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Prof. Joseph SIEVERS

foto Prof. Sievers

Degrees

1966-71 Universität Wien. “Dissertantenprüfung” in Jewish Studies.

1972-81Columbia University. New York. Ancient History and Jewish Studies M.A. (1973); M.Phil. (1976); Ph.D. (1981).

1988-91 Pontifical Lateran University. Bachelor in Theology.

1991-97Pontifical Gregorian University. Licentiate in Fundamental Theology.  

Other Studies

1968-69 Istituto Internazionale Mystici Corporis, Loppiano (Firenze, Italy): Religious studies.

Summer 71 Hebrew University, Jerusalem: Intensive modern Hebrew.

1973-74 Jewish Theological Seminary, New York: Talmud courses.        

Teaching Positions

1991-Pontifical Biblical Institute:
(“Professore ordinario di storia e letteratura giudaica del periodo ellenistico” [Professor of Jewish History and Literature of the Hellenistic Period] 2007-; Associate Professor 1997-2007; Lector 1994-97; “Professore Invitato” 1991-94).

1998Pontifical Institute Ratisbonne, Jerusalem.

1996Pontifical Lateran University, Rome.

1989-96Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, Rome.

1989-94Teresianum. Pontificio Istituto di Spiritualità, Rome.

1988-98Istituto Internazionale Mystici Corporis, Loppiano (Florence).

1988-89Pontificia Università Urbaniana, Rome.

1984Fordham University, New York City, Department of Theology.

1983-84Queensborough Community College, CUNY, New York, History Department.

1975-83Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ. Departments of Judaeo-Christian Studies
and Religious Studies.

1974-75Queens College, CUNY, New York, History Department.

Administrative Position

2003-2009Pontifical Gregorian University. Director of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies

Professional Activities

2010-Journal of Jewish Studies.  Member of Editorial Advisory Board.

2008-Rivista Biblica. Member of Advisory Board.

2008-Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Consultor

2006-Henoch: Studies in Judaism and Christianity from Second Temple to Late Antiquity. Member of Advisory Board.

2005-Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations. Member of Editorial Board.

1998-Society of Biblical Literature. Josephus Seminar. Member of the Steering Committee.

1996-Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism. Member of the Advisory Board.

1995-2001SIDIC Association (Service international de documentation Judéo-Chrétienne). Member, Board of Directors.

1995-Biblica. Member of the Editorial Board.

1994-Nuova Umanità. Member of the Editorial Board.

1994-2000SIDIC (Journal) “Advisory editor”.

1993-Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period. Member of the Editorial Board.

1991-94Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Giudaismo. Member, Board of Directors.

Fellowships and Awards

2010-11Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Visiting Professor.

2005-2006Hebrew University, Faculty of Humanities, Visiting Scholar.

2002Wolfson College, Oxford University. Elected Visiting Scholar.

1983National Endowment for the Humanities. Seminar for College Teachers:
“The Greek Encounter with Judaism in the Hellenistic Period”. Director: Prof. L. Feldman.

1982-83New York University. Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

1974-75B. Z. Goldberg Fellowship of Columbia University.

1973-74Columbia University. President’s Fellowship.

1967-76Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes Fellowship.

Memberships

  • Associazione Biblica Italiana
  • Associazione Italiana per lo Studio del Giudaismo
  • Catholic Biblical Association
  • European Association for Jewish Studies
  • Society of Biblical Literature

Publications

Books written or edited

  1. The Hasmoneans and Their Supporters: From Mattathias to the Death of John Hyrcanus I (University of South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism  6), Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1990.
  2. Josephus and the History of the Greco-Roman Period: Essays in Memory of Morton Smith ed. by Fausto Parente and Joseph Sievers, Leiden: Brill, 1994.
  3. Good and Evil After Auschwitz: Ethical Implications for Today, ed. by Jack Bemporad, John T. Pawlikowski, and Joseph Sievers (Hoboken, NJ: KTAV, 2000 [2001]).
  4. Synopsis of the Greek Sources for the Hasmonean Period: 1-2 Maccabees and Josephus, War 1 and Antiquities 12-14 (Subsidia Biblica 20; Roma: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 2001).
  5. Josephus and Jewish History in Flavian Rome and Beyond, ed. by Joseph Sievers and Gaia Lembi (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 104; Leiden: Brill, 2005).
  6. Chiesa ed Ebraismo oggi: Percorsi fatti, questioni aperte, ed. by Norbert J. Hofmann, Joseph Sievers, and Maurizio Mottolese (Roma: Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana, 2005).
  7. The Catholic Church and the Jewish People: Recent Reflections from Rome,  ed. by Philip A. Cunningham, Norbert J. Hofmann, S.D.B., and Joseph Sievers (New York: Fordham University Press, 2007 (English edition of #6).
  8. Christ Jesus and the Jewish People Today: New Explorations of Theological Interrelationships, ed. by Philip A. Cunningham, Joseph Sievers, Mary Boys, Hans Hermann Henrix, and Jesper Svartvik, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, and Gregorian and Biblical Press: Rome, 2011.

