Prof. Dr Benedikt Hensel

I specialise in history and religious history from the Iron Age to the Hellenistic period.

Ancient Judaism (from the 6th century BC)

My historical focus is on research into the plurality and regional diversity of ancient Judaism (from the 6th century BC). The Persian-Hellenistic period also includes the complex formation phase of early Judaism, the formative character of which not only extends to those writings that later had a standardising effect and led to the Hebrew Bible, but also refers to the religious-sociological formation of Judaism in Persian and early Hellenistic times (6th-1st century BC).

Materiality and archaeology of ancient Judaism

For my research, it is crucial to correlate historical, religious and cultural-historical questions with archaeological and literary-historical ones. My decisive methodological approach is based on the materiality and archaeology of ancient Israel and Judah as well as ancient Judaism (inscriptions, archaeological findings; landscape archaeology; small finds; figurines, seals...). These sources must be understood individually and in their historical and cultural-historical contexts. Only then can they be placed in relation to the literary reflections (such as the Old Testament, inscriptions, early Jewish writings, etc.) in order to adequately grasp historical processes.

Digital cultural heritage research: Ancient Judaism

One of the core concerns is to expand historical and religious-historical research based on material in the field of digital cultural heritage research. My research is closely networked with other "Cultural Heritage Digital"research at the University of Oldenburg and beyond. This also includes the digital exploration of the material culture of ancient Judaism, whereby state-of-the-art surveying techniques, 3D digitisation and visualisation, geovisualisation, spatial AI and AI-assisted analysis methods are being developed and tested in order to drive forward the digital transformation processes, which, through the so-called digital revolution, enable the indexing, recording, digitisation, storage, organisation and evaluation of aspects of the materiality of excavations, objects and the materiality of ancient Judaism and the history and religious history of Israel and Judah.

Textbook project "Ancient Judaism"

• Textbook on Ancient Judaism, de Gruyter Studium (together with Stefan Beyerle)

Research project Ancient Judaism

Emerging Judaism: Studies on Pluriformity, Entangled Cultural Identities and Identity Formations at the Dawn of Judaism

Prof. Dr Benedikt Hensel, University of Oldenburg

The project, lead by Professor Benedikt Hensel, brings together current research on the redactional and textual history of the Hebrew Bible with the latest historical research on the pluriform social and religious shape of early Judaism (6th-1st Century BCE). Hensel's guiding question is to what extent did the various social groups and redaction within Judaism of the Second Temple period make their ways into the formation processes of the Hebrew Bible? In doing so, this project fills a crucial gap in current research.for the first time, the project addresses the phenomenon of religious plurality by bringing together archaeological, (religious-)historical, and literary-critical approaches. Since many years Hensel works together with various internationally renowned scholars and covers the panorama of currently known social groups of Yahwistic character and the impact of this phenomenon on the making of the Hebrew - from the Persian period down to the time of Qumran.

Related projects, events and cooperations:

• Chair of the EABS 2019-2023 Research Unit "Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and Diaspora in Biblical Traditions" (together with Dany Nocquet/Montpellier, and Bartosz Adamczewsk/Warsaw).
• Cyrus Centre for Judeo-Iranian Studies (CCJIS) (further information tba).
• Symposium "Cultural Encounters: Translation, Transformation, Tension" (10th German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities Symposium 2018), 18-21 November 2018, Berlin.
• Conference "Samaria and Diaspora in the Persian and Hellenistic Times: Influence, Significance and Contributions to the Pentateuch and Prophets" at the Institute Protestant de Théologie, Montpellier/France (6-9.12.18) (together with Dany Nocquet and Bartosz Adamczewski /Warsaw).

Publications (selection):

Books

• 2023: Hensel, B. / Nocquet, D / Adamczewski, B. (ed.), Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period (Forschungen zum Alten Testament I), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023 (261 pages)
• 2020: Hensel, B. / Nocquet, D / Adamczewski, B. (ed.), Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and Diaspora in Biblical Traditions (Forschungen zum Alten Testament, II. Reihe 120), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2020 (347 pages).
• 2016: Hensel, B., Judah und Samaria: Zum Verhältnis zweier nach-exilischer Jahwismen (Forschungen zum Alten Testament I/110), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2016 (487 pages).

Articles

• Hensel, B, "Reconsidering Yahwism in Persian Period Idumea in Light of the Current Material Findings." In: Barnea, G./Kratz, R.G. (ed.), Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire. Prof. Shaul Shaked in memoriam (BZAW), Berlin: de Gruyter 2024.
• Hensel, B., "Who Wrote the Bible? Understanding Redactors and Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions in the Context of Plurality within Emerging Judaism," in: Hensel, B. et al. (ed.), Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions, Tübingen 2023, 11-23.
• Hensel, B., "God-fearing Sailors (Jon 1:5-16) and Repentant Enemies (Jon 3:5-10) Two Different Models of 'Salvation for the Nations' in the Book of Jonah," Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 133/2 (2021).
• Hensel, B., "Think Positive! How the Positive Portrayal of Edom in Late Biblical Texts Leads to New Perspectives on Understanding the Literary History of Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Chronicles." In: Benedikt Hensel, Ehud Ben Zvi, and Diana V. Edelman (eds.), About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period. Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near East Studies (Series: Worlds of the Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean), Equinox, Sheffield 2022, 338-362.
• Hensel, B., "Debating Temple and Torah in the Second Temple Period: Theological and Political Aspects of the Final Redaction(s) of the Pentateuch," in: Witte, M./Schröter, J./Lepper. V. (ed.), Torah, Temple, Land. Construction of Judaism in Antiquity (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 184), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2021, 27-49.
• Hensel, B., "Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: State of the Field, Desiderata and Research Perspectives in a Necessary Debate on the Formative Period of Judaism(s)," in: Hensel. B./Nocquet, D./Adamczewski, B. (eds.), Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and the Diaspora in Biblical Traditions (Forschungen zum Alten Testament, FAT II/120), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2020, 1-44.
• Hensel, B., "Deuteronomy 12:13-19: On the Localisation of the One Maqom," Biblische Notizen. New series 182 (2019), 9-43.
• Hensel, B., "Ethnic Fiction and Identity-Formation: A New Explanation for the Background of the Question of Intermarriage in Ezra-Nehemiah," in Kartveit, M./Knoppers, G.N. (ed.), The Bible, Qumran, and the Samaritans. Proceedings of the Research Group "Samaritan Studies" at IOSOT, Stellenbosch 2016 (Studia Samaritana 10/STJ 104), de Gruyter: Berlin/Boston 2018, 135-150.