The Academic Programme

President Standhartinger delivered her Presidential Address, entitled ‘“Where do you want us to go…so you may eat?” Performing the Lord’s Supper in Cemeteries and Cities’, at the first plenary session of the meeting. Main Papers were presented by Dorothy A. Lee (Australia), ‘Narrative Disjunction and the Johannine Prologue: A Literary Reading’; Gregory E. Sterling (USA), ‘Secondary Prefaces and the Composition of Luke-Acts’; Christina M. Kreinecker (Belgium), ‘Contra Graecum: Bilingual Observations from 1 Corinthians’; Alan Cadwallader (Australia), ‘The Value and Limits of the Material Turn in New Testament Studies: Reflections on a New Inscription from Hierapolis in the Lycus Valley’; and Catrin Williams (UK), ‘Signs, Scripture, and Divine Manifestation in the Gospel of John’. Additionally, President Standhartinger moderated a panel on Asian-Pacific New Testament Scholarship. Panellists included Fatilua Fatilua (Samoa), Jonathon Lookadoo (South Korea), Mothy Varkey (India) and Eric Kun Chun Wong (Hong Kong).

The following simultaneous short papers – twenty in number – were also presented: Jeremy Barrier (USA), ‘Physiology and the Material Pneuma in the Gospel of Judas’; Mary Coloe (Australia), ‘The Narrative Sequence of Foot Anointing/Washing in John 12 and 13’; Bernardo Estrada (Colombia), ‘Jesus’ Nazareth Discourse: Present and Future Liberation’; Simon Gathercole (UK), ‘Some Thoughts on Paul’s Expectation of the Parousia’; Gabriella Gelardini (Norway), ‘Περὶ Ἀπορρήτων – Silence and Secrecy in the Gospel of Mark: An Interpretation against the Backdrop of the First Jewish-Roman War’; Mothy Varkey (India), ‘Paul’s Self-Description as an “Aborted Apostle”’ (ἐκτρώμα); Jeffrey Aernie (Australia), ‘Repositioning Onesimus and Philemon: Further Support for the “Returning Brother” Theory’; Edwin Broadhead (USA), ‘Heraclitus and the Johannine Logos’; Katie Marcar (New Zealand), ‘Passover, Exodus, and the Victorious Death of Jesus in Hebrews’; David M. Moffitt (UK), ‘Jesus as Advocating Sacrifice in 1 John 2.1–2’; Teresa Morgan (USA), ‘The Complexity of Sin and Suffering in the Undisputed Letters of Paul and How Christ’s Death Addresses Both’; Robert E. Moses (USA), ‘Gentile Women and Jewish Mary in Matthew’s Genealogy: Implications for Matthew’s Gospel’; Nathanael Xue-sheng Wang (Taiwan), ‘Beyond Church and State: An Ideological Criticism of Jesus’ Teachings on Taxation in Mark 12.13–17’; Brendan Byrne (Australia), ‘Rom 5.12d: Revisiting a Significant Crux in Pauline Studies that Has Not Gone Away’; Peter M. Head (UK), ‘Is It Likely that the Carrier of a Pauline Letter Was also the Lector?’; Jeyaseelan Kanagaraj (India), ‘The Resurrection of Jesus in the Canonical Gospels and its Theological Dimensions’; Fergus King (Australia), ‘Sufferer or Cipher? Jesus, Roman Militarism and the Gerasene Demoniac (Matthew 8.28–34[?]; Mark 5.1–20; Luke 8.26–39)’; Christof Landmesser (Germany), ‘De/Sacralization as a Condition for Tradition: An Example from the Letters of Paul (1 Corinthians 8.6)’; James F. McGrath (USA), ‘Reconstructing a Lost Infancy Narrative about John the Baptist’; and Ali Robinson (Australia), ‘Exploring the Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira: A Study in Group-Embedded Identity and Broken Communal Trust’.

Furthermore, nine seminars met three times each during the General Meeting:

1. 1. Constructions of the Histories of Early Christianity (conveners: Cilliers Breytenbach and Clare Rothschild): (a) Cédric Brelaz (Switzerland, guest), ‘Early Christianity in Macedonia’; Respondents: Robyn Whitaker (Australia) and Matthew Crawford (Australia); (b) Adam White (Australia), ‘Household Networks in the Corinthian Correspondence’; Respondent: Ben Edsall (Australia); (c) James Harrison (Australia), Alanna Nobbs (Australia), and Lyn Kidson (Australia), ‘Edwin A. Judge and the Study of Early Christianity within the Roman Empire’.