Articles (partial listing)

  • “‘Where Two or Three. . .’ The Rabbinic Concept of Shekhinah and Matthew 18:20” in Standing Before God ed. by A. Finkel and L. Frizzell (New York: Ktav, 1981) pp. 171-182. Translated into French and Italian. Reprinted  in SIDIC 17 (1984) 4-10 and in The Jewish Roots of Christian Liturgy ed. by  E. Fisher (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1990) pp. 47-61.
  • “Jonathan Aristobulus III and Hasmonean Names” Israel Numismatic Journal 8 (1984-85) 7-8.
  • “Antiochus IV-XII”, Encyclopaedia Iranica Vol. 2 (London/Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul) 1986, pp. 128-135 (available at http://www.iranica.com/newsite/ ).
  • “Heidentum” (in jüdischer Sicht) Theologische Realenzyklopädie Vol. 14 (Berlin/New York: De Gruyter 1986) pp. 601-605.
  • “The Role of Women in the Hasmonean Dynasty”, Josephus, the Bible, and History, ed. by Louis H. Feldman and Gohei Hata (Detroit: Wayne State University Press 1989) 132-146 (transl. also into Japanese).
  • “Gesù di Nazaret - visto da ebrei di oggi” Nuova Umanità 64/65 (1989) 125-136 (Republished as “Gesù e l’ebraismo” Unità e Carismi 6, 1996, 33-38).
  • “Shalom: L’invocazione di pace nel giudaismo” Rivista di vita spiri­tuale 44 (1990) 477-493.
  • “Chi erano i farisei?” Nuova Umanità 75/76 (maggio-agosto 1991) 53-68.
  • “Amore divino in alcune religioni non cristiane” Nuova Umanità 91 (1994) 71-92.
  • “The Many Faces of Judaic Studies in Rome,” SIDIC 27,3 (1994) 12-16. Also in French, reprinted in Yod: Revue des études hébraïques et juives modernes et contemporaines  n.s. 1-2 (1995-96) 233-240.
  • “Jerusalem, the Akra, and Josephus,” in Josephus and the History of the Greco-Roman Period: Essays in Memory of Morton Smith ed. by Fausto Parente and Joseph Sievers, Leiden: Brill, 1994, pp. 195-209.
  • “‘Aiutare Dio’: Riflessioni su vita e pensiero di Etty Hillesum,” Nuova Umanità 17,3-4 (1995) 113-127. (English translation: “‘To Help God’ - Reflections on the Life and Thought of Etty Hillesum,” SIDIC 28,3 [1995] 9-16).
  • “4QMMT: Riflessioni in margine a un ‘nuovo’ testo di Qumran,” Materia giudaica: bollettino dell’associazione italiana per lo studio del giudaismo, 1996, 7-9.
  • “Il culto e la liturgia nel giudaismo antico,” Dizionario di Spiritualità Biblico-Patristica Vol. 12 Culto divino - Liturgia, Rome: Borla 1996, pp. 64-79.
  • “Herodes,” “Herodianer,” “Herodion,” “Hohepriester II. (Frühjudentum)” in Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, Band V. Freiburg: Herder, 1996, col. 14-16, 221-223.
  • “Lo status socio-religioso dei proseliti e dei timorati di Dio” Ricerche storico-bibliche 8 (1996) 183-196.
  • “Individual Conversions to Judaism in Late Antiquity: Reconsidering the Epigraphic Evidence,” Dimensioni e problemi della ricerca storica 2.1996, 35-42.
  • “Who Were the Pharisees?” in J. H. Charlesworth (ed.), Hillel and Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997, 137-155.
  • “A History of the Interpretation of Romans 11:29,” Annali di storia dell’esegesi 14 (1997) 381-442.
  • “Gesù di Nazaret visto da scrittori ebrei del XX secolo,” Tertium Millennium 1,5 (November 1997) 48-53.
