REPORT OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING
OF THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL ASSOCIATION OF
The seventy-first international
meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association of America was held August 2-5,
2008, at
Sessions on Sunday, August 3
Five task forces and seven continuing seminars met simultaneously each day from 9:00 to 10:45 A.M. The task forces included: "The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation: Talking of Collectivistic `Persons’" (convener: Bruce J. Malina; core group members in attendance: David M. Bossman, O.F.M.; Richard J. Cassidy; Patrick J. Hartin; Marie Noel Keller, R.S.M.; Jerome H. Neyrey, S.J.; John J. Pilch; Kenneth G. Stenstrup); "Feminist Hermeneutics" (co-conveners: Barbara E. Reid, O.P., and Damien L. Dietlein, O.S.B.; core group members in attendance: Mary Ann Beavis; Don C. Benjamin; Mary Rose D’Angelo; Carol Dempsey, O.P.; Linda M. Maloney; Sheila E. McGinn; Lai Ling E. Ngan; Mary Margaret Pazdan. O.P.); "Biblical Hermeneutics: Aesthetics and the Bible" (convener: Jean-François Racine; core group members in attendance: Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.; Linda M. Day; Gina Hens-Piazza; David Penchansky; John J. Schmitt; Sandra M. Schneiders, I.H.M; Peter Spitaler); "Pauline Theology" (co-conveners: Mary Kate Birge, S.S.J., and Gregory Tatum, O.P.; core group members in attendance: Alexander J. Burke, Jr.; Florence Gillman; Terrence Keegan, O.P.; Richard C. Macey; Frank J. Matera; Kevin B. McCruden; Maria Pascuzzi, C.S.J.; Thomas D. Stegman, S.J.; Benedict T. Viviano, O.P.; Ronald Witherup, S.S.); "The Fourth Gospel and the Old Testament" (convener: Francis Martin; core group members in attendance: Jaime Clark-Soles; Michael Allen Daise; Charles G. Kosanke, S.S.; William S. Kurz, S.J.; Andrew L. Minto; George T. Montague, S.M.; Bruce G. Schuchard; William M. Wright IV).
The continuing seminars and their respective leaders studied: "The Hebrew Poetry of Psalms 115-118" (Lawrence E. Boadt, C.S.P., and Joseph F. Wimmer, O.S.A.); "The Formation of the Gospels" (Thomas L. Brodie, O.P.); "Biblical Issues in Jewish and Christian Relations: The Land" (John J. Clabeaux and Philip A. Cunningham); "Scripture in Early Jewish and Christian Literature: The Watchers" (Angela Kim Harkins and John C. Endres, S.J.); "Divinity in Ancient Israel" (John L. McLaughlin); "The Bible in Its Tradition" (Justin Taylor, S.M., and Olivier-Thomas Venard, O.P.); "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" (Peter S. Williamson and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.).
The morning concluded with papers presented in simultaneous sessions by Katherine M. Hayes, "`A Spirit of Deep Sleep’: Divinely Induced Delusion in Isaiah 1-39," and Séamus O’Connell, "Into the Desert: The Dynamics of Exclusion in the Gospel of Mark."
