Arrived in San Diego

I arrived in San Diego Thursday night, after having spent a couple of days with a brother in Indianapolis. It's a terrible long travel, getting here from Norway. Hence it was good to have a break in Indianapolis, even having a great day of golfing with my two brothers.

Today -Friday - I had breakfast with Ellen Birnbaum and David Runia;- or rather they were having breakfast together, and I were invited to join them when I dumped into Ellen. Two great Philo scholars.
I think I will join the Philo session on Monday, and then I have a lot of other sessions I would like to attend, but even more I have to 'chose away.'

When I get home, I will read the latest book by Sarah Pearse, which arrived just before I left Norway. Ellen B said many nice things about the book.

I must also say, I have bought my self a Palm T/X, and now I have downloaded the free Philo texts, both Greek and English. It is even possible to have both texts on the screen simultaneously, and be able to scroll them both, following each other. A great thing! Now I have Philo in my pocket! (well, don't overinterpet that statement....).

Update on SBL

Yesterday I read a posting on the Logos Blog about some sessions that they (www.logos.com) were to be involved in at SBL, but when I looked for it earlier today the blog was -for some reasons - not available.

But now Ellen Birnbaum wrote me today, and reminded me of the sessions, including the whole program, and now the Logos blog is also available.

Focusing on Philo related studies, I would like to point your attention to this sessions (see the Logos Blog for the other sessions):

AM 18-21 Electronic Books and Databases for Research in Josephus, Philo and the Pseudepigrapha
Date: 11/18/2007 - 11:45AM-12:45PM
Room: Manchester 1 - MM

This meeting presents an overview of searchable, morphologically tagged databases of the Greek Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the writings of Philo (the Philo Concordance project), and the Niese edition of The Works of Josephus with critical apparatus. Along with these databases, scholarly monographs now available in digital form for the study of these texts will be presented.

Leaving for San Diego

I am soon on my way to the SBL Annual Meeting in San Diego. I am making a stop in Chicago/ indianapolis, hence I am leaving tomorrow Tuesday. It might turn out to be a busy meeting; seeing people, buying books,- and even attend some lectures. And as usual there is a lot of collisionss of interest, hence pick and choose the best is the way of surviving through it all. Have a nice time.

John, Jesus, and History

I usually do not post on my more personal activities of life, but to today I had the wonderful privilege of participating in an extended lunch at Losby Gods, just outside Oslo, celebrating the doyen of Philo studies in Norway, Peder Borgen, and his wife Inger. This fall she was 70, and in January Peder B is 80! Hence they celebrated their 150 years!

They are both still going strong, age taken into consideration, and in good health. It should be of interest to students of both Philo and John (and others...) that they both are going to the SBL Annual Meeting in San Diego this month.

Peder B is to partipate in a seminar on Monday 19:
S19-22 John, Jesus, and History
Joint Session With: John, Jesus, and History, Johannine Literature
11/19/2007. 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Salon G - MM
Theme: The Past, Present, and Future of Johannine Studies, Part I: The Fourth Gospel as/in History
Craig Koester, Luther Seminary, Presiding
D. Moody Smith, Duke University
The Problem of History in John (10 min)
Craig S. Keener, Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University
Genre, Sources, and History (5 min)
J. Louis Martyn, Union Theological Seminary
The Johannine Community Among Jewish and Other Early Christian Communities (10 min)
Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa
Reading History in the Fourth Gospel (5 min)
Urban C. Von Wahlde, Loyola University of Chicago
The Road Ahead: Reflections on Johannine Scholarship (10 min)
Felix Just, Santa Clara University
Combining Key Methodologies in Johannine Studies (5 min)
Peder Borgen, University of Trondheim
The Scriptures and the Words and Works of Jesus (10 min)
Michael Labahn, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Living Words and the Bread of Life (5 min)
John F. O'Grady, Barry University
Into the Whirlwind: The Prologue and Chapter 17 of John (10 min)
John Ashton, Oxford, UK
Second Thoughts on the Fourth Gospel (10 min)
Wendy North, Durham University
Why Should Historical Criticism Continue to Have a Place in Johannine Studies? (5 min)
Discussion (50 min). Break (10 min)

This session, then, is directly related to a book that is published this month, in which Peder Borgen, and the others listed above, are contributors:
Thom Thatcher (ed.),
What We Have Heard From the Beginning: The Past, Present and Future of Johaninne StudiesWaco, Texas; Baylor University Press, 2007. 425 pp.
Borgens article is to be found on pp. 39-58: 'The Scripture and the Words of Jesus.'
You can find a full List of Contents of this book here.

I am sure this volume will be an interesting volume assessing the present 'state of the art', and even though this post is not mch related to Philo, I confess my interest both in the SBL session, and the volume.

Sarah Pearce

I have become aware of the homepage of Sarah Pearce, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Southampton. She has published several articles on Philo, and is now on the marked with a new book on Philo.

I have to add her on my Philo research page, as she sureley belongs there on my list of those publishing on Philo.

Reading her homepage, I'll like to draw my readers attention to the following works that are directly related to Philo:‘Belonging and Not Belonging: Local Perspectives in Philo of Alexandria’, in S. Jones and S. Pearce (eds), Jewish Local Patriotism and Self-Identification in the Graeco-Roman Period, Sheffield University Press,1998, pp. 79-105.

‘Jerusalem as Mother City in the Writings of Philo of Alexandria’, in J. Barclay (ed.), Negotiating Diaspora: Jewish Strategies in the Roman Empire, T&T Clark, 2004, pp. 19-36.

'King Moses: Notes on Philo's Portrait of Moses as an Ideal Leader in the Life of Moses', in E.Gannagé, P.Crone, M. Aouad, D. Gutas, E. Schütrumpf (eds), The Greek Strand in Islamic Political Thought, Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph, Beirut, Volume LVII (2004), pp. 37-74.

‘Philo on the Nile’, in J. Frey and D. Schwartz (eds), Jewish Identity in the Greco-Roman World, Brill, 2007, pp. 137-157.

Searching searching..

I was about to write a posting on a book from Mohr-Siebeck I found interesting, but on the other hand it was somewhat familar to me. A search via the search facility at the top of this page revealed that I had already posted on that book a year ago.....

I think there are at least two lessons to draw from this: 1) Use the search function at the top of this page: it may reveal many exciting things to you!
2) I'm getting older....

Have a nice week-end!

Bloglines recommended!

I realize it is impossible,- at least for me, to post every day (did you read every week?); and even to post regularly. So if you are getting tired of looking up this or other blogs to see if there are some recent postings, I highly recommend that you use Bloglines, and subscribe to the various blogs (this included of course) through that portal. Then you only have to look up Bloglines, even if you subscribe to dozens of blogs. It is really very efficient and time saving. Give it a try!

The Word is Near You

This book, written by Per Jarle Bekken, was originally planned to be published in April this year, but has been delayed:

The Word is Near You
A Study of Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in Paul's Letter to the Romans in a Jewish Context
23 x 15.5 cm. Approx. 300 pages. Hardcover. Euro [D] 88,- / sFr 141,- / für USA, Canada, Mexico US$ 118,80. *
ISBN 978-3-11-019341-1 Reihe: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche 144.

Now it seems that it is scheduled for November.
Then, hopefully, it will available at the SBL Annual Meeting in San Diego this November.