Ola Wikander
Reader and Senior Lecturer in Old Testament Exegesis at Lund University, former Pro Futura Scientia fellow at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala (SCAS). Ugaritologist, Hebraist. Standing at the intersection between Exegesis, History of Religion and philology, with a background in numerous ancient languages. Interested in Historical Linguistics (and Ancient Near Eastern languages generally), the history of Northwest Semitic poetic language and motifs, and the relations between Northwest Semitic and Indo-European-speaking cultures (especially Anatolian); have also worked on the survival of OT motifs in Gnostic/Gnosticizing literature. Major research projects have been on drought symbolism in Ugarit and the OT, on IE influences in Ugaritic and Hebrew texts, and on the use of philological and exegetical scholarship as a tool with which to reflect upon the problems inherent in preserving information on nuclear waste storage. Currently working on a larger project on Northwest Semitic historical/etymological poetics - the project title is "The Words of the Storm Gods - Reconstructing the Common Mytho-Poetic Language of Northwest Semitic".
If you're interested in one of my papers which aren't shared as PDFs here, please send me a direct message!
Address: Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
If you're interested in one of my papers which aren't shared as PDFs here, please send me a direct message!
Address: Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
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Among the motifs studied are “smoke” as a simile for human life, the great serpent-battling tales of Northwest Semitic in comparison with similar stories among Indo-European-speakers (focusing on the titulature of the combatants and on the reconstruction of inherited and calqued poetic formulas), the etymology of the divine name “Dagan,” and terminology and ideas related to borders and living outside of established social norms, including the concept of the ger, the “sojourner” or “resident alien.” The study discusses the importance of early poetic borrowings for tracing the interactions between cultural and linguistic contexts, and—using the methodology of “etymological poetics”—employs these motifs and their history as a way of uncovering new, exegetically relevant interpretations of key texts. Ugaritic passages from the Baal and Aqhat texts, as well as biblical passages from (among others) Hosea, Psalms, 1 Kings, and Judges are given new interpretations.
One of the motifs discussed is that of destroying heat being used as a metaphor for forgetting important cultural memories and, consequently, of the resilience of such memories being expressed as resistance to burning. Thus, bringing these ancient connections between Indo-European and Northwest Semitic culture into the open is, in a sense, showing their “Unburning Fame.”
The sun and its heat are two of the most universal symbols known to humanity; the sun can be a giver of life, but its hot, scorching rays can also be associated with drought and the forces of destruction. The Ugaritic texts portray the sun goddess, Shapshu, as the sender of terrible drought; she manifests the rule of the god of death through her burning rays. The daily passage of the sun below the horizon also connects her with the land of the dead, and this idea is conflated with that of the destructive drought-sun into the image of a “sun of death.” Wikander discusses the philology of these passages (especially in the Baal Cycle) and follows the motif of solar drought and its connections with the netherworld into the literature of ancient Israel, noting transformations of the motif when influenced by the rising prominence of YHWH.
In the Hebrew Bible, the study traces terminology that refers to the ancient motifs of drought, death, and the sun in texts such as 1 Kings 17-18, Jeremiah 14, Hosea 13, and Malachi 3, as well as passages from the Psalms, using both linguistic and religio-historical methods. The transformations of these motifs indicate changes that Israelite religion went through as it gained its own identity within a greater Northwest Semitic context.
The dissertation on which this work is based has been awarded prizes by The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters–History and Antiquities and the Royal Society of Letters at Lund.
Among the motifs studied are “smoke” as a simile for human life, the great serpent-battling tales of Northwest Semitic in comparison with similar stories among Indo-European-speakers (focusing on the titulature of the combatants and on the reconstruction of inherited and calqued poetic formulas), the etymology of the divine name “Dagan,” and terminology and ideas related to borders and living outside of established social norms, including the concept of the ger, the “sojourner” or “resident alien.” The study discusses the importance of early poetic borrowings for tracing the interactions between cultural and linguistic contexts, and—using the methodology of “etymological poetics”—employs these motifs and their history as a way of uncovering new, exegetically relevant interpretations of key texts. Ugaritic passages from the Baal and Aqhat texts, as well as biblical passages from (among others) Hosea, Psalms, 1 Kings, and Judges are given new interpretations.
One of the motifs discussed is that of destroying heat being used as a metaphor for forgetting important cultural memories and, consequently, of the resilience of such memories being expressed as resistance to burning. Thus, bringing these ancient connections between Indo-European and Northwest Semitic culture into the open is, in a sense, showing their “Unburning Fame.”
The sun and its heat are two of the most universal symbols known to humanity; the sun can be a giver of life, but its hot, scorching rays can also be associated with drought and the forces of destruction. The Ugaritic texts portray the sun goddess, Shapshu, as the sender of terrible drought; she manifests the rule of the god of death through her burning rays. The daily passage of the sun below the horizon also connects her with the land of the dead, and this idea is conflated with that of the destructive drought-sun into the image of a “sun of death.” Wikander discusses the philology of these passages (especially in the Baal Cycle) and follows the motif of solar drought and its connections with the netherworld into the literature of ancient Israel, noting transformations of the motif when influenced by the rising prominence of YHWH.
In the Hebrew Bible, the study traces terminology that refers to the ancient motifs of drought, death, and the sun in texts such as 1 Kings 17-18, Jeremiah 14, Hosea 13, and Malachi 3, as well as passages from the Psalms, using both linguistic and religio-historical methods. The transformations of these motifs indicate changes that Israelite religion went through as it gained its own identity within a greater Northwest Semitic context.
The dissertation on which this work is based has been awarded prizes by The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters–History and Antiquities and the Royal Society of Letters at Lund.
academia, implying that their responsibilities and significance are – and
should be – under constant debate. In his article, church historian Joel
Halldorf, argues for the overt use of theological interpretations (in
the narrow sense of "normative theology") in the exegetical discipline.
Halldorf thereby highlights some current key issues concerning the identity
of biblical studies in Sweden, both in academia and in society: Where
should the discipline be positioned in relation to humanities and theology?
Which target groups should be catered to? What is the task of the
biblical scholar? Here we present our reply to Halldorf's reflections and
visions about the methods and significance of biblical studies. According
to us, Halldorf offers an oversimplified view of what historical-critical research
means and presents historical research as something utterly contrary
to the theoretical developments of the latter half of the twentieth
century. This, we argue, is a misrepresentation of the boundaries of these
theoretical currents. Furthermore, we want to highlight the importance
of context-oriented interpretations of textual traditions from antiquity,
as well as the danger inherent in conducting research without consideration
to historical context. We argue that the non-confessional nature of
biblical studies is in fact a prerequisite for participation in an international
and multifaceted research milieu.