the local organizers.