Michael Langlois

The organization committee of the “Bible, Heritage of Mankind” exhibition, in Orleans on Jan. 14 – Feb. 5, asked me to give a conference on:

The Bible Facing Archaeology

What do archaeological discoveries teach us on the Bible? Do biblical narratives convey historical reality?

If you are interested, come Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 at 8:30 PM at the Auditorium of the Orleans Media Library (1 place Gambetta, 45043 Orléans).

In the meantime, you can watch the video of the interview I gave when the exhibition was created!

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Update: Article in Republic of the Center newspaper • New conference
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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 have been invited as a jury for the PhD in French and Comparative Literature prepared by Claire Placial at the University of Paris–Sorbonne with the following title:

For a Close History of Translations. Bibliographical, Historical and Linguistic Study of the Translations of Song of Songs Published in French since the Renaissance.

The defense will take place on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 9:00, at the Maison de la Recherche, room D223 (28 rue serpente, 75006 Paris). The defense is public.

Samson, David, Daniel or Gilgamesh are some of the most famous heroes in biblical and mesopotamian literature. These characters are the object of a new book entitled “The Young Hero,” that I edited together with J.-M. Durand and Th. Römer.

To give you a taste, here is the table of contents: Read the rest of this entry »

I have been invited to speak at an international conference on the Targums (Aramaic versions of the Hebrew Bible) in the light of ancient Jewish traditions from the Second Temple period (i.e. until the beginning of the common era).

My paper will address the question of a possible Second Temple origin for the critique of power in the targumim. If you’re interested, the conference will take place in Strasbourg on June 27-28, 2011.

Here is the meeting program: Read the rest of this entry »