From November 23 to November 26, 2024, the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) took place in San Diego, California. This conference is the largest of its kind and is considered one of the most significant gatherings for both American and international scholars engaged in Biblical Studies.
For the second year in a row, the Program Unit on the ‘Vulgate and the Latin Bible’ was organized at this SBL meeting under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Michael Fieger (Theologische Hochschule Chur, Switzerland) and Prof. Dr. Reinhart Ceulemans (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium). Nine speakers traveled to San Diego to present their research in this domain. The following speakers and topics were featured (in chronological order of presentation):
- Dr. Alexander Fisher (University of Birmingham, UK): “The Latin Text of Codex Boernianus: A Confluence of Traditions”
- Dr. Tilke Nelis (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium): “Helping Both Copyist and Reader: The Use of Sense-Lines in Codex Laudianus”
- C. Daniel Motley (Shepherds Theological Seminary, USA): “Nomina sacra and the Cross Contamination of Copying Habits in Carolingian Latin Manuscripts”
- Dr. Lucas Brum Teixeira (Universität Würzburg, Germany): “‘Imposuit itaque abrae suae…, et caseum’ (Jdt 10:5 Vg): Reception and Impact of a Unique Latin Judith Reading in Judaism in the Middle Ages”
- Dr. Maxime Maleux (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium): “A Bay Tree in the Old Testament? How Renaissance Hebraist Philology Shaped Translations of the Hebrew Bible”
- Prof. Dr. Michael Fieger (Katholische Hochschule Chur, Switzerland): “The Relationship between Jonathan and David from the Perspective of the Vulgate”
- Martijn Jaspers (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium): “Reconsidering Jerome’s Use of the Greek Minor Versions: The Fourth Book of the Psalter (Psalms 90-106) iuxta Hebraeos as a Case Study”
- Dr. Simone M. Rickerby (Independent Scholar, Australia): “Idols and Simulacra in Jerome’s Translation of Ezechiel”
- Dr. Oliver W. E. Norris (University of Birmingham, UK): “Ambrosiaster and the Latin Textual Tradition of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians”.
The lectures were of high quality, and the speakers are invited to submit their research for publication in the open-access journal Vulgata in Dialogue. The Program Unit on the ‘Vulgate and Latin Bible’ is scheduled again for the upcoming sessions of the SBL Annual Meeting from November 22 to November 25, 2025, in Boston, Massachusetts. We invite speakers to propose paper presentations on the Latin Bible for these sessions as well. More information can be found on the SBL website: https://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/AnnualMeeting.aspx.
Martijn Jaspers