The Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar continues its multiyear project exploring difficult texts as Christian Scripture. The focus for 2026 is Joshua and Judges.
If we believe, with the Apostle Paul, that ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for the list of formative characteristics in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, then that includes Joshua and Judges. But this raises the all-important question: how do Joshua and Judges form and shape us into the people God is calling us to be in Christ? To explore this question, SAHS is gathering for 3 online events (March, June, and September) to consider questions of hermeneutics, intertextuality / reception history, and formation. Our in-person gathering at November’s IBR/SBL conferences in Denver is a fourth session providing summation and dialogue. We hope this work will strengthen and encourage our academic engagement with these books for the sake of the Church.
This first event focuses on hermeneutical considerations and features two presentations, from Dr Dave Beldman and Fr. Paul Béré, SJ (bios below):
Paul Béré, S.J.: “Joshua in Christian Hermeneutics: Wrestling with a Difficult Book”
Paul Béré, S.J. is a Jesuit priest from Burkina Faso and a scholar of the Old Testament. He teaches at the Pontifical Biblical Institute of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. His research focuses on the exegesis of the Hebrew Bible and hermeneutics, with particular attention to Aural Criticism, a methodological approach that explores how written texts function within oral contexts. He is the editor of the forthcoming conference volume The Bible and Its Worlds (Analecta Biblica series).
David Beldman: “Reading Judges as Christian Scripture: Hermeneutics for a Troubling Book”
David Beldman is an Old Testament scholar and theological educator. Until recently, he served as Academic Dean and Professor of Old Testament at Missional Training Centre in Phoenix, Arizona, and is a Scholar in Residence with the Surge Network. He earned his PhD in Old Testament Studies from the University of Bristol, where his research focused on the book of Judges. He is the author of several books and articles spanning academic and church contexts. His forthcoming book, Reading the Pentateuch as Christian Scripture (with Michael Rhodes), will be published by Baker Academic later this year.
Wednesday March 4, 2026
1pm MST, 3pm EST, 8pm UK, 7am (March 5th) Sydney
Online via Zoom
NB: The link is sent by email. Please check your spam folder on the day.
