Institute

The goal of the Institute of Old Testament Studies is the research and exegesis of the writings of the Old Testament. This first part of the biblical canon of the catholic church is also the Hebrew bible of Jewry and its (extended) Greek version. The broad discipline comprises biblical languages, methods and hermeneutics of text interpretation, (social and religous) history, archaeology, reception history, old testament and biblical theology. The institute gives a special focus to gender related questions in all aspects of its research. The interpretatory context includes current questions in society and the church as well as ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, above all with the Jewish faith.

The research profile of the institute is shaped substantially by biblical gender research, explicitly including questions of reception history. The project "The bible and women" has to be mentioned especially. The methodic approaches practices at the department range from classical historical-critical methods over linguistic and literary studies to contextual exegesis and perspectrives of reception history.

Please refer to the pages of the members of the institute for individual research foci.