The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...

dedicated to the academic study of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

and related ancient literature. Its current stated mission is to "foster biblical scholarship". Membership is open to the public and consists of over 8,300 individuals from over 100 countries. As a scholarly organization, SBL has been a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies since 1929.

History

Calvin Stowe, husband of novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, was in the 1830's Professor of Biblical Literature at the innovative Lane Seminary, at the time one of the nation's leading seminaries. The eight founders of the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis first met to discuss their new society in

Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Biography Schaff was born ...

's study in New York City in January 1880. In June the group had their first Annual Meeting with eighteen people in attendance. The new society drew up a constitution and by-laws and discussed several papers. Membership dues were set at three dollars. By the end of the year, membership had grown to forty-five and publication of the meeting proceedings were in the planning stages. The ''

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). First published in 1881, ''JBL'' is the flagship journal of the field. ''JBL'' is published quarterly and incl ...

'' (''JBL'') was launched the following year. The SBL was not the first association dedicated to biblical studies in North America, but it was the first that was interdenominational. The thirty-two founding members of SBL in 1880 even included a Unitarian, Ezra Abbott. The society's development was contemporary with increasing interest in

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

studies. The society shortened its name to ''Society of Biblical Literature'' in 1962.

Publications

The Society of Biblical Literature has published the flagship ''

'' since 1881. In addition it publishes the journal ''Review of Biblical Literature''. It publishes literature under the imprint SBL Press". ''The SBL Handbook of Style'' is a style manual specifically for the field of ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies. ''The SBL Handbook of Style'' includes a recommended standard format for abbreviation of primary sources in Ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies. ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (16th ed.) refers writers to ''The SBL Handbook'' "for authoritative guidance". The "Student Supplement" is downloadable, and also contain recommendations for

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

standards. In 2011 the society was awarded a $300,000 grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

to produce ''Bible Odyssey'', "an interactive website that brings nonsectarian biblical scholarship to the general public". In 2016, the Society of Biblical Literature published a jobs report in conjunction with the American Academy of Religion that provided employment data from the 2014–15 academic year.

Annual meeting

One of the most important functions of the Society of Biblical Literature, is hosting the Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is hosted in the United States and attended by the majority of SBL membership. The meeting includes presentation of research, voting on business matters of the society, workshops & seminars, a vendor floor and more. The Meeting consists of "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."

Regional and international meetings

In addition to the annual meeting, multiple regional and an international meeting are held each year. Regional meetings consist of scholars in a geographic area within North America who promote biblical scholarship on a local level. Each region is coordinated by a scholar within the region and regions promote "Regional Scholars", to recognize outstanding scholars in the area. Society of Biblical Literature regions include: Central States, Eastern Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, New England & Eastern Canada, Pacific Coast, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains & Great Plains, Southeastern, Southwestern and Upper Midwest. The International Meeting is held annually in a location outside of North America specifically for scholars located out of the region.

Presidents

* 1880–1887 Daniel Raynes Goodwin * 1887–1889 Frederic Gardiner * 1889–1890 Francis Brown * 1890–1891 Charles A. Briggs * 1891–1894 Talbot W. Chambers * 1894–1895 J. Henry Thayer * 1895–1896 Francis Brown * 1896–1897 Edward T. Bartlett * 1898–1899 George F. Moore * 1900 John P. Peters * 1901 Edward Y. Hincks * 1902 Benjamin W. Bacon * 1903 Richard J. H. Gottheil * 1904 Willis J. Beecher * 1905

William Rainey Harper William Rainey Harper (July 24, 1856 – January 10, 1906) was an American academic leader, an accomplished semiticist, and Baptist clergyman. Harper helped to establish both the University of Chicago and Bradley University and served as the ...

* 1906 Paul Haupt * 1907

James Hardy Ropes James Hardy Ropes (September 3, 1866January 7, 1933) was an American theologian. He graduated from Harvard College in 1889 and was an instructor there from 1895 to 1898 and an assistant professor until 1903. Ropes was then appointed the Bussey Pro ...

* 1908 Frank Chamberlain Porter * 1909 Henry Preserved Smith * 1910 David G. Lyon * 1911

Ernest de Witt Burton Ernest DeWitt Burton (February 4, 1856 – May 26, 1925) was an American biblical scholar and president of the University of Chicago. Biography Burton was born in Granville, Ohio and graduated from Denison University in 1876. After graduating ...

* 1912 Lewis B. Paton * 1913 George A. Barton * 1914

Nathaniel Schmidt Nathaniel Schmidt (May 22, 1862 – June 29, 1939) of Ithaca, New York, was a Swedish-American Baptist minister, Christian Hebraist, orientalist, professor, theologian, and progressive Democrat. Background Schmidt was born at Hudiksvall Munic ...

