I will be giving two papers at the SBL meeting in Denver in these sessions (both on the 19th, so I might be doing something wrong):

Papyrology and Early Christian Backgrounds
11/19/2018
4:00 PM to 6:15 PM
Room: 110 (Street Level) – Convention Center (CC)

AnneMarie Luijendijk, Princeton University, Presiding (5 min)
Lincoln H. Blumell, Brigham Young University
The New Testament Text of Didymus the Blind: A Reconsideration of The Tura Papyri and their Text-Critical Value (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Dan Batovici, KU Leuven
Reading Aids in Early Christian Papyri (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Break (5 min)
AnneMarie Luijendijk, Princeton University
Walking Oxyrhynchus: Local Religion, Early Christian Diversity, and the Vulnerability of Transmission(25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Bruce Griffin, Keiser University–Latin American Campus
Christianization, Romanization, and the Rise of the Codex (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

My abstract:

This paper proposes a discussion of the available theories concerning the purpose, function, and significance of the various para-textual features in early Christian literary papyri which are considered to be reading or lectional aids of various kinds. Based on a study of the papyri of canonical and non-canonical early Christian papyri this paper re-evaluates the basis for identifying the usage of literary papyri in liturgical contexts in Late Antiquity. This would be relevant not only for a better understanding of the late-antique material perusal of early Christian books, but it also serves to call into question the implications that such theories draw with regard to the formation of the New Testament canon.

History of Interpretation
11/19/2018
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Room: Centennial Ballroom H (Third Level) – Hyatt Regency (HR)

Mark Elliott, University of St. Andrews, Presiding
Eric Covington, Howard Payne University
Wirkungsgeschichte and Trilateration; or How GPS Can Affect New Testament Exegesis (25 min)
Simeon Burke, University of Edinburgh
The Hermeneutical Benefits of Wirkungsgeschichte: Patristic Applications of the Maxim to “Render to Caesar and to God” as a Case Study (25 min)
Athanasios Despotis, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
An Ancient Mystagogical Perspective on Matthew (25 min)
Stefano Salemi, Oxford-Centre for Hebrew-Jewish Studies/KCL London
New Testament Exegetes of Alexandrian Tradition over the Interpretation of John 19:34 (25 min)
Dan Batovici, KU Leuven
Reception History, Authority, and Marginal Texts (25 min)
Discussion (25 min)

My abstract:

This paper seeks to problematise the particular facet of New Testament Wirkungsgeschichte which involves the reception of what can be conceived of as marginal NT books. Indeed, speaking of the reception of the New Testament as a whole runs the risk of glossing too easily over the fact that the books which compose it have separate reception histories which are different both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study of the reception of marginal New Testament texts, however, especially in relation to that of the reception of non-canonical yet nonetheless authoritative early Christian writings, is crucial for better understanding the dynamics of authority of texts around the margins of the NT canon. Within this framework, the proposed paper will discuss the nature of the authority assigned to a marginal New Testament letter – 1 Peter – in Late Antiquity.

And, to round this off, here are the other Leuven papers at SBL:

Bert Jacobs, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Weighing the Qurʾān by the Bible: Dionysius Bar Ṣalībī’s Polemics against the Qurʾān
Session: The Qur’an and the Biblical Tradition (IQSA)
11/18/2018 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM |  Room: 709 (Street Level) – Convention Center (CC)

Danilo Verde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
“You Have Girded Me with Strength for the Fight” (Ps 18:40): Building Resilience through the Words of the First Book of the Psalter
Session: Biblical Literature and the Hermeneutics of Trauma
11/19/2018 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM | Room: Mile High Ballroom 2B (Lower Level) – Convention Center (CC)

David Van Acker, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Conjunctive Accents in Relative Clauses
and
Johan de Joode, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Spelling Richness and Spelling Uniformity: Majority and Minority Spellings in the Masoretic Text
Session: Masoretic Studies
11/19/2018 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM | Room: Mile High Ballroom 1A (Lower Level) – Convention Center (CC)

Pierre Van Hecke, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Linguistic Similarity between Qumran’s Core Texts: A Computational Stylistic Approach
Session: Qumran
11/19/2018 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM | Room: Capitol Ballroom 6 (Fourth Level) – Hyatt Regency (HR)

Mathias Coeckelbergs, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and Johan de Joode, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
FastText: A Computational Semantic Approach to Lexical Choice in the Hebrew Bible
Session: Biblical Lexicography
11/20/2018 | 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM | Room: 402 (Street Level) – Convention Center (CC)

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