Most Reverend Richard J. Sklba,
Auxiliary Bishop of
Four sessions of research reports during the afternoon heard the following papers delivered: Timothy M. Willis, “Did David Have `Rest'?”; Blažej Štrba, “Eleazar Installs Joshua”; Benedict T. Viviano, O.P., “Making Sense of the Matthew Genealogy and Structure”; Charles A. Bobertz, “Ritual within Narrative: An Interpretive Clue to the Apologetic Structure of Mark's Gospel”; Florence Morgan Gillman, “John's Martyrdom: A Death without Vindication (Mark 6:27)”; Earl J. Richard, “The Markan Purpose: A Look at Five Recent Commentaries”; Robert Doran, “The Persecution of Judea by Antiochus IV: The Significance of patrios nomos”; Rudolph H. Dornemann, “Tell Qarqur, the 2008 Season of Excavations”; Frank J. Matera, “Reflection on Writing a New Testament Theology”; Mark A. Matson, “The Third Person Imperative and the Our Father”; Mark Kiley, ”Roman Legends and the Genre of Luke-Acts”; Peter Spitaler, “A Negative Pauline Anthropology--What Good Is It?”; Michael W. Duggan, “Nehemiah's Repeal of Debt Slavery: Social Justice in an Exclusive Community? (Neh 5:1-13)”; Dale Launderville, O.S.B., “Interiorization of Yhwh's Instruction in Yehud”; Christopher T. Rupert, S.J., “John's Good News Well Bound”; Jennifer Wright Knust, “The Strange Case of the Missing Adulteress”; Thomas L. Brodie, O.P., “New Testament Use of the LXX and the Increasing Difficulty of Writing a Life of Paul”; Ernest M. Ezeogu, C.S.Sp., “To Go or Not to Go? The Quest for the Literal Meaning of Poreuthentes in Matt 28:19”; Robert A. Kugler, “Philotas Contests the Loss of His Fiancée: Juridical Hybridity in Ptolemaic Egypt”; Henry Ansgar Kelly, “The Envious Diabolos Who Brought Death in the World (Wis 2:24): Cain, not Satan”; Gregory Tatum, O.P., “Galatians 2/Acts 15 and Paul's Ministry in 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians”; Vincent Skemp, “Does Paul Refer to Christ's Death as Sacrifice in 1 Cor 5:7?” John Granger Cook, “Trajan, the Christians, the lex Puteoli, and Revelation”
The evening general session featured a paper by Emil A. Wcela, “What's Catholic about a Catholic Translation of the Bible?”
Sessions on Monday, August 4
Thomas D. Stegman, S.J., was the presider and homilist at the 7:00 A.M. Eucharistic liturgy. Members of the association who died during the previous year were commemorated at the liturgy: Marie Therese Archambault, O.S.F.; Virgil Cordano, O.F.M.; John J. Dennehy; David N. Freedman; Joan Gormley; Mary Timothy McHatten, O.P.; Thomas A. Hoffman, S.J.; Placidus Riley, O.S.B., and John Strugnell.
The task forces and continuing seminars resumed their work in the morning. Two simultaneous sessions then heard presentations by Stephen L. Cook, “The Isaiah School, The Pentateuch's Aaronide Source, and Their Shared Theology of Reverence”; and Richard J. Cassidy, “The Portrayal of Peter in the Gospels of Matthew and John: A Narrative Critical Perspective.”
Maria Pascuzzi, C.S.J., presided and Peter S. Williamson gave the homily at our midday prayer. Members of the association who died during the previous year were again commemorated at the liturgy.
Two
sessions of research reports during the afternoon heard the following papers
delivered: Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., “American Catholic Biblical
Scholarship and Its Contributions to Today's Research”; Gregory Y. Glazov, “Exploring the Text-Critical Value of the KQ
Variation via Prov 20:16 and the Latter's Interrelationship with Proverbs 5-6”;
Joan E. Cook, S.C., “Malachi,
the Teacher-Prophet”; David L. Dungan, “Recent Trends in
Understanding the Christian Scripture Selection Process”; Marie Noonan Sabin, “Reading Scripture
so as to Exclude the Jews”; Geoffrey D.
Miller, “Intertextuality or Inner-Biblical Exegesis? The Status
Quaestionis”; Gary A. Anderson,
“Tobit as Righteous Sufferer”; Sheila E. McGinn, “E-gesis & the Sensus Fidelium: Internet
Interpretations as the New Norma non
Normata”; Kathleen E. Corley,
“Funerary Rituals, Women and Christian Origins”; Paul Danove, “The Three-fold Interpretation of Specific Passive
Occurrences of Verbs of Transference.”
CBA president Jerome H. Neyrey, S.J., called the annual business meeting to order at 4:00 P.M. Richard J. Sklba gave the report of the chair of the Board of Trustees on the financial situation of the association. Lawrence E. Boadt, C.S.P., treasurer of the association, then presented the treasurer's report, previously distributed to the members present.
