The Academic Programme

The President delivered his Presidential Address entitled ‘Ein exegetischer Blick auf Röm 11,25–32’ at the opening plenary session of the Society. Main Papers in plenary sessions were presented by Profs. Josef Verheyden (Belgium), ‘The Luke-Acts Conundrum: Method and Reason in Reflecting on the Composition of a Two-Volume Work’; Clare Rothschild (USA), ‘The Muratorian Fragment as Fraud’; Matthias Konradt (Germany), ‘“Nehmt auf euch mein Joch und lernt von mir!” (Mt 11,29): Mt 11,28–30 und die christologische Dimension der matthäischen Ethik’; and Jean-Claude Loba Mkole (Kenya), ‘Exégèse et traduction interculturelles du Nouveau Testament’.

In a plenary Quaestiones Disputatae session the question ‘What was distinctive about early Christian “faith”?’ was explored by three disputants: Profs. Teresa Morgan (UK; guest), Mark Seifrid (USA) and Francis Watson (UK).

Ten short papers were presented in three sessions of simultaneous papers. First session: Peter-Ben Smit (Netherlands), ‘Affect and Suspense in the Prologue of the Gospel of John’; Gabriella Gelardini (Switzerland), ‘“Glaube” im Hebräerbrief und sein Verhältnis zur Soteriologie’; Kathy Ehrensperger (UK), ‘Join in Imitating me (Phil 3.17) – Embodying Christ in the Face of “the Enemies of the Cross”’; Jeffrey Weima (USA), ‘The Political Charges against Paul and Silas in Acts 17.6–7: Roman Benefaction in Thessalonica’; Emmanuel Nlenanya Chinwokwu (Nigeria), ‘The Lord's Supper as History and Challenge in the Thoughts of John and Paul’. Second session: Stephen Hultgren (Australia), ‘“A Vision for the End of Days”: The End of Mark as Apocalyptic Deferral’; Petr Mareček (Czech Republic), ‘Die enigmatischen Worte in Lk 2,35a und ihre Deutung im lukanischen Doppelwerk’; Paul Anderson (USA), ‘A Bi-optic Hypothesis – An Inclusive Theory of Gospel Relations’; Troy Martin (USA), ‘Christ's Healing Sore: A Medical Reading of 1 Peter 2.24’; Christos Karakolis (Greece), ‘“Of Those Falling Asleep” – “of Times and Seasons”: Parallelism, Metaphorical Language, and the Meaning of γρηγορεῖν and καθεύδειν in 1 Thessalonians 4.13–5.11’. There was an additional presentation by Holger Strutwolf (Germany), Klaus Wachtel (Germany) and Georg Gäbel (Germany; guest) on ‘The New Acts Volume of the Editio Critica Maior’.

Thirteen seminars, with the following topics and presenters, met three times each during the General Meeting:

1. 1. Apostolic Fathers, Apologists and the History of Early Christianity (convenors: Prof. Cilliers Breytenbach and Dr Clare Rothschild). (a) Jonathan Draper (South Africa), ‘Prophecy and “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” in Didache 11.7–8 – from Q and the Synoptic Gospels to the Apostolic Fathers and Beyond’; respondent: Francis Watson (UK); (b) Clayton Jefford (USA), ‘Prolegomena to Establishing the Vorlage of the Didache’; respondent: Adela Yarbro Collins (USA); (c) Clare Rothschild (USA), ‘Down the Rabbit Hole with the Epistle of Barnabas’; respondent: Johan Thom (South Africa).

2. 2. Inhalte und Probleme einer neutestamentlichen Theologie (convenors: Profs. Christof Landmesser and Mark Seifrid). (a) Florian Wilk (Germany), ‘“Aus Gott, vor Gott und zu Gott hin.” Charakteristika der Rede von Gott in den Korintherbriefen des Paulus’ – ‘“From God, before God, and unto God.” Characteristics of Language about God in the Corinthian Letters of Paul’; (b) Johannes Beutler (Germany), ‘Vom Gott Israels zum Vater Jesu: Zur johanneischen Gotteslehre’ – ‘From the God of Israel to the Father of Jesus: On the Johannine Teaching about God’; (c) Karl-Heinz Ostmeyer (Germany), ‘Die alte Rede von Gott in der neuen: Biblische Theologie heute?’ – ‘The Old Language about God within the New: Biblical Theology Today?’

3. 3. The Johannine Writings (convenors: Profs. Jörg Frey, Margareta Gruber and Christos Karakolis). (a) Ansgar Wucherpfennig SJ (Germany), ‘Johannes 6 für Leser des Markus: “Begreift ihr denn noch nicht?”’; (b) Kobus Kok (Belgium; guest), ‘Restoration of Spiritual Sight: Perspectives on the Conceptual World of John (9) and the Odes of Solomon’; (c) Christina Hoegen-Rohls (Germany), ‘“Nicht eine Krankheit zum Tode” – Zum Lebensbegriff in Joh 11’.

