Texts, Language, and Style in Biblical Literature, the Semitic Literatures of the Ancient Near East, and Post-Biblical Literature
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 May 2026 | Viewed by 142
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Hebrew Bible and ancient near east; biblical poetry; Ugaritic literature; biblical wisdom literature; Rabbinic literature
2. Kay Academic College of Education, Beer-Sheva 8414401, Israel
Interests: the language of Ben Sira; biblical Hebrew; the language of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Rabbinic Hebrew; the Aramaic language
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a call for papers for a Special Issue devoted to the study of: Texts, Language, and Style in biblical literature, the Semitic literature of the Ancient Near East, and post-biblical literature. This issue seeks contributions that examine the correspondences and divergences between biblical texts and stylistic models and those of the Semitic literary corpus, with particular emphasis on Northwest Semitic traditions, highlighting developments and offering interpretive insights. Additionally, the issue welcomes studies on the interactions between the Bible and post-biblical literature—especially rabbinic writings and the Book of Ben Sira—as well as on the Aramaic translations of the Bible, focusing on transformations prompted by theological and exegetical concerns. We invite submissions that approach these topics from diverse methodological, linguistic, and theoretical perspectives.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Content, linguistic, and stylistic affinities between the religious texts from Ugarit and biblical Hebrew literature;
- Connections between the Aramaic proverbs of Ahikar and the didactic wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible;
- Similarities and differences between the Book of Ben Sira and biblical literature in terms of content and language;
- The efforts of biblical scribes to obscure pagan elements in ancient Near Eastern texts they adapted or incorporated;
- The Sages’ (Ḥazal’s) engagement with theological problems in the Bible;
- Theological Modifications in the Aramaic Translations of the Hebrew Bible.
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor (Chelsey Chen, chelsey.chen@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Shamir Yona
Dr. Haim Dihi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- biblical Hebrew
- Aramaic
- Ben Sira
- Rabbinic Hebrew
- wisdom literature
- Ugaritic literature
- stylistic patterns
- myth
- epic
- polemical texts
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