Michael Langlois

The second episode of “Saga semitica,” asked by Jewish magazine Pharm’Aviv, is now published:

After Adam, Enoch and Noah, the Genesis saga experiences an unexpected turn of events: instead of embracing the whole of humanity, it focuses more and more on an ethnic group, a clan, a family, a character. Who? Why such an emphasis? Read on in this new episode of “Saga semitica”!

Michael Langlois, “Saga semitica, épisode 2″ in Pharm’aviv 128, juin 2011, p. 29-31

Jewish magazine Pharm’Aviv asked me to write a paper, entitled “Saga semitica”:

This is not a remix of the famous song by Yannick Noah, “Saga Africa,” whose twentieth birthday is celebrated this year. This is about another saga, much older (plurimillenary!), that puts on stage another Noah—from the Bible. This is the saga of a people and, in a way, of mankind.

Michael Langlois, “Saga semitica” in Pharm’Aviv 127 (03/2011), p. 36-38.

Who are the fallen angels? Where do they come from? What are their names? This last question caught my attention, and I invite you to discover my conclusions in the following paper:

Langlois, Michael. “Shemihazah et compagnie(s). Onomastique des anges déchus dans les manuscrits araméens du Livre d’Hénoch” in Aramaica Qumranica. Proceedings of the Conference on the Aramaic Texts from Qumran in Aix-en-Provence, 30 June – 2 July 2008, edited by Katell Berthelot and Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra, Leiden – Boston, Brill, 2010, 145-180.

This the theme of a major european conference that will take place at the University of Strasbourg on January 28-30, 2011 and which will accompany the “Psalms in Dialog – Himmelwärts” exhibition (January 28 to February 24), for which I have been sollicited.

On this occasion, I have prepared a new translation and commentary of Psalm 1, the theme of a sixteenth-century grisaille painting. I have tried to be faithful both to the text and the rhythm of this beautiful psalm, which you can (re)discover here:

Psalm 1 – Psalms in Dialog

For more information on the conference, please have a look at the program.

I was asked by Transeuphratène to write a review of the book edited by Thomas Römer, The Books of Leviticus and Numbers, in the Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium series (Peeters, 2008). I conclude that:

Ce qui frappe à la lecture de cet ouvrage, c’est la diversité des approches et des conclusions proposées par les différents auteurs. Si une même approche peut aboutir à des résultats divergents, des approches différentes (analyse structurelle, étude narratologique…) peuvent en revanche conduire à des conclusions similaires. Loin d’être artificielle, cette disparité reflète au contraire l’état de la recherche actuelle sur les livres du Lévitique et des Nombres ; n’est-ce pas précisément la mission d’un tel volume ?

Here is the full review in PDF format: Read the rest of this entry »