'Beyond the Book: Rethinking Religion In and Around the Bible'

'Beyond the Book: Rethinking Religion In and Around the Bible,' is an interregional set of colloquia on the (non-)centrality of the Bible in pre-modern Judaism including The University of Michigan, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin. Isabel Cranz, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, University of Pennsylvania, will present a paper entitled, “Atonement and Purification: Priestly and Assyro-Babylonian Perspectives on Sin and its Consequences” that will address Priestly expiatory rituals in Biblical historiography vs. expiation and purification in the ancient incantation-work Šurpu by Assyro-Babylonian scholars. Sarit Kattan Gribetz, Assistant Professor, Department of Theology, Fordham University, will present a paper entitled, “Gender and Ancient Jewish Reading Practices” that will discuss the place of the Bible in reconstituting the roles of women and men in Late Antique Judaism and Christianity. Both papers will be followed by student responses. For further information contact Sun Bok Bae (sunbok@uchicago.edu) or Marshall Cunningham (mcunningham1@uchicago.edu).