* 1915 Charles Cutler Torrey * 1916 Morris Jastrow Jr. * 1917 Warren J. Moulton * 1918 James A. Montgomery * 1919 Edgar J. Goodspeed * 1920 Albert T. Clay * 1921 Kemper Fullerton * 1922 William R. Arnold * 1923 Max L. Margolis * 1924 Clayton R. Bowen * 1925 Julius A. Bewer * 1926

Shirley Jackson Case Shirley Jackson Case (1872–1947) was an historian of early Christianity, and a liberal theologian. He served as dean of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago. Biography Case was born on September 28, 1872, in Hatfield Point, New Bru ...

* 1927 Irving F. Wood * 1928 Loring Woart Batten * 1929 James E. Frame * 1930 William Frederic Badè * 1931 Burton Scott Easton * 1932 J. M. Powis Smith * 1933

James Moffatt James Moffatt (4 July 1870, Glasgow – 27 June 1944, New York City) was a Scottish theologian and graduate of the University of Glasgow. Moffatt trained at the Free Church College, Glasgow, and was a practising minister at the United Free Ch ...

* 1934 Frederick C. Grant * 1935

Elihu Grant Elihu Grant (1873 – November 2, 1942) was an American scholar and writer on Palestine. Grant was ordained Methodist minister in 1900, and between 1901 and 1904 he was superintendent of the American Friends Schools in Ramallah and Jerusa ...

* 1936 Henry J. Cadbury * 1937 George Dahl * 1938 William Henry Paine Hatch * 1939 W. F. Albright * 1940 Chester C. McCown * 1941

Julian Morgenstern Julian Morgenstern (March 18, 1881 – December 4, 1976) was a Jewish-American rabbi, Bible scholar, and president of Hebrew Union College. Life Morgenstern was born on March 18, 1881 in St. Francisville, Illinois, the son of Samuel Morgenstern ...

* 1942–1943

Kirsopp Lake Kirsopp Lake (7 April 187210 November 1946) was an English New Testament scholar, Church historian, Greek Palaeographer, and Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School. He had an uncommon breadth of interests. His ma ...

* 1944

Theophile James Meek A scholar at the University of Toronto, Theophile James Meek (1881–1966) published widely on archaeology, corresponded with Wm. F. Albright, and was a frequent contributor to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' on subjects related to the archaeology ...

* 1945 Morton Scott Enslin * 1946 Leroy Waterman * 1947

Ernest Cadman Colwell Ernest Cadman Colwell (19 January 1901 – 24 September 1974) was an American biblical scholar, textual critic and palaeographer. Life After graduating from Emory College and Candler School of Theology, Colwell earned a Ph.D. in the Department o ...

* 1948 John W. Flight * 1949 Floyd V. Filson * 1950 Robert H. Pfeiffer * 1951 Erwin R. Goodenough * 1952 Sheldon H. Blank * 1953 S. Vernon McCasland * 1954 Millar Burrows * 1955 Amos N. Wilder * 1956 J. Philip Hyatt * 1957 Sherman E. Johnson * 1958 William A. Irwin * 1959 Robert M. Grant * 1960 R. B. Y. Scott * 1961 Samuel Sandmel * 1962 Herbert G. May * 1963 John Knox * 1964 Fred V. Winnett * 1965 Kenneth W. Clark * 1966 John L. McKenzie * 1967 Paul Schubert * 1968

James Muilenburg James Muilenburg (1 June 1896 – 10 May 1974) was a pioneer in the field of rhetorical criticism of the Old Testament. Muilenburg was born in Orange City, Iowa, and studied at Hope College, the University of Nebraska, and Yale University. He taug ...

* 1969 Frank W. Beare * 1970 Harry M. Orlinsky * 1971

Bruce M. Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the ...

* 1972 Walter J. Harrelson * 1973

Norman Perrin Norman Perrin (29 November 1920 – 25 November 1976) was an English-born, American biblical scholar at the University of Chicago. Perrin specialized in the study of the New Testament, and was internationally known for his work on the teachin ...

* 1974

Frank Moore Cross Frank Moore Cross Jr. (1921–2012) was the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus at Harvard University, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, his 1973 ''magnum opus'' ''Canaanite Myth and ...

* 1975

Robert W. Funk Robert W. Funk (July 18, 1926 – September 3, 2005) was an American biblical scholar, founder of the Jesus Seminar and the nonprofit Westar Institute in Santa Rosa, California. Funk sought to promote research and education on what he called biblic ...

* 1976

David Noel Freedman David Noel Freedman (May 12, 1922 – April 8, 2008) was an American biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and, after his conversion from Judaism, a Presbyterian minister. He was one of the first Americans to work on the Dead Sea Scroll ...

* 1977

Raymond E. Brown Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was regarded as a specialist concerning the hypothetical "Johannine community", which he speculated contributed to the a ...

