The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mission is to "foster biblical scholarship". Membership is open to the public and consists of over 8,300 individuals from over 100 countries. As a scholarly organization, SBL has been a constituent society of the

American Council of Learned Societies American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

since 1929.

History

Calvin Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theolo ...

, husband of novelist

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

, was in the 1830's Professor of Biblical Literature at the innovative

Lane Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood ...

, at the time one of the nation's leading seminaries. The eight founders of the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis first met to discuss their new society in Philip Schaff's study in New York City in January 1880. In June the group had their first Annual Meeting with eighteen people in attendance. The new society drew up a constitution and by-laws and discussed several papers. Membership dues were set at three dollars. By the end of the year, membership had grown to forty-five and publication of the meeting proceedings were in the planning stages. The '' Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') was launched the following year. The SBL was not the first association dedicated to biblical studies in North America, but it was the first that was interdenominational. The thirty-two founding members of SBL in 1880 even included a Unitarian, Ezra Abbott. The society's development was contemporary with increasing interest in Ancient Near East studies. The society shortened its name to ''Society of Biblical Literature'' in 1962.

Publications

The Society of Biblical Literature has published the flagship '' Journal of Biblical Literature'' since 1881. In addition it publishes the journal ''Review of Biblical Literature''. It publishes literature under the imprint SBL Press". ''The SBL Handbook of Style'' is a style manual specifically for the field of ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies. ''The SBL Handbook of Style'' includes a recommended standard format for abbreviation of primary sources in Ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies. ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (16th ed.) refers writers to ''The SBL Handbook'' "for authoritative guidance". The "Student Supplement" is downloadable, and also contain recommendations for transliteration standards. In 2011 the society was awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to produce ''Bible Odyssey'', "an interactive website that brings nonsectarian biblical scholarship to the general public". In 2016, the Society of Biblical Literature published a jobs report in conjunction with the

American Academy of Religion The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world's largest association of scholarly method, scholars in the List of academic disciplines, field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a profes ...

that provided employment data from the 2014–15 academic year.

Annual meeting

One of the most important functions of the Society of Biblical Literature, is hosting the Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is hosted in the United States and attended by the majority of SBL membership. The meeting includes presentation of research, voting on business matters of the society, workshops & seminars, a vendor floor and more. The Meeting consists of "more than 1,200 academic sessions, and workshops, along with one of the world's largest exhibits of books and digital resources for biblical studies, the Annual Meetings is one of the largest events of the year in the fields of biblical scholarship, religious studies and theology."

Regional and international meetings

In addition to the annual meeting, multiple regional and an international meeting are held each year. Regional meetings consist of scholars in a geographic area within North America who promote biblical scholarship on a local level. Each region is coordinated by a scholar within the region and regions promote "Regional Scholars", to recognize outstanding scholars in the area. Society of Biblical Literature regions include: Central States, Eastern Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, New England & Eastern Canada, Pacific Coast, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains & Great Plains, Southeastern, Southwestern and Upper Midwest. The International Meeting is held annually in a location outside of North America specifically for scholars located out of the region.

Presidents

* 1880–1887

Daniel Raynes Goodwin Daniel Raynes Goodwin (1811–1890) was an American Episcopal clergyman and academic. He was the fourth President of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and the thirteenth provost of the University of Pennsylvania. Biography Daniel Raynes G ...

* 1887–1889 Frederic Gardiner * 1889–1890 Francis Brown * 1890–1891 Charles A. Briggs * 1891–1894 Talbot W. Chambers * 1894–1895 J. Henry Thayer * 1895–1896 Francis Brown * 1896–1897 Edward T. Bartlett * 1898–1899 George F. Moore * 1900

John P. Peters John Punnett Peters (December 4, 1887 – December 29, 1955) was an American physician, the John Slade Ely Professor of Medicine at Yale University from 1928 until his death in 1955. He was "one of the founders of modern clinical chemistry". Hi ...