  • “‘God’s Gifts and Call are Irrevocable’: The Interpretation of Rom 11:29 and Its Uses,” Society of Biblical Literature 1997 Seminar Papers, Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997, pp. 337-357.
  • “Gesù, gli esseni e la reincarnazione,” Religioni e Sette nel mondo 3,2 (June 1997) 37-49.
  • “Josephus und die Zeit ‘zwischen den Testamenten,’” Bibel und Kirche 53,2 (1998) 61-66.
  • “Aussagen des Josephus zu Unsterblichkeit und Leben nach dem Tod,” in Internationales Josephus-Kolloquium Münster 1997 ed. F. Siegert - J.U. Kalms (Münsteraner Judaistische Studien 2), Münster: Lit, 1998, pp.  78-92.
  • “Good and Evil After Auschwitz: Ethical Implications for Today. Eine internationale Tagung an der Gregoriana in Rom vom 22.-25- September 1997”, Dialog der Religionen 8 (1998) 115-117.
  • “Quale rapporto con gli ebrei?” (interview) Gen’s: Rivista di vita ecclesiale 28, 6 (Nov.-Dic. 1998) 181-188.
  • “Josephus and the Afterlife,” in Understanding Josephus: Seven Perspectives ed. Steve Mason (JSPSup 32; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998) 20-34.
  • “Michea figlio di Imla e la profezia in Flavio Giuseppe,” Ricerche Storico Bibliche 11,1 (1999) 97-105.
  • “Flavio Giuseppe: Progetti di edizioni, traduzioni e commentari,” materia giudaica: bollettino dell’associazione italiana per lo studio del giudaismo 5 (1999) 8-12.
  • “Responsabilità e potere del maschio ebreo,” in Il Maschile a due voci: Il padre, il figlio, l’amico, lo sposo, il prete, ed Giulia Paola Di Nicola and Attilio Danese (Lecce: Piero Manni, 1999) 32-38, 161.
  • “New Resources for the Study of Josephus,” Society of Biblical Literature 1999 Seminar Papers, Atlanta: SBL, 1999, 264-271.
  • “«God’s Gifts and Call are Irrevocable»: The Reception of Romans 11:29 through the Centuries and Christian-Jewish Relations,” in Reading Israel in Romans: Legitimacy and Plausibility of Divergent Interpretations, ed. Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000) 127-73 (cf. Patte’s response, ibid. 225-45 and Boyarin’s epilogue, pp. 249-50).
  • “Hasmoneans” in Dictionary of New Testament Background ed. Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000) 438-442.
  • “Josephus, First Maccabees, Sparta, the Three haireseis—and Cicero,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 32 (2001) 241-251.
  • “Judaísmo y cristianismo a través de los rollos del Mar Muerto,” Cuadernos de Teologia 20 (2001) 37-54.
  • “Mariam di Nazareth,” Città Nuova, vol. 47 issue 19 (October 10, 2003) 52-55.
  • “Second Temple Judaism and Nascent Christianity Seen Through the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Electrum 7 (2003) 9-24.
  • “¿Quien era Fariseo?” in Ecumenismo y Dialogo interreligioso en Argentina : En el camino del tercer milenio (2000-2003), ed. Comision Episcopal de Ecumenismo, Relaciones con el Judaismo, el Islam, y las Religiones (Buenos Aires: Ciudad Nueva, 2004), 69-93.
  • “Espiritualidades Judía y Cristiana: ¿Caminos Diferentes, Metas Semejantes?” in Ecumenismo y Dialogo interreligioso en Argentina : En el camino del tercer milenio (2000-2003), ed. Comision Episcopal de Ecumenismo, Relaciones con el Judaismo, el Islam, y las Religiones (Buenos Aires: Ciudad Nueva, 2004), 51-68.