Joseph Jensen, O.S.B., gave
the report of the executive secretary. He began by reporting that
the legal dispute with the USCCB regarding royalties on the NAB has not yet
been resolved. As a result, because it is currently unclear what
percentage of the royalties the CBA will be receiving in the future,
the Executive Board was forced to make the difficult decision to
curtail grants radically until this matter is resolved. The Executive Board therefore voted in favor
of the following grants: (a) CBA Fellowships for Linda M. Day and Anathea E.
Portier-Young ($20,000 each); (b) Visiting Professorships for Joan E. Cook to
the PBI and Michael A. Daise to the Ecole Biblique ($20,000 plus travel to
each); (c) $9,000 for the dig at Tell Mozan/Urkesh; (d) $12,000 for the dig at
Tell Qarqur; and (e) $5,000 (a tithe of membership dues) for famine relief. The
board also voted to increase the stipend for candidates receiving CBA
scholarships from $12,500 to $15,500. The board voted to discontinue
subscription for members to the CSSR Bulletin.
The board named
Daniel J. Harrington to the Board of Trustees and nominated Irene Nowell,
O.S.B. to the Committee on Nominations.
The association will
meet in 2009, through the good offices of Dennis M. Hamm, S.J., at Creighton
University, Omaha (August 1-4), and in 2010, through the good offices of
William J. Fulco, S.J., at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles (July
31-August 2).
The board decided that incoming President Kathleen M. O’Connor should appoint a committee to look into possible changes in time and locations for our meetings.
Linda M. Day gave the report of the editor of the CBQ.
In the absence of Christopher T. Begg, Joseph Jensen, O.S.B., gave the report of the editor of OTA. The February and June issues, 2008, OTA have appeared. They contain a total of 937 journal or collected essay abstracts and 186 book abstracts. The report concluded with an appeal for new abstractors for OTA (“Questionnaire for Potential Abstractors” available on request).
Mark S. Smith gave the report of
the editor of CBQMS. The report began with the
happy announcement that CBQMS volume 40, The Origins of the West Semitic
Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts, by Gordon J. Hamilton, received its second
award in two years. Last year it was
awarded the Frank Moore Cross Award for scholarly research and publication by
the American Schools of Oriental Research.
This year Hamilton’s CBQMS volume was the recipient of the R. B. Y.
Scott award, given by the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies for an outstanding
book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the ancient Near East.
This year saw the publication of CBQMS 43,
Roman Imperial Ideology and the Gospel of John, by Lance Byron Richey. Just before the CBA meeting at Fordham, CBQMS
44 appeared. The volume is entitled Studies in the Greek Bible: Essays in Honor
of Francis T. Gignac, S.J. Remarks were offered by the editors, Jeremy
Corley and Vince Skemp, two scholars who had studied with Gignac at the Catholic University of America. Gignac’s service to the CBA, in particular
his work on behalf of the New Testament NAB, was noted. Frank Gignac was on hand for the
presentation. After accepting a copy of
the volume, Gignac offered his warm thanks.
Following this presentation, it was
announced that CBQMS 45 is in production.
This is David Bosworth’s The Story within a Story in Biblical Hebrew
Narrative, a study of how the stories of Genesis 38, 1 Samuel 25 and 1
Kings 13 constitute stories within the larger stories and how these three
smaller stories reflect and illuminate their larger narrative contexts.
Smith announced that serious inquiries
continue to be made. He also mentioned
that at our meeting last year, the matter about distribution of the CBQMS in
Smith’s report ended with thanks to the
editorial board for its work on behalf of the series, to the Executive
Secretary for his help, and finally, to the membership of the CBA for its
support.
Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M., reported for the Committee on Credentials.