2. 2. Neutestamentliche Theologie zwischen Religionsgeschichte und Gegenwartshermeneutik (conveners: Florian Wilk, J. Ross Wagner and Susanne Luther): (a) Stephen Hultgren (Australia), ‘The Church as a Community of Truth: Perspectives from Ephesians’; Respondent: Sejong Chun (South Korea, guest); (b) Ruben Bühner (Germany), ‘Ecclesiological and Soteriological Insiders and Outsiders. How Identification Shapes One’s Understanding of Revelation’; Respondent: Robyn Whitaker (Australia); (c) Lyn Kidson (Australia), ‘The Historical Method of E.A. Judge and the Shape of an Early Christ Community from the Perspective of the Pastoral Epistles’; Respondent: Dogara Manomi, (Germany, guest).

3. 3. The Johannine Writings (conveners: Jörg Frey, Christina Hoegen-Rohls and Catrin Williams): (a) Francis Moloney (Australia), ‘John 17: Location and Message’; Respondent: Chris Seglenieks (Australia, guest); (b) Alicia Myers (USA), ‘Sanctified and Sanctifying: Jesus’s Prayer in John 17.17–19 and the Intersection of Purity and Divine Embodiment’; Respondent: Sung-Uk Lim (South Korea, guest); (c) Carsten Claussen (Germany), ‘The Divinity of Jesus in John 17 on the Background of the Moses Typology’; Respondent: Sherri Brown (USA).

4. 4. God in the New Testament (conveners: Steve Walton and Christiane Zimmermann): (a) Brittany Wilson (USA), ‘God in Luke’s Gospel’; Respondent: Sarah Harris (New Zealand); (b) Veronika Burz-Tropper (Belgium), ‘God in John’s Gospel’; Respondent: Judith Lieu (UK); (c) Paul Trebilco (New Zealand), ‘God in the Johannine Letters’; Respondent: Bill Loader (Australia).

5. 5. The Historical Jesus: Methodology and Historiography (conveners: David du Toit and Helen Bond): (a) David du Toit (Germany), ‘Historical Axioms, Religious Imagination, and Memory: Rethinking Method in Determining the Date of Jesus’ Crucifixion’; (b) James Crossley (Norway), ‘The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus?’; Respondents: Sarah Rollens (USA) and Helen K. Bond (UK); (c) James McGrath (USA),‘“The Son of Man Who Is to Come”: The Shared Expectations of John and Jesus’.

6. 6. Papyrology, Epigraphy, and the New Testament (conveners: Peter Arzt-Grabner and James R. Harrison): (a) James Harrison (Australia), ‘The Augustan Triumphal Arch and Sebasteion at Pisidian Antioch: Imperial Propaganda, the Res Gestae, and the Epistle to the Galatians’; (b) Gillian Asquith (Australia, guest), ‘Using Papyri to Analyse High-Register, Unexpected Words in Paul’s Letter Openings’; (c) Lincoln Blumell (USA), ‘The Elusive Address in 2 John 1: Reconsidering ἐκλεκτῇ κυρίᾳ in Light of the Epistolary Papyri’.

7. 7. Reading Paul’s Letters in Context: Theological and Social-Scientific Approaches (conveners: William S. Campbell and Judith Gundry): (a) David Neville (Australia), ‘The God of Peace in Paul’s Letters: Tradition, Interpretation, and Theological Significance’; (b); Todd D. Still (USA), ‘Eἰρήνη in Romans’ (in absentia); (c) Kar Yong Lim (Malaysia), ‘When They Say, “There is peace and security” (1 Thessalonians 5.3): Revisiting the Roman Slogan Consensus’.

8. 8. New Testament Textual Criticism (conveners: Claire Clivaz, Hugh Houghton and Tommy Wasserman): (a) Anna Persig (Belgium), ‘Editing the Vetus Latina in the Digital Age: The Impact of Electronic Resources on the Preparation of the Edition of 1 Corinthians’; Respondent: Simone Rickerby (Australia, guest); (b) Stephen Carlson (Australia), ‘Three Digital Approaches to Contamination in New Testament Textual Criticism’; Respondent: Paul Foster; (c) Robert Turnbull (Australia, guest), ‘Using Large Language Models for Analysing Arabic Versions of the New Testament’; Respondent: Tommy Wasserman (Norway).