* 1901 Edward Y. Hincks * 1902 Benjamin W. Bacon * 1903 Richard J. H. Gottheil * 1904 Willis J. Beecher * 1905 William Rainey Harper * 1906

Paul Haupt Hermann Hugo Paul Haupt (25 November 1858 in Görlitz – 15 December 1926 in Baltimore, Maryland) was a Semitic scholar, one of the pioneers of Assyriology in the United States. He studied at the universities of Berlin and Leipzig. In 1880 he be ...

* 1907 James Hardy Ropes * 1908

Frank Chamberlain Porter Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

* 1909

Henry Preserved Smith Henry Preserved Smith (October 12, 1847 – February 26, 1927) was an American biblical scholar. Smith was born in Troy, Ohio. He graduated at Amherst College in 1869 and studied theology in Lane Theological Seminary in 1869–1872, in Berlin ...

* 1910 David G. Lyon * 1911 Ernest de Witt Burton * 1912 Lewis B. Paton * 1913

George A. Barton George Aaron Barton (12 November 1859 – 28 June 1942) was a Canadian author, Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal clergyman, and professor of Semitic languages and the history of religion. Biography Barton was born on 12 November 1859 in ...

* 1914 Nathaniel Schmidt * 1915

Charles Cutler Torrey Charles Cutler Torrey (20 December 1863 – 12 November 1956) was an American historian, archaeologist and scholar. He is known for, presenting through his books, manuscript evidence supporting alternate views on the origins of Christian and Isla ...

* 1916

Morris Jastrow Jr. Morris Jastrow Jr. (August 13, 1861 – June 22, 1921) was a Polish-born American oriental studies, orientalist and librarian associated with the University of Pennsylvania. Biography He was born in Warsaw, Poland, and came to Philadelphia, Penn ...

* 1917

Warren J. Moulton A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Anglo ...

* 1918 James A. Montgomery * 1919

Edgar J. Goodspeed Edgar Johnson Goodspeed (October 23, 1871 – January 13, 1962) was an American theologian and scholar of Greek and the New Testament, and Ernest DeWitt Burton Distinguished Service Professor of the University of Chicago until his retirement. He ...

* 1920

Albert T. Clay Albert Tobias Clay (December 4, 1866 – September 14, 1925) was an American professor, historian and Semitic linguist. He was professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature at Yale University and served as founding curator of the Yale Ba ...

* 1921 Kemper Fullerton * 1922 William R. Arnold * 1923

Max L. Margolis Max Leopold Margolis (born in Meretz ( Merkinė), Vilna Governorate, October 15, 1866 – April 2, 1932 in Philadelphia) was a Lithuanian Jewish and American philologist. Son of Isaac Margolis; educated at the elementary school of his native ...

* 1924 Clayton R. Bowen * 1925 Julius A. Bewer * 1926 Shirley Jackson Case * 1927 Irving F. Wood * 1928 Loring Woart Batten * 1929 James E. Frame * 1930 William Frederic Badè * 1931

Burton Scott Easton Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to: Companies * Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer **Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937 **The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...

* 1932 J. M. Powis Smith * 1933 James Moffatt * 1934

Frederick C. Grant Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

* 1935 Elihu Grant * 1936

Henry J. Cadbury Henry Joel Cadbury (December 1, 1883 – October 7, 1974) was an American biblical scholar, Quaker historian, writer, and non-profit administrator. Life A graduate of Haverford College, Cadbury was a Quaker throughout his life, as well as ...

* 1937 George Dahl * 1938 William Henry Paine Hatch * 1939 W. F. Albright * 1940 Chester C. McCown * 1941 Julian Morgenstern * 1942–1943 Kirsopp Lake * 1944 Theophile James Meek * 1945 Morton Scott Enslin * 1946

Leroy Waterman Leroy Waterman (July 4, 1875 – May 9, 1972) was a professor of Oriental Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan, an archaeologist of the Middle East, an Old Testament scholar, a translator of the Revised Standard Version Old Testa ...

* 1947 Ernest Cadman Colwell * 1948 John W. Flight * 1949 Floyd V. Filson * 1950 Robert H. Pfeiffer * 1951

Erwin R. Goodenough Erwin Ramsdell Goodenough (24 October 1893 – 20 March 1965) was a scholar in the history of religion. He is specifically noted for his study of the influence of Greek culture on Judaism, what some call Hellenistic Judaism. Goodenough was born in ...

