God’s Word Questioned: Biblical Criticism and Scriptural Authority in the Dutch Golden Age Utrecht, 30 August- 1 September 2012

Academiegebouw Domplein 29, 3512 JE Utrecht (030) 253 8259

THURSDAY, 30 AUGUST 2012: PHILOLOGY

9: 00-9:45: Coffee, tea

Opening

9:45-10:00: Henk Nellen An Outline of Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age, I: The First Half of the Century

10:00-10:15 Piet Steenbakkers An Outline of Biblical Criticism in the Dutch Golden Age, II: The Second Half of the Century

1. Philology I: Greek and Latin Scholars

10:30-11:00 Grantley McDonald Erasmus, the Johannine Comma and the Politics of Biblical Scholarship

11:00-11:30: Coffee break

11:30-12:00: Ralph Häfner Biblical Poetry and the Challenge of Biblical Criticism in the Early Seventeenth Century

12:00-12:30: Dirk van Miert The Janus Face of Scaliger’s Heritage: Heinsius and Grotius

12:30-13:00: Jan Krans Stronger than Fiction. The ‘Velesian Readings’ of the Greek New Testament

13:00-14:30: Lunch

2. Philology II: Hebrew scholars

14:30-15:00 Irene Zwiep and David Kromhout The Jewish Bible in the Seventeenth Century

15:00-15:30 Theodor Dunkelgrün The Biblia Hebraica (1666-67) of Joseph Athias and Johannes Leusden

15:30-16:00 Tea break

16:00-16:30: Jason Rosenblatt John Selden Distributes What Condenses: a Case Study of Rabbinic Exegesis of Scripture

16:30-17:00 Martin Mulsow Johann Ernst Gerhard’s Oriental Studies and Dutch Biblical Scholarship

19:00: Conference dinner

FRIDAY, 31 AUGUST: AND SPINOZISTS

9: 00-9:30: Coffee, tea

3. Orthodox Calvinists versus Remonstrant Latitudinarians

9:30-10:00: Aza Goudriaan Views on the Bible and the World in Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676)

10:00-10:30 Kestutis Daugirdas The Biblical Hermeneutics of Philipp van Limborch and its Historical Challenges

10:30-11:00: Coffee break

11:00-11:30: Keith Stanglin Inspiration and Authority of Scripture in and Etienne de Courcelles

11:30-12:00 Jetze Touber Cocceian Biblical Studies in the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century

12:00-13:30 Lunch

4. Spinoza

13:30-14:00 Pierre-François Moreau Spinoza et le Tractatus theologico-politicus: problèmes et controverses

14:00-14:30 Theo Verbeek Chapter 7 of the Tractatus theologico-politicus: What is it all about?

14:30-16:00 2 hour break

16:00-17:30: Pick up and drive to Amsterdam, Nieuwmarkt

17:30-19:30: Dinner (at own costs) near Nieuwmarkt (it is advisable to start ordering dinner between 17:45 and 18:00).

20:00-22:30: Friday Evening: Public Lectures

Spinoza’s critique on God’s Word: Bashing the Bible?

Venue: Trippenhuis (address: Kloveniersburgwal 29, Amsterdam; close to Nieuwmarkt Square) Chair: Wijnand Mijnhardt (director Descartes Centre Utrecht)

20:00-20:30: Anthony Grafton Spinoza’s Hermeneutics: Some Heretical Thoughts?

20:45-21:15: Jonathan Israel Did Spinoza Declare War on Theology and Theologians?

21:15-21:45: Audience discussion

21:45-22:00: Book presentation

Isaac Vossius (1618-1689) between Science and Scholarship, eds Eric Jorink and Dirk van Miert Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History 214, and Boston (Brill) 2012

22:00: Drinks

SATURDAY, 1 SEPTEMBER: LATER SCHOLARSHIP

9: 00-9:30 Coffee, tea

5. Late Seventeenth-Century Biblical Scholarship

9:30-10:00 Scott Mandelbrote Anthonie van Dale (1638-1708) and the Authority of the Septuagint

10:00-10:30 Jonathan Sheehan Scripture against Christianity: Hobbes, Theology, and the Martyrs

10:30-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-11:30 Luisa Simonutti Locke’s Biblical Hermeneutics on Bodily Resurrection

11:30-12:00 Maria Cristina Pitassi Bayle, the Bible and the Remonstrant Tradition

12:00-13:30: Lunch

13:30-14:00 Jean Bernier Pierre Bayle and Bible Scholarship

14:00-14:30 Tea break

6. Early Eighteenth-Century Biblical Scholarship

14:30-15:00: Bernd Roling The Limits of Scepticism: Johann Scheuchzer (1672-1733) and his Followers on Dutch Biblical Criticism

15:00-15:30: Geert Lernout Richard Bentley’s Proposed Edition of the Bible

Closure

15:30-16:00 Henk Nellen and Piet Steenbakkers Today’s Last Words on God’s Word

16:00-17:00 Drinks