Communication

MEETING WITH FRIENDS OF THE ÉCOLE, IN TORONTO

This Monday, the Director of the École Biblique, Jean Jacques Pérennès, met with the members of the board of the Canadian Friends Association of the École Biblique in Toronto (Canada). Composed of former students and/or researchers, this Association, created in the 1990s, supports two particular areas of the École’s life: the library and scholarships for Canadian student-researchers (see Dona Harvey’s article in Nouvelles de Jérusalem, No. 98, Autumn 2019). The EBAF Director’s visit to Canada provided fresh and more lively news of the École’s current life and also provided an opportunity to take stock of the development of our collaborations. According to Jean Jacques Pérennès, the affability of the exchange demonstrated to what extend these donors are first and foremost friends. A supplementary meeting was held Friday morning in Montreal for the members of the Association living in Quebec.

Communication

CENTENARY OF THE CREATION OF THE ÉCOLE ARCHÉOLOGIQUE FRANÇAISE DE JÉRUSALEM

This year, the École Biblique is celebrating the centenary of its recognition in 1920 as a École archéologique française by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (AIBL). A symposium bringing together former AIBL scholars at the École Biblique will take place on March 6 in Paris, but the celebration of this centenary has already begun in Jerusalem with an academic session which took place on November 15th in the EBAF conference room.

Many personalities, researchers and friends had accepted our invitation. Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the AIBL, came from Paris for the occasion, as did Dominique Trimbur, associate researcher at the CRFJ and author of a book that analyses the context of the creation of this École archéologique française, at a time when Palestine was under British mandate.

This recognition was a great encouragement for Father Lagrange who had suffered a lot to have his innovative vision of biblical studies recognized. It was also a form of validation for the École’s exceptional first generation of teachers, the Vincent, Abel, Savignac, Jaussen, Dhorme, etc.

During this century, 150 scholars have been sent by the AIBL to Jerusalem. Many have had successful academic careers. This March, bringing together those who are still engaged in biblical studies will be an opportunity to measure the mutual enrichment that is the dialogue between biblical studies and orientalism in the broad sense (archaeology, epigraphy, Semitic languages, etc.).

For the École, studying the past must therefore also be a way of thinking about the future. The academic session on November 15th was already a great encouragement.

To view the report from the Christian Media Center, click here.

To view the opening by Jean Jacques Pérennès OP, « Pourquoi célébrer le centenaire de l’École archéologique française de Jérusalem ? », click here.

To view the presentation by Jean-Michel de Tarragon OP, « Histoire de l’École archéologique française de Jérusalem à travers quelques anciennes photographies de notre photothèque », click here.

To view the presentation by Dominique Trimbur, « Une école biblique, une école française : la création de l’École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, 1890-1920 », click here.

To view the presentation by Michel Zink, « Cinq écoles françaises plus une : l’École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem et l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres », click here.

Communication

VIDÉO – DIES ACADEMICUS – PRÊCHER AUX SIMPLES GENS. UN MODÈLE À LA NAISSANCE DES LITTÉRATURES EUROPÉENNES

Conférence donnée par Michel Zink, Secrétaire perpétuel de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, dans le cadre du Dies Academicus 2019-2020.

Pour visionner la conférence, cliquez ici.

Communication

DIES ACADEMICUS

On Friday, November 15, the École Biblique and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum celebrated the Dies Academicus, the official start of the academic year for both institutions. This year’s was held on the premises of the École Biblique.

The morning began with a presentation about the previous academic year at both institutions. The speech of Brother Jean Jacques Pérennès OP followed that of Brother Rosario Pierri OFM. Brother Gregor Geiger OFM also presented the latest publications of the Studium Biblicum.

After an intermission during which Dominicans, Franciscans and students broke for coffee and tea, the participants followed the presentation of Mr. Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres: ” Prêcher aux simples gens. Un modèle à la naissance des littératures européennes” (Preaching to ordinary people. A model at the birth of European literature).

To view Michel Zink’s lecture, click here.

To read the article from the Custody, click here.

Communication

VIDEO – QSAR AL-BSHIR

On November 9th, our archaeologists visited the Qsar al-Bshir site (Jordan). They took some videos of the Nabataeo-Roman fortress of the 3rd century AD.