9. 9. Jewish Law in NT and Related Literature (conveners: Bernadette Brooten and Lutz Doering): (a) Adele Reinhartz (Canada), ‘Law and Authority in Johannine Rhetoric’; (b) Anders Runesson (Norway), ‘Jewish Law and Jesus Followers in First-Century Synagogues: The Politics of Matthew’; (c) Lutz Doering (Germany), ‘Torah in the Synoptic Gospels: Patterns, Forms, and Functions of Its Reception’.

The Business Meetings

At the two business meetings of the Society, members formally elected Prof. Cilliers Breytenbach (Germany/South Africa) to the post of President for the 79th General Meeting in Regensburg, Germany in 2025 (until which time he assumes the office of President-Elect). Additionally, the Committee nominated Prof. Adele Reinhartz (Canada) to serve as President at the 80th General Meeting in Durham, England in 2026. She is the Presidential Nominee until the 2025 General Meeting in Regensburg, when her nomination will be put to the vote by the Society.

Profs. Bernardo Estrada (Columbia) and Moises Mayordomo (Switzerland), who retired from the Committee at the conclusion of the General Meeting, were thanked for their service to the Society. Profs. Matthias Konradt (Germany) and David Horrell (UK) were elected as their replacements and will serve on the Committee for a period of three years.

The Society received with regret news of the deaths of the following (former) members: Lamar Cope (USA, February 2023); Veronica Koperski (USA, February 2023); Benedict Thomas Viviano (USA, May 2023); David Balch (USA, June 2023); Roy A. Harrisville (USA, July 2023); Giuseppe Ghiberti (Italy, September 2023); Robert A. Kraft (USA, September 2023); David Sim (Australia, September 2023); Dale B. Martin (USA, November 2023) Gay L. Byron (USA, December 2023); Michael Knibb (UK, December 2023); Leander E. Keck (USA, January 2024); Norman R. Petersen, Jr (USA, March 2024); Timothy Reinhart (UK, April 2024); Paul-Hubert Poirier (Canada, May 2024); J. Keith Elliott (UK, June 2024); M. Eugene Boring (USA, June 2024); and Elaine Wainwright (Australia, July 2024). Members observed a minute’s silence in memory of these colleagues.

Fifty-five New Testament scholars were elected as members to the Society at the 2024 General Meeting: Olubiyi Adeniyi Adewale; Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh; Guido Baltes; François Batuafe Ngole; Katell Berthelot; Clarissa Breu; Denise Kimber Buell; Kampotela Luc Bulundwe; Holly J. Carey; Silvia Castelli; David Cielontko; Jonathan Cornillon; Channing L. Crisler; Tom de Bruin; Bryan R. Dyer; Aliyah El Mansy; Dion A. Forster; Hans Förster; Courtney Friesen; John Goodrich; Marion Christina Hauck; Jane Heath; Jan Heilmann; Katja Hess; Susan E. Hylen; Matthew D. Jensen; Jeremiah J. Johnston; Kyu Seop Kim; Marcin Kowalski; Karin Lehmeier; Lehel Lészai; Priscille Marschall; Luca Marulli; Jacob P. B. Mortensen; Laurențiu Florentin Moț; Gift Mtukwa; Marius Johannes Nel; Sara Parks; Madison Pierce; Michael Pope; James B. Prothro; Jan Roskovec; Thomas Schumacher; Konrad Schwarz; Julia Snyder; Carlos Raúl Sosa Siliézar; Christoph Stenschke; Andrea Taschl-Erber; Johnson Thomaskutty; Thomas Tops; Ekaterini (Aikaterini) G. Tsalampouni; Nadine Ueberschaer; Emiliano Rubens Urciuoli; Christopher B. Zeichmann; and Lorne Robert Zelyck.

An additional eighteen Associate Members were also elected to SNTS membership: Grace Wing-Yi Au; Cristian Daniel Cardozo Mindiola; J. Thomas Hewitt; Katherine M. Hockey; Viktor Kókai-Nagy; Karol Kulpa; Maurizio Marcheselli; Manuel Nägele; Nicole Oesterreich; Ferdinand Okorie; Andrew Patton; Annalisa Phillips Wilson; Stefano Salemi; Vitor Hugo Schell; Zacharias Shoukry; Vladan Tatalovic; Abeneazer G. Urga; and Carolin Ziethe.

After the election of these new members, Assistant Secretary, Prof. Christina M. Kreinecker, invited full members to nominate new members (up to two in each category) and reminded the membership of the possibility of nominating guests to participate at General Meetings. Further information on these procedures may be found on the Society’s website at https://snts.online/membership.

The Treasurer, Prof. Paul Foster (UK), spoke to his circulated report and the statement of accounts for the year ending on 31 May 2024. Due to the cyber-attack on Cambridge University Press, details on this year’s membership fees were still pending. The members present at the Business Meeting received his report.