The list of candidates for membership in the association was not read, since it had been available to the members throughout the meeting. In the name of the committee, Di Lella moved the election of the following candidates:
For Active Membership:
Christian M. Brady
Bogdan G. Bucur
Scott M. Carl
Michael S. Donahou
Renate Egger-Wenzel
Casey D. Elledge
Juraj Feník
Shawn W. Flynn
Timothy C. Gray
Richard G. Henning
Don Anton S. P.
Hettiarachchige
George P. Heyman
Vahan S. Hovhanessian
Dariusz A. Iwanski
L. Ann Jervis
Shabu Joseph, S.D.B.
Joel S. Kaminsky
John (Sean) K. Maher
Hellen Mardaga
Petr Marecek
Larry D. McCormick
Françoise Mirguet
Rodrigo J. Morales
Gregg S. Morrison
Dinh Anh Nhue Nguyen,
O.F.M.Conv.
V. Henry T. Nguyen
Gustavo J. Nieto,
I.V.E.
Eugen J. Pentiuc
Ahida E. Pilarski
Jeremy Schipper
Sarah Shectman
Long P. Vu, O.F.M.
For Associate Membership:
Michael G. Azar
John R. Barker,
O.F.M.
Joshua E. Burns
Elizabeth K. Cahill
Agnes Choi
Reba V. D'Costa,
R.N.D.M.
Phillip W. Dennis
Roy A. Fischer
John K. Freiland
Anthony Giambrone,
O.P.
Corinna Y. Guerrero
Patrick F. Hardiman
Jeffrey P. Hudon
Mark J. Hunt
Eric R. Jensen
Catherine M. Jones
Amanda M. Kunder
Nathan P. LaMontagne
Darren R. Miner
Curtis J. Mitch
Kelly J. Murphy
Angela C. Rasmussen
Nancy L. Rogers
Lina Rong, M.S.O.L.
H. Arlene Ross
Joe L. Ruiz, C.S.C.
Paul J. Sander
Anthony P. SooHoo,
S.J.
Kevin Stephens, O.P.
Michelle K. Weber
The candidates were accepted by unanimous voice vote.
Frank J. Matera reported for the Committee on Nominations. The following slate of candidates was proposed: President: Kathleen M. O’Connor.; Vice President: Sandra M. Schneiders, I.H.M.; Executive Secretary: Joseph Jensen, O.S.B.; Treasurer: Lawrence E. Boadt, C.S.P.; General Editor of CBQ (second term), Linda M. Day; Consultors, 2008-2010: Dennis M. Hamm, S.J., and Richard J. Dillon; Associate Editors of CBQ: for a first term: Ellen B. Aitken; James C. Okoye; J. Ross Wagner; Ziony Zevit; for a second term: Mary Ann Beavis; C. Clifton Black; David Carr; Sheila E. McGinn; David Penchansky; Committee on Nominations: Irene Nowell, O.S.B. The membership elected the slate by unanimous voice vote.
For the Committee on Resolutions, Harry W. Attridge offered the following resolution: Resolved that the Catholic Biblical Association, gathered for its seventy-first international meeting at Fordham University, Bronx, express its deep appreciation and heartfelt thanks to the President, faculty, and staff of Fordham University, and its local arrangements committee, particularly Harry P. Nasuti and Regina Plunkett-Dowling, for their warm hospitality and efficient organization of this year’s outstanding meeting of the CBA. The membership approved the resolution with a resounding ovation.
Under new business President Neyrey proposed a resolution that the CBA continue to subscribe to RSR for its members, reminding them that the Executive Board urged a vote against the proposal. The proposal was rejected.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 P.M.
The general session in the evening heard Ronald D. Witherup, S.S., on “Raymond Brown and the Question of `Catholic' Exegesis: The Contribution of a Legacy.”
Sessions on Tuesday, August 6
Richard J. Dillon, S.J., was the presider and homilist for the Eucharistic liturgy at 7:00 A.M.
The task forces and continuing seminars resumed their work in the morning. Two simultaneous sessions followed: Anathea Portier-Young, “Languages of Identity and Obligation: Daniel as Bilingual Book”; Mary Rose D'Angelo “Revisiting Rome: Resistance and Accommodation in the Beginnings of Christianity.”
