Tuesday, April 25, 2006

MIQRA is a new discussion group on the Hebrew Bible sponsored by the Society of Biblical Literature. Here is the description:
Miqra is an online site for scholarly dialogue about literary, linguistic, archaeological, social, political, historical, and ideological issues in studying the Hebrew Bible. It is not for discussion of contemporary religious interpretations of texts or (above all!) confessional/doctrinal matters. The assumption is that contributors will have the necessary expertise in Hebrew and cognate languages; knowledge of ANE history, literature, and culture; familiarity with the ever-expanding reading strategies ("methods") used in biblical studies; and an interest in collegial discussion – all of which should be hallmarks of our discipline. This is a moderated list, which means that your comments will be screened to make certain posts conform to the above standards. My interest is not in limiting debate but promoting scholarly discussion free of ad hominem attacks and other types of heavy-handed rhetoric.