* 1978 James A. Sanders * 1979 Joseph A. Fitzmyer * 1980 Bernhard Anderson * 1981 James M. Robinson * 1982 Lou H. Silberman * 1983

Krister Stendahl Krister Olofson Stendahl (21 April 1921 – 15 April 2008) was a Swedish theologian, New Testament scholar, and Church of Sweden Bishop of Stockholm. He also served as dean, professor, and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School. Life S ...

* 1984 Roland E. Murphy * 1985 Wayne A. Meeks * 1986 James L. Mays * 1987

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (born 1938) is a Romanian-born German, Roman Catholic feminist theologian, who is currently the Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. Life She was born Elisabeth Schüssler on 17 April ...

* 1988 Philip J. King * 1989 Paul J. Achtemeier * 1990

Walter Brueggemann Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...

* 1991

Helmut Koester Helmut Heinrich Koester (December 18, 1926 – January 1, 2016) was an American scholar who specialized in the New Testament and early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. His research was primarily in the areas of New Testament interpretati ...

* 1992 Norman K. Gottwald * 1993 Victor P. Furnish * 1994

Phyllis Trible Phyllis Trible (born October 25, 1932) is a feminist biblical scholar from Richmond, Virginia, United States. Trible's works centres on the Hebrew Bible, and is considered by some in her field as a prominent influence on feminist biblical interpr ...

* 1995 Leander E. Keck * 1996 Gene M. Tucker * 1997

Hans Dieter Betz Hans Dieter Betz (born 21 May 1931, Lemgo, Germany) is an American scholar of the New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of Chicago. He has made influential contributions to research on Paul's Letter to the Galatians, the Sermon on ...

* 1998 Patrick D. Miller * 1999 D. Moody Smith * 2000

Adele Berlin Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. Berlin is best known for 1994 work ''Poet ...

* 2001 Harold W. Attridge * 2002 John J. Collins * 2003 Eldon Jay Epp * 2004 David L. Petersen * 2005 Carolyn Osiek * 2006

Robert Kraft Robert Kenneth Kraft (born June 5, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper and packaging, sports and entertainment ...

* 2007 Katharine Doob Sakenfeld * 2008

Jonathan Z. Smith Jonathan Zittell Smith (November 21, 1938 – December 30, 2017), also known as J. Z. Smith, was an American historian of religions. He was based at the University of Chicago for most of his career. His research includes work on such diverse ...

* 2009 David J. A. Clines * 2010 Vincent L. Wimbush * 2011 Carol Newsom * 2012

John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan (born 17 February 1934) is an Irish-American New Testament scholar, historian of early Christianity, former Catholic priest who was a prominent member of the Jesus Seminar, and emeritus professor at DePaul University. His res ...

* 2013

Carol Meyers Carol Lyons Meyers (born 1942) is an American feminist biblical scholar. She is the Mary Grace Wilson Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at Duke University. Meyers' field of research is focused on biblical studies, archaeology in the Middle ...

* 2014 Fernando Segovia * 2015 Athalya Brenner-Idan * 2016 Beverly Gaventa * 2017

Michael V. Fox Michael V. Fox (born 1940) is an American biblical scholar. He is a Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus in the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Fox has been described as a "highly regarded authority ...

* 2018 Brian K. Blount * 2019 Gale A. Yee * 2020

Adele Reinhartz Adele Reinhartz (born 1953) is a Canadian academic and a specialist in the history and literature of Christianity and Judaism in the Greco-Roman period, the Gospel of John, early Jewish–Christian relations, literary criticism including femini ...

Administrative officers

Secretary * 1880–1883 Frederic Gardiner * 1883–1889 Hinckley G. Mitchell Recording Secretary * 1889–1890 Charles Rufus Brown * 1890–1915 William H. Cobb * 1916–1933 Henry J. Cadbury * 1934–1946 John W. Flight * 1947–1950 Kenneth W. Clark * 1951–1952

Louise Pettibone Smith Louise Pettibone Smith (1887–1981) was an American biblical scholar, professor, translator, author and social activist. She was the first woman published in the ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' in 1917. She later became chair of the American Co ...

* 1953–1961 Charles F. Kraft * 1961 ('' pro tempore'') * 1962–1963 Kendrick Grobel Executive Secretary * 1964–1965 Kendrick Grobel * 1965 Richard T. Mead (''pro tempore'') * 1966 Lawrence E. Toombs * 1967 Walter J. Harrelson * 1968–1974

* 1975–1976 George W. MacRae * 1977–1980 Paul J. Achtemeier * 1981–1987 Kent Harold Richards Executive Director * 1987–1995 David Lull * 1995–2010 Kent Harold Richards * 2010–present John F. Kutsko

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

* *
Society of Biblical Literature
in the American Council of Learned Societies directory. Updated September 15, 2008. {{authority control Ancient Near East organizations Biblical exegesis Biblical studies organizations Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies Organizations established in 1880