The Assistant Secretary for International Initiatives, Prof. Gerbern Oegema, spoke to his circulated report and highlighted various aspects therein. He also reported from the successful preconference organised by the Asian-Pacific Liaison Committee, which had benefited from the Society’s increase in sponsorships at last year’s General Meeting in Vienna. He expressed his gratitude to his predecessor, Prof. William Loader, and to all chairs of the Liaison Committees. Reports from Liaison Committees and their activities can also be found online on the Society’s webpage (https://snts.online/about-international-initiatives).

The Editor of New Testament Studies and Secretary to the Editorial Board, Prof. Teresa Morgan, offered a summary of a circulated report regarding the activity of the journal over the course of the past year. She highlighted various aspects therein and thanked her predecessor, Prof. Simon Gathercole. The average length of turnarounds for articles stands at 45 days and 40 days for short reports. Most submissions were made in English, including by scholars whose first language is not English. Scholars whose first language is German currently have the highest acceptance rate. To make submissions in German and French more attractive again, the possibility of a longer abstract in English will be employed. Submissions and publications of contributions by female scholars are in line with recent years, with a slightly higher rate last year.

Prof. Catrin Williams, General Editor of the Monograph Series, offered a summary of a circulated report regarding the positive progress of the book series. Over the course of the past year, two volumes were published. The number of monographs by female scholars was still low, with one recently accepted for publication. Since last year, submissions were down (from twenty-five last year to eighteen this year). The turnaround for submissions has significantly improved.

At the First Business Meeting, Prof. Barclay, the Past President, reminded the Society that a Statement of Professional Conduct was agreed upon at the 76^th General Meeting in Leuven in 2022. Subsequently, the Committee created a sub-committee to work on a procedure for handling reported cases. In Melbourne, the Committee agreed to circulate the procedure produced by the sub-committee before all members of the Society in the regular autumn communication from the Secretary, along with an invitation to offer comments and raise concerns by 1 March 2025. A final version of the procedure will be voted upon in Regensburg. The Past President thanked the sub-committee and its chair, President Verheyden, for their work. At the initial Business Meeting, Past President Barclay also reminded the Society that a request had been made of the Society in Vienna to consider the environmental impact of the Society’s gatherings. This request was followed on by a letter to the Committee, which was supported by several members and non-members of the Society. In response, the Committee decided to establish a sub-committee chaired by President Standhartinger to consider these matters and to report to the Committee at the General Meeting in Regensburg next year.

Near the close of the Second Business Meeting, Prof. Tobias Nicklas and colleagues from the Local Organising Committee invited Society members to attend the 79^th General Meeting of SNTS in Regensburg on 5–8 August 2025. Additionally, it was reported that the Committee had received a formal invitation from Durham University (UK) to host the 80^th General Meeting of SNTS from 28–31 July 2026 and that it would recommend the Society accept this gracious invitation in principle, noting that full details would follow in due course and that a presentation would be made at next year’s meeting in Regensburg. The membership accepted, with gratitude, Durham’s invitation.

As President Standhartinger concluded the Second Business Meeting, she thanked all of those who had presented Main Papers, Short Papers, and Seminar Papers, as well as those who served as panellists and as conveners of the Seminars. She also expressed appreci-ation, on behalf of the Society, to the Committee, the Officers, and the Editors of the Society. Gratitude was also expressed to the local conference organisers, stewards and volunteers for a very successful 78^th General Meeting in Melbourne, even as gifts were given to them as a token of the Society’s appreciation.

Social Events

Various social events were held each evening, including a jazz performance (led by SNTS member Con Campbell on saxophone) and a gala dinner at the Melbourne Arts Centre. Two Saturday excursions were held, one along the Great Ocean Road to view the monolithic structures known as the Twelve Apostles and another to tour the Mornington Peninsula and wineries.

Additional Meetings

On Tuesday, 23 July, a meeting was held for new members and those attending a meeting for the first time. This relatively informal meeting encouraged about twenty-five new members and first-time participants to attend the General Meetings regularly and to become contributors to the Society. In addition, the female delegates’ lunch was held on Thursday, 25 July, during lunchtime.

Future General Meetings

The Society will meet in Regensburg, Germany, 5–8 August 2025 and in Durham, England, 28–31 July 2026.

SNTS Website

For matters and news pertaining to the Society, see https://snts.online.

Todd D. Still, Secretary

Committee Members and Officers for 2024–25