Michael Langlois

After years of silence, Semitica is back!

Semitica was created in 1948 by the Intitute of Semitic Studies of the University of Paris, with a board including R. Blachère, A. Dupont-Sommer, Ch. F. Jean, J. Nougayrol, and Ch. Virolleaud, its chairman. In 1973, the Institute was transferred to the College of France; Semitica was regularly published until the 2000s, when it slowed down.
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After a year-long gestation, the new series I submitted to Éditions du Cerf is ready to be born!

Sous la plume de biblistes, philologues, épigraphistes et historiens des religions, cette collection nous invite à un voyage au Proche-Orient antique, à cette époque énigmatique et fascinante où le scribe est aussi rédacteur, où le texte est encore fluide, et le canon, indéterminé.

Siècles après siècles, les traditions du judaïsme ancien et du christianisme naissant sont partagées et enrichies. Leurs textes évoluent au gré du temps, transmis en d’anciennes langues sur des manuscrits évanescents. Leur autorité varie selon les communautés : certaines les qualifieront de bibliques, d’autres, d’apocryphes.

Ils s’offrent à nous aujourd’hui : voici « L’écriture de la Bible ».

Stay tuned for the announcement of the first volume…

L’écriture de la Bible (PDF)

Update: The first volume is out!

• Mystères et connaissances cachées à Qumrân (Valérie Triplet-Hitoto, édité par Michael Langlois)

I am going on an epigraphic mission in Switzerland during the second half of July to study a collection of Hebrew ostraca with André Lemaire.

An “ostracon” (plural: ostraca) is a pottery sherd reused (one could say “recycled”) as a cheap writing support (compared to papyrus or leather, for instance). It is a common support in Antiquity, notably for accounting or economical documents.
The study of these Hebrew ostraca will thus expand our knowledge of the life in Ancient Israel—a real treasure!

After Israel, let’s go to Jordan, with another group of students and my colleague Regine Hunziker-Rodewald who prepared a great program from July 12-23, 2010.

Among the many archaeological sites that we will visit are: Amman, Madaba, Dhiban, Petra, Busayra, Deir-Alla, Jerash… The adventure continues!

I’m taking a group of students on a tour (July 1-11, 2010) to study the topography and archaeology of the Holy Land.

Our program: Jerusalem, the Negev, Arad, the Dead Sea, Masada, Ein-Gedi, Qumran, Jericho, the Jordan River, Beth-Shean / Scythopolis, Tiberias, Capernaum, the Galilee, Caesarea… Enjoy the trip!