  • “Flavio Josefo y su relato en la historia del segundo templo: Percepciones y fuentes,” Revista Bíblica (Buenos Aires) 66 (2004) 215-235.
  • “La Torah in Flavio Giuseppe,” Ricerche Storico Bibliche 16 (2004) 231-244.
  • “Smith, Morton,” Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition, ed. Lindsay Jones(Detroit/New York: Thomson Gale/Macmillan Reference USA, 2005) 12:8448-50.
  • “Spiritualità ebraiche e spiritualità cristiane: percorsi diversi – mete comuni?” Nuova Umanità 27,3-4 (2005) 589-604.
  • “What’s in a Name? Antiochus in Josephus’ Bellum Judaicum,” Journal of Jewish Studies 56 (2005) 34-47.
  • “‘Wo zwei oder drei …’: Der rabbinische Begriff der Schechina und Matthäus 18,20,” das prisma: Beiträge zur Pastoral, Katechese & Theologie 17,1 (2005) 18-29.
  • “Giovanni Paolo II e i rapporti ebreo-cristiani,” in Karol Wojtyla, un Pontefice in diretta: Sfida e incanto nel rapporto tra Giovanni Paolo II e la tv, ed. Mauro Mazza (Rome: RAI Eri, 2006), 187-190.
  • “How Irrevocable? Interpreting Romans 11:29 from the Church Fathers to the Second Vatican Council,” Gregorianum 87 (2006) 748-761.
  • “The Ancient Lists of Contents of Josephus’ Antiquities” in Studies in Josephus and the Varieties of Ancient Judaism. Louis H. Feldman Jubilee Volume. Ed. Shaye J.D. Cohen and Joshua J. Schwartz (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 271-292.
  • “Vittoria nel martirio e vittoria con la spada: aspetti della violenza nella tradizione maccabaica” Ricerche storico-bibliche 20,1-2 (2008) 81-94.
  • “Herod, Josephus, and Laqueur: a Reconsideration,” in Herod and Augustus: Papers Held at the IJS Conference, 21st–23rd June 2005, ed. David Jacobson – Nikos Kokkinos, Leiden: Brill, 2009, 83-112.
  • “Learning About Ourselves While Learning About Each Other: Proposals for Jewish and Catholic Education,” by Lawrence H. Schiffman and Joseph Sievers, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations 4,1 (2009) (http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol4/iss1/15).
  • “Alexander Balas,” “Alexander Zabinas,” “Andronicus (1-3),” Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, vol. 1 (2009).
  •  “Maccabei, Libri dei” in Temi Teologici della Bibbia, a cura di Romano Penna, Giacomo Perego e Gianfranco Ravasi, Edizioni San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo, MI, 2010, 780-786.
  • “Etappen, Erfolge und Schwierigkeiten im katholisch-jüdischen Dialog,” Revista Ecumenică Sibiu 2,1 (2010) 55-68.
  • “Hasmoneans”, The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, ed. John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010, 705-709.
  • “Bacchides,” Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, vol. 2 (forthcoming).
  • “Der jüdische Jesus. Jesusbücher jüdischer Autoren im 20. Jahrhundert,” Revista Ecumenică Sibiu  3,1 (2011) 115-129.
  • “Forgotten Aspects of the Reception of Josephus’ Bellum Judaicum: Its Lists of Contents” in Kanon in Konstruktion Und Dekonstruktion: Ein Handbuch, ed. Eve-Marie Becker (Berlin: De Gruyter, forthcoming).
  • Sussidio per la Giornata per l’approfondimento e lo sviluppo del dialogo tra cattolici ed ebrei su “«Onora tuo padre e tua madre » (Esodo 20, 12)”.
  • “Chi era un fariseo? Un approccio prosopografico,” (forthcoming in Polish).

