Ancient Laws Ancient Contexts: Situating Israelites and Jews in Normative Discourses

FALL COLLOQUIUM

In this two day online colloquium, the Katz Center brings together distinguished international scholars to consider the use of comparison in the study of premodern Jewish law. Each will examine sample cases ranging historically from the ancient Near East through the biblical and rabbinic periods to early Islam. The interdisciplinary panels will focus on questions of method, context, and comparison.

Registration is required.

Please RSVP to Dajana Denes Walters at dajana@upenn.edu by December 14, 2021.

EVENT PROGRAM

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15

11:15–11:30 am EST  |  WELCOME

Natalie Dohrmann, Katz Center Associate Director 
Opening Remarks: Hanan Mazeh, Ben Gurion University of the Negev | Katz Center

11:30 am–1:00 pm EST  |  PANEL 1: IN THE HEBREW BIBLE

Chair & Moderator: Guy Darshan, Tel Aviv University | Katz Center

The So-Called Polygamous Man in Deuteronomy 21:15–17
Sara Milstein, University of British Columbia

From Prophetic Social Criticism to Divine Law: The Reception of Amos and Hosea in the Covenant Code    
Konrad Schmid, University of Zurich

What Can We Learn from the Use of Source Material in Deuteronomic Legal Composition?       
Jeffrey Stackert, University of Chicago

1:00–1:30 pm EST  |  BREAK

1:30–3:00 pm EST  |  PANEL 2: IN PALESTINE

Chair & Moderator: Yael Wilfand, Bar-Ilan University | Katz Center

Defining a Price: Pretium in Roman Emptio Venditio and the Jewish Acquisition of Movables             
Merav Haklai, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Rabbinic Courtroom Oath in Its Roman Context     
Tzvi Novick, University of Notre Dame

Hazakah: Rabbinic Indications for the Transition from Hellenistic to Roman Law       
Yair Furstenberg, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16

11:30 am–1:00 pm EST  |  PANEL 3: IN THE SASANIAN EMPIRE

Chair & Moderator: Simcha Gross, University of Pennsylvania | Katz Center

The Talmud and the Dēn: Comparing Rabbinic and Zoroastrian Textual Production
Shai Secunda, Bard College

Rabbis, Demons, and the Efficacy of Ancient Jewish Law    
Avigail Manekin-Bamberger, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Reading Manichaean and Rabbinic Literatures Together       
Jae Han, Brown University

1:00–1:30 pm EST  |  BREAK

1:30–3:00 pm EST  |  PANEL 4: IN THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE

Chair & Moderator: Hamza Zafer, University of Washington | Katz Center

Contextualization, Interplay, and Comparison             
Lena Salaymeh, Oxford University

The Case for Codes in the Qur’an     
Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania

Qur’anic Law in its Jewish, Christian, and Pagan Context       
Holger M. Zellentin, University of Tübingen

COLLOQUIUM PLANNING COMMITTEE

Guy Darshan, Simcha Gross, Hayim Lapin, Bernard Levinson, Hanan Mazeh, Vered Noam, Yael Wilfand, and Hamza Zafer