The 2017 International Meeting, held jointly with the European Association of Biblical Studies, and hosted by Humboldt University in Berlin, was a great success. A total of 1,169 scholars attended the meeting, with 324 sessions planned by 54 program units.

Special thanks to Prof. Dr. Bernd U. Schipper, Faculty of Theology at Humboldt University, who was SBL’s local meeting coordinator.

Thanks also to the meeting’s many sponsors:
Abraham Geiger College
Accordance Bible Software (gold level)
ATF Press (opening reception)
Baylor University Press (diamond level and opening reception)
De Gruyter
Faculty of Theology, Humboldt University
Institute for Ancient Near Eastern and Hellenistic Religion, Humboldt University
Jewish Museum, Berlin
The Nida Institute (platinum level)
Peeters Publishers (platinum level)
President of Humboldt University
School of Jewish Theology, University of Potsdam
Scribe (opening reception)
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Vorderasiatisches Museum
Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Theologie
Zentrum für Jüdische Studien Berlin-Brandenburg

Invitation to Submit New Program Unit Applications for the International Meeting

The International Meeting Program Committee (IMPC) invites you to submit ideas for new program units by September 1. The IMPC reviews program unit proposals and renewals and evaluates the distribution of topics and sessions among program units. Proposals will be reviewed by the IMPC within the month. The date ensures that the IMPC can remit feedback in time for accepted units to participate in the call for papers for the subsequent meeting. For more information, including the criteria for review of proposals and the application form, visit the Meeting Program Units page on the SBL Website.

The last chance for the Advance registration rates for the SBL Annual Meeting is Thursday, August 24! If you haven’t registered for the SBL Annual Meeting 2017 yet, the Advance registration rates are in effect through the end of the day (11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time) Thursday, August 24. After this day they will increase an additional $50 so please make sure to Register Now. Please make sure to have your SBL Membership number and a valid Mastercard, Visa or American Express credit card available when you register.
With more than 1,200 academic sessions, and workshops, along with one of the world's largest exhibits of books and digital resources for biblical studies, the Annual Meetings is one of the largest events of the year in the fields of biblical scholarship, religious studies and theology.

Registration, the Exhibit Hall and the Employment Center will be located at the Hynes Convention Center. Sessions and other meeting activities will be held at the Convention Center as well as the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Hilton Back Bay, Marriott Copley Place, Park Plaza Hotel, Sheraton, and the Westin Copley Place. There is not a designated headquarter hotel for the Annual Meetings 2017.

To review additional information about the Annual Meetings, 2017, including meeting dates & times, a hotel map and list of amenities, travel information, answers to frequently asked questions, etc. please click here.

If you have questions, please contact us at annualmeeting@sbl-site.org and we’ll be glad to assist you. We are looking forward to a great meeting in Boston!

Sargon II, King of Assyria
Josette Elayi

Josette Elayi’s book is the only existing biography of Sargon II, the famous Assyrian king who was both a megalomaniac and a warlord. Among the most important questions addressed in the book are the following: What was Sargon’s precise role in the disappearance of the kingdom of Israel? How did Sargon succeed in enlarging the borders of the Assyrian Empire with several successful campaigns? How did Sargon organize his empire in terms of administration, trade, agriculture, and libraries? Finally, what was the so-called sin of Sargon II?

Paper $41.95, ISBN 9781628371772
Hardcover $56.95, ISBN 9780884142249
Kindle, ASIN B0741C53Q5
Google Play, ISBN 9780884142232
298 pages • 2017 • Archaeology and Biblical Studies 22

Household and Family Religion in Persian-Period Judah: An Archaeological Approach
José E. Balcells Gallarreta

José E. Balcells Gallarreta investigates the ritual artifacts from Persian period Tell en-Nasbeh in their original contexts, as a case study that provides a deeper understanding of the religious ideas and practices of households in Persian period Judah. Unlike previous scholarship that focused on official or state religion, he utilizes archaeology of religion and domestic contexts to reveal the existence of household religion and rituals in Persian period Tell en-Nasbeh and other contemporary sites in Yehud.

Paper $33.95, ISBN 9781628371789
Hardcover $48.95, ISBN 9780884142263
Gratis e-book ISBN 9780884142256
208 pages • 2017 • Ancient Near East Monographs 18

The Straight Mind in Corinth: Queer Readings across 1 Corinthians 11:2–16
Gillian Townsley

Despite its lack of both historical and exegetical clarity, 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 has often been fundamental to understandings of gender and sexuality in many Christian traditions. In particular, a hierarchical model of gender and a heterosexual model of sexuality tend to dominate and are presented as “natural” and “God-ordained.” With the materialist lesbian theory of Monique Wittig providing the theoretical basis for discussion, this book intersects various biblical, theological, and queer lines of inquiry across 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 in order to reveal and challenge these models of gender and sexuality that lie behind both the text itself and its various interpretations.

Paper $43.95, ISBN 9781628371475
Hardcover $58.95, ISBN 9780884141761
Kindle ASIN B0741LPBXH
Google Play ISBN 9780884141754
366 pages • 2017 • Semeia Studies 88