* 1952 Sheldon H. Blank * 1953 S. Vernon McCasland * 1954

Millar Burrows Millar Burrows (Wyoming, Ohio, October 26, 1889 – April 29, 1980) was an American biblical scholar, a leading authority on the Dead Sea scrolls and professor emeritus at Yale Divinity School. Burrows was director of American School of Oriental Re ...

* 1955 Amos N. Wilder * 1956 J. Philip Hyatt * 1957 Sherman E. Johnson * 1958

William A. Irwin William Andrew Irwin (6 December 1884, in Ontario, Canada – April 1967, in Bethesda, Maryland, USA), was a Canadian educator. He was Professor of Old Testament Languages and Literature at the University of Chicago and the Southern Methodist Unive ...

* 1959 Robert M. Grant * 1960 R. B. Y. Scott * 1961

Samuel Sandmel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transit ...

* 1962

Herbert G. May Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

* 1963 John Knox * 1964 Fred V. Winnett * 1965 Kenneth W. Clark * 1966 John L. McKenzie * 1967 Paul Schubert * 1968 James Muilenburg * 1969

Frank W. Beare Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

* 1970 Harry M. Orlinsky * 1971 Bruce M. Metzger * 1972 Walter J. Harrelson * 1973 Norman Perrin * 1974 Frank Moore Cross * 1975 Robert W. Funk * 1976 David Noel Freedman * 1977 Raymond E. Brown * 1978

James A. Sanders James A. Sanders (28 November 1927 in Memphis, Tennessee – 1 October 2020) was an American scholar of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and one of the Dead Sea Scrolls editors. He was the first to translate and edit the Psalm Scroll, which contain ...

* 1979

Joseph A. Fitzmyer Joseph Augustine Fitzmyer (November 4, 1920 – December 24, 2016) was an American Catholic priest and scholar who taught at several American and British universities He was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Fitzmyer was considered ...

* 1980

Bernhard Anderson Bernhard Word Anderson (September 25, 1916 – December 26, 2007) was an American United Methodist pastor and Old Testament scholar. Information Born in Dover, Missouri, Anderson earned degrees from the College of the Pacific and Pacific Schoo ...

* 1981

James M. Robinson James McConkey Robinson (June 30, 1924 – March 22, 2016) was an American scholar who retired as Professor Emeritus of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, specializing in New Testament Studies and Nag Hammadi ...

* 1982

Lou H. Silberman Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

* 1983 Krister Stendahl * 1984

Roland E. Murphy Roland Edmund Murphy (July 19, 1917 - July 20, 2002) was an American Catholic priest of the Carmelite order, a biblical scholar and a specialist in the study of the Old Testament. He was the George Washington Ivey Professor of Biblical Studies at ...

* 1985

Wayne A. Meeks Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anthon ...

* 1986

James L. Mays James Luther Mays (July 14, 1921 – October 29, 2015) was an American Old Testament scholar. He was Cyrus McCormick Professor of Hebrew and the Old Testament Emeritus at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Virginia. He served as president of the Society ...

* 1987 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza * 1988

Philip J. King Philip J. King (March 26, 1925 – December 7, 2019) was an American Roman Catholic priest, historian, and archaeologist. Life King was born in Newton, Massachusetts. He graduated in 1945 from Saint John's Seminary in Boston. King was ordained to ...

* 1989

Paul J. Achtemeier Paul John Achtemeier (3 September 1927 – 28 January 2013) was Herbert Worth and Annie H. Jackson Professor of Biblical Interpretation Emeritus at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, now Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He ...

* 1990 Walter Brueggemann * 1991 Helmut Koester * 1992

Norman K. Gottwald Norman Karol Gottwald (October 27, 1926 – March 11, 2022) was a 20th-century American Marxist, political activist, and Old Testament scholar who pioneered the use of social theory and method in biblical studies. Education Gottwald received a ...

