Michael Langlois

For the first time in its history, the National Library of France will host an exhibition on the Dead Sea Scrolls! This unprecedented event will take place on April 13 – July 11, 2010, and has been entitled Qumran: Uncovering the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hang on!

The National Library asked me to serve as their Scientific Advisor for this exhibition, which I accepted with great pleasure. Moreover, I will share with Laurent Héricher (oriental manuscripts curator) the Direction of Publication related to this exhibition. More on that later…

Please visit the National Library’s website for more information (such as opening hours, price, access…).

Spring semester has begun at the University of Strasbourg! Beginning tomorrow (January 26, 2010), I’m teaching an Advanced Hebrew class designed for students already familiar with Biblical Hebrew morphology.

By studying various texts from the Hebrew Bible, we will underline the specifics of Biblical Hebrew syntax and develop a methodology of structural analysis. These are fundamental tools in the exegete’s toolbox!

The official release of the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau wines gives me an opportunity to mention the publication of Grégory Chambon’s latest book, The Wine Archives from Mari. I had the pleasure to give, as the author says, an “efficient and friendly help” (p. vi), and of course I wish him the best success!

Chambon, Grégory. Les archives du vin à Mari. Florilegium marianum XI ; Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 12. Paris, SEPOA, 2009, 221 p.

I’ve had the pleasure to be second reader of a Master’s thesis in Ancient Near Eastern Philology and History entitled “An Old Testament Christology? Edition and Translation of an Anonymous Ethiopic Homily (BnF Abb 29 f° 1v-6r, BnF Éth 116 f° 7r-14v),” defended today by Mr Sergey Kim, student at the ELCOA, department of Christian Orient.

Jean-Marie Durand, Professor at the College of France (Assyriology chair), has just published a volume on clothes and textiles in the akkadian texts of Mari. This work is part of the Paris Babylonian Dictionary Project (Volume 1), and I was pleased to help with technical and IT matters (see p. 8).

Durand, Jean-Marie. La nomenclature des habits et des textiles dans les textes de Mari. Archives Royales de Mari XXX. Paris, CNRS Éditions, 2009, 604 p.