The following CBA members and invited guests were in attendance at the meeting;
Akpunonu, Peter
Albl, Martin
Alderman, Isaac
Anderson, Gary A.
Anderson, Kelly
Aringo, Margaret, F.S.J.
Attridge, Harold W., Jr.
Ayers, Steve
Azar, Michael G.
Bales, William
Banks, Jennifer A.
Bartelt, Andrew H.
Beavis, Mary Ann
Bellinger, William H.
Benjamin, Don C.
Bergant, Dianne, C.S.A.
Berquist, Jon L.
Betancourt, Juan, S.E.M.V.
Binz, Stephen, J.
Birge, Mary Kate, S.S.J.
Black, Clinton C., II
Boadt,
Bobertz, Charles A.
Boisclair,
Bonneau, Normand R., O.M.I.
Bossman, David, O.F.M.
Boucher, Madeline
Brady, Christian M.
Brady, Patrick J.
Brien, Mary T., P.B.V.M.
Brodie, Thomas L., O.P.
Bucur, Bogdan G.
Bunta, Silviu N.
Calamia, Joseph
Carmody, Timothy R.
Carruth, Shawn, O.S.B.
Carvalho, Corrine
Cassidy, Richard J.
Castles, Patrick, J.
Chavez, Emilio G.
Chesnutt, Randall D.
Christofferson, Hans
Clabeaux, John J.
Cody, Aelred, O.S.B.
Collins, John J.
Conroy, John T., Jr.
Cook, Joan E., S.C.
Cook, John
Cook, Stephen L.
Corgan, Carol H.
Corley, Kathleen E.
Corley,Thomas (Jeremy)
Corzine, Robert
Czander, Giovanna R.
Daise, Michael A.
D’Angelo, Mary Rose
Danove, Paul
Day, Linda M.
Decker-Lucke, Shirley
Dempsey, Carol J., O.P.
Dennis, Philip W.
Diaz, Edgar
Dietlein, Damian L.
Di Lella, Alexander A., O.F.M.
Dillon, Richard J.
Donahue, John R., S.J.
Doran, Robert
Dornemann, Rudolph H.
Doutre, John J., O.C.S.O.
Downs, David J.
Duggan, Michael W.
Dungan, David L.
Dwyer, Peter
Ernest, James
Endres, John C., S.J.
Ewherido, Anthony O.
Ezeogu, Ernest, M., C.S.Sp.
Finlan, Stephen, M.
Flynn, Shawn W.
Frechette, Christopher, S.J.
Freiland, John K.
Frein, Brigid Curtin
Fry, Anne-Marie
Gadenz, Pablo T.
Galvin, Garrett M., O.F.M.
Gerstenschlager, Burke
Gerth, Judy
Gilchrist, John, J.
Gillman,
Girard, Marc
Glazov, Gregory Y.
Haak, Robert D.
Hagan, Harry, O.S.B.
Halton, Violet
Hamilton, Gordon
J.
Harkins, Angela Kim
Harmon, Bradley
Harrill, J. Albert
Harrington, Daniel J., S.J.
Harris, Scott
Hartin, Patrick
Hayes, Katherine M.
Healy, Mary E.
Henning, Richard G.
Hens-Piazza, Gina
Heyman, George P.
Höck, Andreas
Hogan, Karina M.
Hull, Michael F.
Humphrey, Hugh M.
Hunt, Mark J.
Irvin, Dorothy
Jackson, John R.
Jensen, Joseph E.
Jensen, Joseph, O.S.B.
Johnson, Pamela
Kalita, Thomas M.
Kaltner, John
Kealy, Sean, C.S.Sp.
Keegan, Terence J., O.P.
Keller, Marie Noel, R.S.M.
Kelly, Henry Ansgar
Kerrigan, Michael
Kiley, Mark
Kinney, James R.
Kleemans, Machiel
Knust, Jennifer W,
Koduvalil, Bobby
Koester, Craig R.