4. 4. The Development of Early Christian Ethics within its Jewish and Greco-Roman Contexts (convenors: Profs. Matthias Konradt and William Loader). (a) David Instone-Brewer (UK), ‘Aristotle's Three-fold Submission in the Household Codes of Paul, Peter, Philo and Josephus’; respondent: Christine Gerber (Germany); (b) Todd Still (USA), ‘“Paul”, “Peter” and Slaves: Texts and Contexts’; respondent: Fika van Rensburg (South Africa; guest); (c) Margaret MacDonald (Canada), ‘Reading Ethical Injunctions Involving Parents and Children in Light of the Flexible, Shifting, and often Precarious Realities of Family Life in the Roman World’; respondent: Peter Müller (Germany).

5. 5. The Mission and Expansion of Earliest Christianity (convenors: Profs. Eugene Eung-Chun Park, Paul Trebilco and Gosnell Yorke). (a) Christopher Stanley (USA), ‘Paul and Asklepios: The Greco-Roman Quest for Healing and the Mission of Paul’; respondent: Paul Trebilco (New Zealand); (b) Eric Wong (Hong Kong), ‘A Discussion of Mission in Paul and Mark’; respondent: Nathanael Wang (Republic of China; guest); (c) Gosnell L. Yorke (Zambia), ‘Translation and the Early Christian Mission: A Linguistic Move from Jesus, the Speaker, to the Gospel Writer’; respondent: Eugene Eung-Chun Park (USA).

6. 6. Hebrews (convenors: Profs. Christian Eberhart and Wolfgang Kraus). (a) Edwin Broadhead (USA), ‘Alternatives to Temple and Cult in Hebraic and Early Christian Traditions’ – ‘Alternativen zu Tempel und Kult in hebräischen und frühchristlichen Traditionen’; respondent: Michael Tilly (Germany); (b) William Loader (Australia), ‘The Conception of Jesus as High Priest in Hebrews’ – ‘Die Vorstellung von Jesus als Hohepriester im Hebräerbrief’; respondent: Christian Eberhart (USA); (c) Georg Gäbel (Germany; guest), ‘Bedeutung des Todes Jesu im Hebräerbrief’ – ‘The Meaning of the Death of Jesus in Hebrews’; respondent: Wolfgang Kraus (Germany).

7. 7. Social History and the New Testament (convenors: Profs. Hermut Löhr, Markus Öhler and Anders Runesson). (a) J. Albert Harrill (USA): ‘Imperial Aesthetics of “Narrative Architecture”: The Representation of Buildings and Monumentality in Literature’; (b) Gerhard A. van den Heever (South Africa; guest), ‘Hybrid Identities: An Early Christian Cult Group Taking Shape in the Context of Roman Imperial Cult’; respondent: Stephen Hultgren (Australia); (c) Thomas Witulski (Germany), ‘Die kultisch-religiöse Kaiserverehrung im Imperium Romanum am Beispiel der Provinz Asia’.

8. 8. Papyrology, Epigraphy and the New Testament (convenors: Profs. Peter Arzt-Grabner and John Kloppenborg). (a) James Harrison (Australia), ‘The Second Sophistic Oracular Mentality in Asia and its Relevance for Early Christian Prophecy: Ionian, Lydian, Phrygian and Anatolian Perspectives’; respondent: John Kloppenborg (Canada); (b) Peter Arzt-Grabner (Austria), ‘How Magical Are “Amulets” with Biblical Texts: Criteria and Catalogue?’; respondent: Richard Ascough (Canada); (c) Erastus Jonker (South Africa; guest), ‘An Evaluation of P.Oxy. 840 as a Jewish-Christian Document’; respondent: Christina Kreinecker (Austria).

9. 9. Reading Paul's Letters in Context: Theological and Social-Scientific Approaches (convenors: Dr William Campbell and Prof. Judith Gundry). (a) Pieter Botha (South Africa), ‘The Politics of Christian Identity: Researching Paul, Contexts and Readers’; (b) Judith Gundry (USA), ‘Grace, Ethnicity and Gender: Paul's Denuding of Difference without Masking the Gift’; (c) Steven Kraftchik (USA; guest), ‘To Please God: Theological Ethics in 1 Thessalonians’.

