CALL. 14.02.2018: [Panel 2 at SBL 2018] Ugarit and the Bible: Life and Death - Helsinki (Finland)
FECHA LÍMITE/DEADLINE/SCADENZA: 14/02/2018
FECHA CONGRESO/CONGRESS DATE/DATA CONGRESSO: 30-31/07, 01-02-03/08/2018
LUGAR/LOCATION/LUOGO: (Helsinki, Finland)
ORGANIZADOR/ORGANIZER/ORGANIZZATORE: Reettakaisa Sofia Salo; Clemens Steinberger
INFO: call - sofia.salo@uni-muenster.de - clemens.steinberger@student.uibk.ac.at
CALL:
Various cuneiform alphabetic texts found in the ancient city of Ugarit on the northern Syrian coast present striking parallels with Biblical literature. Regarding common mythologemes and motifs in Ugaritic and Hebrew texts, aspects and conceptions of life and death are of special interest. Related issues are crucial elements in the religions of the ancient Levant: Questions about the shortness of life, death, and the afterlife are reflected in various texts. The passage from life to death is of special interest, being the subject of ancient religious discourse about the condition of liminality and the afterlife. Related problems, e.g. the meaning of ancestor cult, necromancy or the Refaim, still require further consideration. The aim of this session is to continue the approach of earlier scholarship and to examine traditions and movements, which link Ugaritic and Biblical texts regarding aspects of life and death. The workshop intends to analyse the contexts of the individual texts through an investigation of the differences and similarities between the Ugaritic and Biblical conceptions. As Ugaritic and Biblical literature were both integrated in the broad Ancient Near Eastern cultural sphere, Mesopotamian, Hurrian, Hittite and Egyptian sources should also be part of the discussion to examine cultural traditions and local specifics. We invite papers from junior and established scholars (EABS- / SBL-members) from Biblical studies, Semitic studies and Assyriology to cast a new light on the shared traditions between Ugaritic texts and Biblical literature. The proceedings of the workshop are planned to be published.