The Aramaic Studies Section will be organizing four open-call sessions this year. We invite proposals for two open-theme sessions on any aspect of Aramaic languages, texts, and culture. We welcome presentations from any chronological period, from Old Aramaic down through the dialects of Late Antiquity and beyond. Previous paper topics have focused on topics related to Old Aramaic inscriptions, the Elephantine papyri, Biblical Aramaic, the Aramaic of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Samaritan papyri, Qumran, and elsewhere), Syriac language and literature, the Targumim, magical texts, etc.
In addition to our two open-theme sessions, we are co-sponsoring two joint sessions:
(1) This joint session, co-sponsored with the Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible unit, will explore theological-exegetical elements in Targumic literature. It is widely recognized that during the transmission process of the Hebrew-Aramaic text, both scribes and translators introduced exegetical nuances through the omission, addition, and/or subtraction of elements from their source texts. These maneuvers have given rise to various forms of exegesis, including linguistic, contextual, and/or theological exegesis. With this in mind, we invite papers that explore the topic “Exegesis Across Textual Traditions.”
(2) Our other joint session is being co-sponsored with the Midrash unit. Possible topics for this open-call session include: "Exegetical questions in the Targumim," “Aramaic in the earlier Midrashim;” “Midrashim that are preserved entirely in Aramaic, e.g., the Esther Midrash in the Babylonian Talmud;” “What is the function of the Aramaic sections in later Midrash? Why not Hebrew;” “The Aramaic dialects in midrashic narratives in the Jerusalem Talmud;” “Does Aramaic in Midrash reflect a spoken language at the time when Christianity developed?" “Aramaic in Genesis Rabbah.”