Qasr al-Bshir (formerly Mobene), located in the Moab steppe of present-day Jordan, belongs to a line of 3rd century AD forts located on the eastern border of the Roman Empire. It was intended to protect the Roman province of Arabia from nomadic populations. It is one of the best preserved forts of this period. An inscription still in place above the front door mentions the two Augusti and the two Caesars of the first tetrarchy: Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius and Constantinus Chlorus. It can therefore be dated to the years 293-305. The Nabataeans were probably the first to found this place, even before the turn of our era. The Roman fort, about 50 metres wide, was probably abandoned in the 5th century and perhaps reused in the Umayyad period. The barracks located along each wall had two levels and thus reached the parapet walk around the ramparts. Each corner tower was more than 10 metres high.

About 600 metres to the west, a large pool measuring about 60 m by 45 m (visible at the beginning of the video) provided soldiers with an abundant water supply, especially for horses. Water was collected during the rainy season through a dam located in the adjoining wadi.

A few kilometres to the north is a well-preserved Moabite Iron Age tower (visible at the end of the video).

To watch the video, click here.

Communication

PUBLIC LECTURES AT THE ÉCOLE BIBLIQUE

Three doctoral students from the École Biblique gave public lectures. The purpose of this exercise is to assess each student ability to present a subject and teach. It is also an opportunity for them to present their research topics for 50 minutes.

On Thursday, May 30, 2019, Silvano YIM presented “The Figure of the Anointed One in 4Q521 2 ii+4”.

On Tuesday, October 29, teachers, students and members of the public attended the presentation of Cristóbal VILARROIG MARTIN, LC. His subject was: “Benedictus and the 15th benediction of the Shemoneh Esreh: two parallel prayers?”

The next day, Wednesday, October 30, José Rafael REYES GONZÁLEZ OP, spoke on : “DIVI FILIUS – Θεοῦ Υἱός, the Roman title and its application in the Gospel of Mark, Mk 1,1 as text case”.

All three were well received. Congratulations!

Communication

VIDÉO – Arbre de vie ou bois vivant, symbole et mystère

Conférence donnée par Christophe Rico, doyen de l’Institut Polis, professeur ordinaire à l’École biblique, docteur en linguistique grecque, professeur habilité à diriger des recherches.

Pour visionner la conférence, cliquez ici.

Communication

RESUMPTION OF THE DOCTORAL SEMINAR

Doctoral seminars have resumed at the École Biblique. The three doctoral students participating in this year’s programme – Jose Rafael Reyes Gonzales OP, Cristobal Vilarroig Martin LC, and Silvano Yim, will follow four courses throughout the academic year. On the agenda: two domains related to the Old Testament and two others to the New Testament.

The academic year opens for doctoral students with the seminar “Entre Jésus et Paul : Les premières formulations de la foi chrétienne (de 30 à 50) avant l’émergence du Nouveau Testament”, presented by guest professor Michel Gourgues OP, New Testament professor at the Dominican University College of Ottawa. Between the 30 AD and 50 AD, the early christians left no written record. To understand the first experiences and formulations of the faith, Michel Gourgues will lead doctoral students to examine closely the Christian writings of the next generation, in particular the Pauline corpus.

Another first semester seminar, entitled “Seeing God / Voir Dieu”, is facilitated by Łukasz Popko OP and Paul-Marie Fidèle Chango OP. Several verbal formulations of the Old Testament sometimes have the human being as their subject and the divine sphere as their complement. This course will provide an opportunity to identify not only the textual roughness but also the literary complexities of the different descriptions of visions that appear in relation to God’s self-expression. It will also show students how the translators of the texts studied in class understood the reflections developed on anthropomorphism, Jewish aniconism and God’s invisibility in the context of the ancient Middle East.

In the second semester, doctoral students will meet Fr. Łukasz Popko and Fr. Paul-Marie Fidèle Chango for the seminar “Tracing Creations”. Pursuing a dozen specific sub-themes and having research requirements that implement ancient texts and Greek, Latin and Masoretic textual traditions, professors and doctoral students will examine the implicit and/or explicit Old Testament clues of the biblical conception of creation.

Anthony Giambrone OP will present “The Origins of Christological Monotheism”. “Christological monotheism”, a term used by the ‘’Early High Christology School’’ to name the efforts of the early Christians to articulate the divinity of Christ within the framework of first century Jewish monotheism. This seminar will be based on biblical and Jewish literature as well as the Greco-Roman context of the early days of Christianity. A special place will be given to the creation of the world through the Logos, which can be seen as a Jewish kind of ancient philosophy.

Along with the professors, Joachim Eck, from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Germany), and Philippe Van den Heede, from the University of Bochum (Germany), both post-doctoral fellows, will present individual sessions.