10. 10. New Testament Textual Criticism (convenors: Dr Claire Clivaz, Profs. Ulrich Schmid and Tommy Wasserman). (a) Sara Schulthess (Switzerland; guest), ‘Marciana Gr. Z. 11 (379) and the Project HumaReC: An Innovative Research Model for an Unique New Testament Manuscript’; respondent: Hugh Houghton (UK); (b) Hugh Houghton (UK), ‘Electronic Transcriptions of New Testament Manuscripts: The State of the Question’; respondent: Klaus Wachtel (Germany); (c) Klaus Wachtel (Germany), ‘The Digital Present and Future of the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) of the New Testament’; respondent: Ulrich Schmid (Germany).

11. 11. Memory, Narrative and Christology in the Synoptic Gospels (convenors: Profs. Samuel Byrskog, Jens Schröter and Dr Stephen Hultgren). (a) Michal Beth Dinkler (USA; guest), ‘New Formalism and Narrative Christology: Returning to the Structure of the Synoptic Gospels’; (b) Tobias Nicklas (Germany), ‘The Gospel of Peter between the Synoptic Gospels and “Apostolic Memoirs” of Late Antiquity’; (c) Jens Schröter (Germany), ‘The Contribution of Apocryphal Gospels to the “Memory of Jesus”: Beyond the Canonical/Non-Canonical Divide’.

12. 12. The Book of Revelation (convenors: Profs. David Aune, David Hellholm and Dr Thomas Witulski). Terminates in 2017. (a) Thomas Witulski (Germany), ‘Die literarische Einheitlichkeit der Sendschreiben, diskutiert am Beispiel von Apk 2,1–7’; (b) Nils Neumann (Germany), ‘Affective Responses to the Divine Plagues in Revelation’; (c) Joint Session with the seminar: Social History and the New Testament.

13. 13. Acta Politica: The Book of Acts and the Political Culture of the Roman Empire (convenors: Profs. Knut Backhaus, Carl Holladay and Daniel Marguerat). (a) Carl Holladay (USA), ‘Acts 25.16 and Luke's Knowledge of Roman Law’; (b) Stephan Witetschek (Germany), ‘Anti-Who? On the Discovery, Construction and Suspicion of Anti-Imperial Polemics in Luke-Acts and Elsewhere’; (c) Simon Butticaz (Switzerland; guest), ‘Entre Jérusalem et Rome: Les Actes de Luc, récit fondateur d'un peuple’.

The Business Meetings

At the two Business Meetings of the Society, members formally elected Prof. Jean Zumstein (Switzerland) to the post of President for the 73rd General Meeting in Athens, Greece in 2018 (until which time he assumes the office of President-Elect). The Committee intimated the nomination of Prof. John Kloppenborg (Canada) to the post of President at the 74th General Meeting in Marburg, Germany in 2019. He becomes Presidential Nominee until the 2018 General Meeting in Athens, when his nomination will be voted on by the Society.

Profs. Christine Gerber (Germany) and Johan Thom (South Africa) retired from the Committee at the conclusion of the General Meeting in Pretoria. Profs. Daniel Gerber (France) and Korinna Zamfir (Romania) were elected to replace them and will serve on the Committee for a period of three years.

The Society received the Treasurer's Report and formally accepted the statement of accounts as presented by the Treasurer, Dr Kathy Ehrensperger (UK). Members were reminded that the collection of membership fees was being processed electronically by CUP. Members were encouraged to register and make payments online.

The Assistant Secretary for International Initiatives, Prof. William R. G. Loader (Australia), reported on the work of the various liaison committees (of which there are four: the Eastern European Liaison Committee, the African Liaison Committee, the Asian/Pacific Liaison Committee and the Latin America/Caribbean Liaison Committee), and the SNTS Electronic Library based in Stellenbosch University. The main goals of the international initiatives of the Society remain to promote the scholarly study of the New Testament in all parts of the world, to expand the Society's footprint internationally, and to increase its membership in regions where it is underrepresented. Important elements of this international work include authorising funding to provide sponsorships to assist members and approved guests from the Liaison Committees’ regions to participate in the General Meeting, and to assist with the running of an annual pre-conference.

The Editor of New Testament Studies, Prof. Francis Watson (UK), reported that 115 articles had been submitted to the Journal over the past year; 24 had been accepted for publication. Edward Adams (UK), Eve-Marie Becker (Denmark), Lukas Bormann (Germany), Claire Clivaz (Switzerland), Philip Esler (UK), Jan-Willem van Henten (Netherlands) and Moisés Mayordomo (Switzerland) were due to retire from the Board at the end of 2017. To replace these members, the Editorial Board nominated, and the Society elected, pending appointment by the Press, the following members to serve in their place, for the period January 2018 – December 2020: Jostein Ådna (Norway), Paul Foster (UK), Sandra Huebenthal (Germany), Peter Oakes (UK), Markus Öhler (Austria), Uta Poplutz (Germany), Joan Taylor (UK) and Oda Wischmeyer (Germany).