Kolarcik, Michael F., S.J.
Kosanke, Charles G.
Kugler, Robert A.
Kurz, William S., S.J.
Lair, Gerard P., O.S.B.
Launderville, Dale, O.S.B.
Legarreta, Felipe
Lewis, Scott M., S.J.
Lillie, Betty Jane, S.C.
Macey, Richard C.
Macumber, Heather L.
Magee, Michael K.
Malina, Bruce J.
Maloney, C, Elliot, O.S.B.
Maloney, Linda M.
Maluf, Leonard
Mandell, Sara R.
Martin, Francis
Mason, Eric F.
Matson, Mark A.
Mazich, Edward M., O.S.B.
Mccarthy, David P.
Mccormick, Larry D.
Mccruden, Kevin B.
McDougal, Russell K., C.S.C.
McGinn, Sheila E.
McKenzie, Steven L.
McLaughlin, John L.
McLinden, Marion, O.P.
Meier, John P.
Miles, Pamela H.
Miller, Geoff D.
Miller, William T., S.J.
Miner, Darren R.
Minto, Andrew L.
Mitch, Curtis J.
Montague, George T., S.M.
Morrison, Craig E., O.Carm.
Morrow, Ernest
Morrow, William S.
Morton, Russell
Murphy, Nicole Smith
Myers, Allen C.
Nasuti, Harry P.
Navarre, Nanette M.
Neyrey, Jerome H., S.J.
Ngan, Lai ling E.
Niskanen, Paul
O’Connor, Kathleen M.
Okoye, James C., C.S.Sp.
Oleary, Anne M., P.Bv.M.
O’Mahony, Kieran, O.S.A.
Orlov, Andrei A.
O’Toole, Robert F.
Parr, Charles James
Pascuzzi, Maria, C.S.J.
Patella, Michael, O.S.B.
Pazdan, Mary Margaret, O.P.
Pentiuc, Eugen J.
Perkins, Pheme
Perrotta, Kevin F.
Petrany, Catherine E.
Pilarski, Ahida E.
Pilch, John J.
Plunkett-Dowling,
Polich, James C.
Portalatin, Antonio
Portier-Young, Anathea E.
Racine, Jean Francois
Rafferty, Gerard
Ralph, Margaret N.
Rappe, Donald J.
Reid, Barbara E., O.P.
Reisinger, Joan H.
Richard, Earl J.
Rogers, Nancy L.
Rong, Linda, M.S.O.L.
Ruiz, Joe L., C.S.C
Rupert, Christopher T., S.J.
Russell, Patrick J.
Ryan, Stephen D., O.P.
Sabin, Marie F.
Sander, Paul J.
Schaub, Marilyn
Schaub, Thomas R.
Schipper, Jeremy
Schmitt, John J.
Schuchard, Bruce G.
Schuller, Eileen M., O.S.U.
Share, Kenneth
Singer-Towns, Brian
Skemp, Vincent
Sklba, Richard J.
Sloyan, Gerard S.
Smiga, George M.
Smiles, Vincent M.
Smith, David W.
Smith, Mark S.
Sperry, Mary E.
Spitaler, Peter
Stachow, Mary Ann C., S.B.S.
Stegman, Thomas D., S.J.
Stenstrup, Kenneth G.
Štrba, Blažej F.
Taggart, Linda S.
Tatum, Gregory, O.P.
Taylor, Justin, S.M.
Tyler, Ronald L.
Venard, Oliver-Thomas, O.P.
Viviano, Benedict, O.P.
Viviano, Pauline A.
Wcela, Emil A.
Weckert, Paul M., O.S.B.
West, James E.
White, Maylyn Ellen
Wiley, Tatha
Williamson, Peter S.
Willis, Timothy M.
Wimmer, Donald H.
Wimmer, Joseph F., O.S.B.
Witherup, Ronald D., S.S.
Wright, William M., IV
Wrzesinski, Laura
Yang, Seung A.
Zanchettin, Leo R.
Zhang, Wenxi