Originally developed by Mikhail Bakhtin for 20th-century fictional literature, the concept of „chronotopos“ has already been successfully applied to ancient historiography. Its adaptation to religious-normative Jewish texts from Persian to Roman times can be of heuristic value. This is because during that time, the colonial politics, especially those of the Hellenistic rulers, posed challenges for the subject peoples, requiring them to both adapt to the politics and counter-react by developing their own conceptions of time and history. Since the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem, religious writings from the Second Temple Judaism have extensively addressed time structures, calendars, and spaces. This is evident in the increasing importance of the Shabbat, the dating system in the Book of Ezekiel, and the competing calendar systems between the Persian and Roman periods. What is the significance of the connection between space and time in terms of the concept of history, calendar, festivals, and end-time expectations? This conference aims to examine the meaning of time and space, particularly with regards to their fluidity and socio-political implications.

Conference Zoom link will be provided to participants upon registration

Registration by October 15, 2024 at: fgat@uni-marburg.de / +49 (0)6421 2822451

Program 

Tuesday, 29.10.2024 

14:00 (CET)

Greetings

Menahem Ben-Sasson (EC-C) and Angela Standhartinger (Philipps-University Marburg) 

14:15

Introduction and technical notes

Martina Kepper and Alexandra Grund-Wittenberg

14:30

“Bakhtin wrote for his time, but was read at a different time.” The Chronotopos concept and its historical context

Maike Schult (Philipps-University Marburg)

15:30

From mythicization of history to transcending of empires: Transformations of the Chronotopos from the Priestly composition to Daniel

Alexandra Grund-Wittenberg (Philipps-University Marburg)

16:30 | Break

17:00

The Concept of Time in the Aramaic Documents from Elephantine

Bob Becking (Utrecht University)

18:00 | Final Discussion Day 1

18:30–19:00 | Virtual “social gathering”

Wednesday, 30.10.2024 

14:00 (CET)

"Olam" (עולם) in the Book of Ben Sira and its Translations

Frank Ueberschaer (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) 

15:00

Time, Space, and beyond in Ezechiel (LXX), Baruch, Sapientia. Three Case Studies

Martina Kepper (Philipps-University Marburg)

16:00 | Break

16:30

Apocalyptic Visions and Historical Revisions: Time in the Book of Daniel

Daniel Falk (Pennsylvania State University)

17:30

Time of Preparing the Way in the Desert: Prayer and Wilderness in Early Judaism

Sarah Wisialowski (University of Oxford)

18:30–19:00 | Final Discussion Day 2

Thursday, 31.10.2024 

14:00 (CET)

The Motif of Accelerating the Progression of Time in Jewish Apocalypses

Jonathan Ben-Dov (Tel Aviv University) 

15:00

The Jewish Festive Calendar in the Book of Judith: Meaning and Impact for Space and Time Construction

Barbara Schmitz and Lucas Brum Texeiras (University of Würzburg)

16:00

Time and Space in the Qumran Temple Scroll

Molly Zahn (Yale Divinity School)

17:00 | Final Discussion Day 3

17:30–18:00 | General Discussion

> Program (PDF)

The conference is supported by the EC-C and the German Research Foundation (DFG)