Special Event at the English German Colloquium f. NT

by Birgit Hallmann

Beth Langstaff is still on medical leave. We pray for her recovery.

English German Colloquium f. New Testament
Special event on June 22nd:

Yifat Monnickendam
Department of Jewish History
Tel Aviv

On Tuesday June 22nd for the first time a joint seminar was convened by the Departments of Ancient History, New Testament (Ancient Judaism and Hellenistic Religious History/English-German Colloquium), and Jewish Studies. They hosted a book review panel to discuss Yifat Monnickendam's 2020 monograph “Jewish Law and Early Christian Identity. Betrothal, Marriage, and Divorce in Ephrem the Syrian,” which appeared with Cambridge University Press. Due to coronavirus restrictions, this seminar took place online via Zoom. The event drew an audience from all over the world with participants joining in from Japan, Israel, Germany, the UK, and the USA. The participants had been asked beforehand to read a chapter from the book (chapter 4 on 'Breaking a Marital Bond'), in order to make it easier for them to follow, and to make the event more interactive.

After an introduction to the book by the author, there followed three official responses: Prof. Dr. Michael Tilly (New Testament), Dr. Jessica van 't Westeinde (Ancient History), and Mark Hoover MA (Jewish Studies). The three responses sought to offer comments that reflected their respective disciplinary backgrounds. A discussion with the author ensued, and other attendees were invited to join in with questions or comments. This general discussion saw the participants interact chiefly on questions concerning the broader social and cultural context as well as questions pertaining to the Roman legal system. Except for some minor technological issues at the start, the overall feedback was very positive (by Dr. Jessica van 't Westeinde).