Book Reviews (partial listing)

  1. Bezalel Bar-Kochva, Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle Against the Seleucids, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Shofar 9 (1991) 140-143.
  2. Scot McKnight, A Light Among the Gentiles: Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991). AJS Review 18 (1993) 300-303.
  3. Angelika Strotmann, »Mein Vater bist Du! (Sir 51,10):  Zur Bedeutung der Vaterschaft Gottes in kanonischen und nichtkanonischen frühjüdischen Schriften (Frankfurter Theologische Studien 39) Frankfurt: Knecht, 1991.Biblica 74,3 (1993) 420-423.
  4. Louis. H. Feldman, Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).Biblica 76 (1995) 277-281.
  5. Elisha Qimron and John Strugnell, with contributions by Y. Sussmann and A. Yardeni, Qumran Cave 4 · V: Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Torah (Discoveries in the Judaean Desert · X) Oxford: Clarendon Press 1994. Biblica 77 (1996) 289-293.
  6. John M. G. Barclay, Jews in the Mediterranean Diaspora from Alexander to Trajan (323 BCE - 117 CE) Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1996. Biblica 79 (1998)138-141.
  7. James S. McLaren, Turbulent Times? Josephus and Scholarship on Judaea in the First Century C.E. (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Suppl. 29), Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998. Journal of Biblical Literature 119 (2000) 586-588.
  8. Edmondo F. Lupieri, L’Apocalisse di Giovanni (Scrittori Greci e Latini), Milano: Fondazione Lorenzo Valla - A. Mondadori Editore, 1999, Rivista di Storia e Letteratura Religiosa 36 (2000) 487-489.
  9. Nikos Kokkinos, The Herodian Dynasty: Origins, Role in Society and Eclipse (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Suppl. 30; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998). Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 32 (2001) 101-105.
  10. Miriam Pucci Ben Zeev, Jewish Rights in the Roman World: The Greek and Roman Documents Quoted by Josephus Flavius (TSAJ 74; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998). Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 32 (2001) 337-340.
  11. Christopher Begg, Josephus’ Story of the Later Monarchy (AJ 9,1 – 10,185), (BETL 145; Leuven University Press/Uitgeverij Peeters, Leuven 2000) Rivista Biblica 50 (2002) 473-475.
  12. Ombretta Pisano, La radice e la stirpe di David: Salmi davidici nel libro dell’Apocalisse (Tesi Gregoriana Serie Teologia 85, Editrice Pontificia Università Gregoriana, Roma 2002) Rivista Biblica 51 (2003) 356-359; SIDIC 36 (2003) 58-60 (English edition), 57-59 (French edition).
  13. Jonathan Edmondson, Steve Mason, and James Rives (eds.), Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome, Oxford, Oxford University Press 2005, xvi, 400 pp, Journal for the Study of Judaism 37 (2006) 429-431.
  14. Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud. A Translation and Commentary. 22 vols. with CD-ROM (Peabody, Mass. : Hendrickson, 2005) Gregorianum 87 (2006) 876-878.
  15. Étienne Nodet, La crise maccabéenne : Historiographie juive et traditions bibliques ; Préface de Marie Françoise Baslez (Collection « Josèphe et son temps » 6; Paris: Cerf, 2005) X + 446 pp,  Biblica 88,4 (2007) 590-593.
  16. Mary C. Boys, Has God Only One Blessing : Judaism as a Source of Christian Self-Understanding (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2000) vi + 393 pp. The Heythrop Journal 48,4 (2007) 651-653.
  17. Tamar Landau, Out-Heroding Herod. Josephus, Rhetoric, and the Herod Narratives (Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity 63; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2006) xiv + 266 pp. Journal of Hellenic Studies 127 (2007) 202-203.
  18. Flavius Josèphe, Les antiquités juives. IV. Livres VIII-IX, établissement du texte, traduction et notes par Étienne Nodet (Paris : Les Éditions du Cerf, 2005), LXXXII + 209 +208* pp. Gregorianum 89,3 (2008).
  19. H. Frankemölle, Frühjudentum und Urchristentum. Vorgeschichte – Verlauf – Auswirkungen (4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. bis 4. Jahrhundert n. Chr.) (Studienbücher Theologie 5; Kohlhammer, Stuttgart, 2006), in Biblica 90 (2009) 144-147.

Dissertations directed

  • Vasile Babota, The Institution of the Hasmonean High Priesthood (Rome, Pontifical Biblical Institute, 2010).
  • Marco Rossetti, Giuseppe negli scritti di Qumran: Studio sulla figura del patriarca a partire da 4Q372 1 (Rome, Pontifical Biblical Institute, 2006). Revised version published as Giuseppe negli scritti di Qumran. La figura del patriarca a partire da 4Q372 1 (Roma: LAS, 2007).
  • Maria Brutti, L’evoluzione del sommo sacerdozio di età preasmonaica (301-152 a.C.) (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University, 2004) published as The Development of the High Priesthood during the pre-Hasmonean Period: History, Ideology, Theology (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 108; Leiden: Brill, 2006).
  • Henryk Drawnel, The Aramaic Levi Autobiography (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 2003); published as An Aramaic Wisdom Text: A New Interpretation of the Levi Document (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 86; Leiden: Brill, 2004).
  • Emanuela Zurli, La giustificazione “solo per grazia” negli scritti di Qumran (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University; Istituto di Scienze Religiose, 2002), published Napoli: Chirico, 2003.
  • Federico M. Colautti, La Pascua en Flavio Josefo (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University, 2001); published as Passover in the Work of Josephus (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 75; Leiden: Brill, 2002).
  • Norbert J. Hofmann, Die Assumptio Mosis: Studien zur Rezeption massgültiger Überlieferung (Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University, 1999); published under the same title in Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 67; Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Personal Data

  • Born in Recklinghausen, Germany in 1948
  • Member of the Focolare Movement since 1965
  • Ordained (R. C. Diocese of Münster), June 11, 2000
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