The Editor of the Monograph Series, Prof. Paul Trebilco (New Zealand), reported that three monographs had been published since the previous General Meeting, two volumes were in production, and two further projects had been, or were about to be, contracted. The Society was reminded that Prof. Edward Adams (UK) had been elected to succeed Prof. Trebilco as Editor of the Monograph Series, from January 2018. Prof. Trebilco was warmly thanked for his service to the Society over the past five years.

The Society received with regret news of the deaths of the following: Profs. Gonzala Arando Perez (April 2016); Kenneth E. Bailey (May 2016); Günther Baumbach (2007); Michel Bouttier (August 2015); Jerzy Chmiel (August 2016); Carsten Colpe (2009); Marinus de Jonge (December 2016); Joseph Fitzmyer (December 2016); Josephine Ford (May 2015); Heinz Giesen (July 2016); Erich Grässer (June 2017); Marie Isaacs (August 2016); Gert Jeremias (August 2016); M. D. Johnson (2011); Thomas Kraabel (November 2016); Kikuo Matsunaga (October 2015); Ulrich Mauser (August 2015); Paul-Gerhard Müller (October 2016); Franz Mußner (March 2016); Richard Pervo (May 2017); Walter Radl (July 2012); Matthias Rissi (March 2006); James Robinson (March 2016); Gérard Rochais (August 2016); Alexander Sand (March 2013); Zdeněk Sázava (January 2017); Wolfgang Schenk (December 2015); Siegfried Schulz (Januanry 2010); Benedikt Schwank (October 2016); Turid Karlsen Seim (Nov 2016); Graydon Snyder (May 2016); G. Minette de Tillesse (August 2016); Hans-Friedrich Weiss (June 2016). Members observed a minute's silence in memory of these scholars.

The following thirty-eight New Testament scholars were elected to the Society: Dr Frantisek Ábel, Comenius University in Bratislava (Slovakia); Dr Sean Adams, University of Glasgow (UK); Prof. Dr Grigory V. Alfeyev, Saints Cyril and Methodius School of Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies, Russian Orthodox Church (Russia); Dr Lincoln Blumell, Brigham Young University (USA); Prof. Ian Boxall, Catholic University of America (USA); Dr Christian Blumenthal, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany); Dr Jeannine Brown, Bethel Seminary and University (USA); Dr Lynn H. Cohick, Wheaton College (USA); Prof. Dr Pieter F. Craffert, University of South Africa (South Africa); Dr N. Clayton Croy (USA); Dr Priscille Djomhoue, Faculté Universitaire de Théologie Protestante de Bruxelles (Belgium); Prof. Dr Volker Gäckle, Internationale Hochschule Liebenzell (Germany); Dr Mark Goodacre, Duke University (USA); Dr Nijay Gupta, Portland Seminary of George Fox University (USA); Dr Raimo Hakola, University of Helsinki (Finland); Dr Peter M. Head, Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford (UK); Dr Alison Jack, University of Edinburgh (UK); PD Dr Torsten Jantsch, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany); Dr Roy R. Jeal, Booth University College (Canada); Dr Simon J. Joseph, California Lutheran University (USA); Dr Jennifer Wright Knust, Boston University (USA); Dr Jan L. H. Krans, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and Protestantse Theologische Universiteit (Netherlands); Dr Outi Lehtipuu, University of Helsinki (Finland); Dr Michael R. Licona, Houston Baptist University (USA); Dr Darian Lockett, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University (USA); Dr Matthew V. Novenson, University of Edinburgh (UK); Dr Eric Ottenheijm, Utrecht University (Netherlands); Dr Stephen Pattemore, Bible Society New Zealand and United Bible Societies (New Zealand); Dr Cosmin Pricop, University of Bucharest (Romania); Dr Rikard Roitto, Stockholm School of Theology (Sweden); Prof. Mikhail Seleznev, Post-Graduate and Doctoral School of The Russian Orthodox Church (Russia); Dr Nathalie Siffer, Université de Strasbourg (France); Dr Janet Spittler, University of Virginia (USA); Prof. Dr Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University (Canada); Dr Franz Tóth, University of Zurich (Switzerland); Prof. Steve Walton, St Mary's University, Twickenham (UK); Dr Catrin Williams, University of Wales Trinity St David (UK); Dr William M. Wright, Duquesne University (USA).

Social Events

Social events at the General Meeting included a Reception and Address by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria, Prof. Cheryl de la Rey; a Concert by the Music Department of the University of Pretoria (Chapel); and, on the final night, a Farewell Dinner and guided night tour at the Pretoria Zoo. There were optional excursions on the Saturday to various local places of cultural, historic and wildlife interest.

Future General Meetings

The Society will hold its annual General Meeting in Athens, Greece in 2018, in Marburg, Germany in 2019, and in Rome, Italy in 2020.

1.1.2018