The European Association of Biblical Studies now has a research group focused on fostering cross-disciplinary conversation on the textual criticism of NT, OT and Qur'an. The programme from the website is pasted below. For more details go here.
This research group focuses on the textual study and criticism of sacred texts from the ancient Eastern Mediterranean world that later had a global influence; the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur’anic text. All three have similarities and differences. They have influenced other writings and at the same time have themselves undergone external influence bearing on questions of interrelationship, orality, textuality and language. Not only the aforementioned characteristics, but also their preservation and the copying as well as the proliferation of manuscripts are of particular interest to textual scholars.
The sine qua non of this research unit for Textual Criticism is the study of the major witnesses to the text of the Old Testament – the Hebrew Bible, the texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text – as well as the Aramaic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate, Commentaries and others. Of course, also the study of the Critical and the Majority Text, of the versions of the New Testament, as well as the Patristic citations and commentaries, but also Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and others. And finally, the research unit includes the textual criticism of the Qur’an, standard text or authoritative text, and the qira’at tradition (that corresponds to different readings); the cultural milieu and context in which the Qur’anic text has been transmitted and used and the tradition of the commentaries.
Programme
This research group focuses on the textual study and criticism of sacred texts from the ancient Eastern Mediterranean world that later had a global influence; the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Qur’anic text. All three have similarities and differences. They have influenced other writings and at the same time have themselves undergone external influence bearing on questions of interrelationship, orality, textuality and language. Not only the aforementioned characteristics, but also their preservation and the copying as well as the proliferation of manuscripts are of particular interest to textual scholars.The sine qua non of this research unit for Textual Criticism is the study of the major witnesses to the text of the Old Testament – the Hebrew Bible, the texts from Qumran, the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text – as well as the Aramaic Targumim, the Syriac translations, the Vulgate, Commentaries and others. Of course, also the study of the Critical and the Majority Text, of the versions of the New Testament, as well as the Patristic citations and commentaries, but also Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha and others. And finally, the research unit includes the textual criticism of the Qur’an, standard text or authoritative text, and the qira’at tradition (that corresponds to different readings); the cultural milieu and context in which the Qur’anic text has been transmitted and used and the tradition of the commentaries.
This research unit seeks to inspire debate among textual critics from all three fields.The scope/objectives of this group have the potential for expansion based on the materials, texts and approaches under discussion. Relevant topics for discussion would include:
- The study of OT, NT or Qur’anic writings not only in manuscripts, but also inscribed or printed,
- The texts themselves and the circumstances of their transmission
- Types or groupings of texts
- Reconstructions of forms of text
- Textual Criticism and history
- Textual Criticism and exegesis
- Textual Criticism and theology
- Textual Criticism and the world
Call for papers 2016
Two sessions are scheduled for the meeting in Leuven:
- an open session where papers on any topic within the range of the interests of the research group are welcome.
- a thematic session “Do margins matter?” focused on the structure and content of comments, notes, diagrams at the margins of the manuscripts, with the possibility of finding common elements and interactions between the traditions.
We welcome paper proposals that focus on the above mentioned topics and related aspects.
[HT Hugh Houghton]
I can see this as tremendously important for people working on Arabic versions of the Bible especially. And also for encouraging mainstream attention to the textual criticism of Islamic manuscripts. I think I'd be a bit more comfortable with not only "the possibility of finding common elements and interactions between the traditions" but also the observation of distinct and different elements.
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