Our theme for the Biblical Hebrew Poetry session is Lions, Leopards, Bears from the Forest and the Thickets of the Jordan: Nature Imagery and Images in Biblical Hebrew Poetry. This session will be devoted to showcasing this exciting new project and involving collaboration between researchers of natural sciences, iconographers, and biblical scholars. On our program: Mark Boda, presiding; Dalit Rom-Shiloni introducing the project and a film interview with Israeli botanists and a zoologist, Yoel Melamed, Uzi Paz, and Avi Shmida; Classist: Anna Angelini; Iconographers: Sanna Saari and Izaak de Hulster; and a response by a biblical scholar: Carol Dempsey; followed by plenty of time for open floor discussion. Please, join us!
Program
Mark Boda, McMaster Divinity College, Presiding
Dalit Rom-Shiloni, Tel Aviv University
The DNI Bible project (Dictionary of Nature Imagery of the Bible): An Introduction (20 min)
Predators in the Thickets. A Film Interview with Botanists and Zoologists in Israel (Prof. Avi Shmida, Hebrew University, Dr. Yoel Melamed; Bar Ilan University; Dr. Uzi Paz, Beit Berl College) (25 min)
Anna Angelini, University of Lausanne
“Like a Lion from the Thickets of the Jordan”: The Lexicon of Feline Carnivores in Biblical Traditions (25 min)
Break (5 min)
Sanna Saari, University of Helsinki and Izaak J. de Hulster, Helsingin Yliopisto – Helsingfors Universitet
Large Predators in Israel: A Material Culture Perspective (25 min)
Carol Dempsey, University of Portland
“Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!”: Responding from the “Thickets” (25 min)
Discussion (25 min)