* 1993 Victor P. Furnish * 1994 Phyllis Trible * 1995

Leander E. Keck Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Leand ...

* 1996 Gene M. Tucker * 1997 Hans Dieter Betz * 1998

Patrick D. Miller Patrick D. Miller, Jr. (24 October 1935 – 1 May 2020) was an American Old Testament scholar who served as Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1984 to 2005. He was an ordained minister in t ...

* 1999

D. Moody Smith D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation: * Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank. * Date of death, as an abbreviati ...

* 2000 Adele Berlin * 2001

Harold W. Attridge Harold William Attridge (born November 24, 1946) is an American New Testament scholar known for his work in New Testament exegesis, especially the Epistle to the Hebrews, the study of Hellenistic Judaism, and the history of the early Church. He i ...

* 2002

John J. Collins John J. Collins (born 1946) is the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. He is noted for his research in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the apocryphal works of the Second Temple period including the ...

* 2003

Eldon Jay Epp Eldon may refer to: Places Australia * Eldon Range, Tasmania, a mountain range Canada * Eldon, Alberta, a locality * Eldon Parish, New Brunswick * Eldon Township, Ontario, a former municipality * Eldon, Ontario, a former railway stop * Eldon, P ...

* 2004

David L. Petersen David L. Petersen is the Franklin Nutting Parker Professor of Old Testament in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is also an ordained Presbyterian minister. Petersen received his Bachelor of Arts in 1965 from College of Wooste ...

* 2005 Carolyn Osiek * 2006 Robert Kraft * 2007

Katharine Doob Sakenfeld Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (born 1940) is an American Old Testament scholar. She is Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis Emerita at Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Sem ...

* 2008 Jonathan Z. Smith * 2009 David J. A. Clines * 2010

Vincent L. Wimbush Vincent Lee Wimbush is an American New Testament scholar, known for his work in African American biblical hermeneutics. Biography Wimbush received a BA in philosophy from Morehouse College (1975), an M.Div. (1978) from Yale Divinity School, and ...

* 2011 Carol Newsom * 2012 John Dominic Crossan * 2013 Carol Meyers * 2014

Fernando Segovia Fernando F. Segovia (born 1948) is a Cuban American biblical scholar, theologian, scriptural critic, and cultural critic. He is the Oberlin Graduate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. In hi ...

* 2015 Athalya Brenner-Idan * 2016 Beverly Gaventa * 2017 Michael V. Fox * 2018 Brian K. Blount * 2019

Gale A. Yee Gale A. Yee (; born 1949) is an American scholar of the Hebrew Bible. Her primary emphases are Postcolonial biblical criticism, postcolonial criticism, ideological criticism, and cultural criticism. She applies Feminist theology, feminist framewor ...

* 2020 Adele Reinhartz

Administrative officers

Secretary * 1880–1883 Frederic Gardiner * 1883–1889 Hinckley G. Mitchell Recording Secretary * 1889–1890

Charles Rufus Brown Charles Rufus Brown (1849–1914) was an American Baptist clergyman and biblical scholar. He did not originally intend such a career, even though his father was a Baptist clergyman. Aiming at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, ...

* 1890–1915 William H. Cobb * 1916–1933

* 1934–1946 John W. Flight * 1947–1950 Kenneth W. Clark * 1951–1952 Louise Pettibone Smith * 1953–1961 Charles F. Kraft * 1961 (''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'') * 1962–1963 Kendrick Grobel Executive Secretary * 1964–1965 Kendrick Grobel * 1965 Richard T. Mead (''pro tempore'') * 1966 Lawrence E. Toombs * 1967 Walter J. Harrelson * 1968–1974 Robert W. Funk * 1975–1976 George W. MacRae * 1977–1980

* 1981–1987 Kent Harold Richards Executive Director * 1987–1995 David Lull * 1995–2010 Kent Harold Richards * 2010–present John F. Kutsko

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* *
Society of Biblical Literature
in the American Council of Learned Societies directory. Updated September 15, 2008. {{authority control Ancient Near East organizations Biblical exegesis Biblical studies organizations Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies Organizations established in 1880