Prof. Dr theol. Benedikt Hensel

Press and public relations

- EKD press release: Benedikt Hensel appointed Director of the German Protestant Institute for Classical Studies in Jerusalem

UOLpress releases on the Old Testament and Prof. Dr B. Hensel

- Instagram channel for the Old Testament in Oldenburg: https://www.instagram.com/unioldb.at.

- Press release regarding Prof. Dr B. Hensel of the UOL’s leadership of the excavation, dated 18 July 2023

- Report on the 2023 excavation and Summer School in the MoX (18 July 2023)

(With the kind permission of Radio Bremen)

Contact

Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel

uol.de/benedikt-hensel

Press releases with mentions

Lectures

Winter term 2026 / 2027

4.07.125 "LEHR-LERN-LABOR im DA:O: Historisch fundiert. Archäologisch verankert. Digital erlebbar. Gegenwartsnah. Thema im WiSe 2026-27: Seele - Digitale Spurensuche zwischen Antike und Gegenwart"
4.07.129 Forschungskolloquium Promovierende und promovierte Forschende im Bereich „Altes Testament, Digitale biblische Archäologie und Digitale Altertumswissenschaften: Methodendiskurse und neueste Forschungen

Prof. Dr theol. Benedikt Hensel

Professorship of Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology

Scientific career

Since 2026: University Professor of the Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology (W3) at the University of Oldenburg

From January 2027: Director, German Protestant Institute for Ancient Studies in the Holy Land – also a research centre of the German Archaeological Institute, Jerusalem (DEI Jerusalem)

Since 2026: Director, DAO – Digital Ancient Studies Oldenburg at the University of Oldenburg

Since 2025: Dean of School IV - School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Oldenburg

Since 2023: Co-Director of the Hazor Excavation, Israel: The Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin (director: Dr Igor Kreimerman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

Since 2024: Chair of the‘Karl-Wilhelm-Heyse Society – Friends of Antiquity’

Since 2023: Deputy Chair of the Doctoral Committee of Faculty IV

Since 2023: Representative of the Lower Saxony regional group at the Conference of Institutes for Protestant Theology (KIET), and representative of the KIET at the Evangelical Theology Faculty Conference (E-TFT)

2023–2025: Vice-Dean for Research at School IV - School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Oldenburg

2022–2025: University Professor of the Old Testament (W2) at the University of Oldenburg

2023–2025: ERASMUS Departmental Coordinator for Theology (Departmental Coordinator, ERASMUS Programme)

2021–2022: Lecturer in Biblical Theology – Georg-August University of Göttingen

2020–2021: Interim professorship for Prof. Dr Konrad Schmid –Chair of Old Testament Studies and Early Jewish Religious History – University of Zurich/CH (UZH) (Winter Semester 2020/21 and Summer Semester 2021)

2019–2020: Acting Professor of ‘Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology’ (Wolfgang Zwickel), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Summer Semester 2019, Winter Semester 2019/20; Summer Semester 2020).

2017–2020: University of Zurich/UZH Postdoctoral Researcher (Konrad Schmid chair) and project team member on“The History of the Pentateuch (SNF/SINERGIA project)”.

2018 and 2015 (6 months): Visiting Scholar at the University of Haifa and at the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University

2018: Erasmus+ teaching post at the “Institut Protestant de Théologie”, Montpellier, France.

2013–2017: Project leader of the DFG project (“Independent Research Post”)“The Relationship between the Worshippers of YHWH in Samaria and Judah”; JGU Mainz – Department of Old Testament and Biblical Archaeology.

Since 2013: regular teaching assignments in the subject “Old Testament Studies” at the University of Basel, the University of Zurich, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Justus Liebig University Giessen and JGU Mainz.

2011–2013: Vicarage (Marktkirche, Wiesbaden/EKHN), specialised vicarage (personal assistant to Provost Dr Sigurd Rink); II. Church Examination; Ordination: 2013; 2013–2016: Honorary pastor, Marktkirche Wiesbaden/EKHN.

2007–2010: Research assistant in ‘Systematic Theology and Social Ethics’ (JGU Mainz – Faculty of Protestant Theology).

2006–2007: Research assistant at the University of Heidelberg – Theological Seminary: Thyssen project: ‘Aramaic Inscriptions’ (D. Schwiderski).

2001–2006: Studied Protestant Theology, Classical Archaeology and Jewish Studies in Heidelberg, Utrecht (Netherlands) and Amsterdam (Netherlands); First Church Examination.

1999–2000: Community service with “Arbeitskreis Humanitäre Hilfe für Asylbewerber e.V.” – supporting asylum-seeker families with administrative procedures and schooling.

Academic qualifications

Winter semester 2016/2017: Habilitation and venia legendi in Old Testament Studies, JGU Mainz

Winter semester 2016/2017: “Rhineland-Palatinate Certificate in University Teaching”, following completion of the 2013–2017 certificate programme in university teaching at Johannes Gutenberg University

2012: Second Theological Examination, EKHN; ordination

2010: Doctorate (Dr. theol.) (summa cum laude), Old Testament; Prof. Dr. S. Grätz, JGU Mainz

2006: First Theological Examination, Evangelical Church in the Palatinate (“top of the year’s cohort”)

Research profile

Research Foci

In addition to the literary-historical study of the Old Testament, Benedikt Hensel’s research centre focuses on three key areas, which are being intensively explored through international projects:

  1. Digital Biblical Archaeology and Digital Ancient Studies of the Eastern Mediterranean, which encompass Biblical Archaeology, digital cultural heritage research (eCultural Heritage and Advanced Technologies) and Digital Archaeology and Ancient Studies of the Southern Levant (Projects and research are brought together under DAO – Digital Ancient Studies Oldenburg | Digital Altertumswissenschaften Oldenburg at the UOL)
  2. The history and religious history of Israel and ancient Judaism (click here is the link to the relevant research) in the context of the ancient Near East and the classical world. A distinctive feature of the research carried out in Oldenburg is a) the historical focus on investigating the plurality and regional diversity of ancient Judaism (from the 6th century BC onwards) in combination with b) a consistent methodological approach centred on materiality and archaeology of ancient Judaism.
  3. The theology and hermeneutics of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament ( clickhere for related research).

Research expertise

  • Biblical archaeology, (digital) classical studies of the Eastern Mediterranean, digital cultural heritage research and digital archaeology in the Southern Levant
  • History of religion and the history of Israel (focusing on the 8th–1st centuries BC)
  • History and constructions of identity in emerging/early Judaism (Persian and Hellenistic periods) in the context of ancient cultures
  • Literary history of the Old Testament, in particular the Pentateuch/Hexateuch and the Book of Daniel
  • Old Testament theology, biblical theology and (overall) biblical hermeneutics
  • Cultural-historical, cultural-scientific and cultural-anthropological approaches
  • Transjordan and its influence on the Southern Levant
  • Methodological reflection on literary-historical and archaeological approaches
  • (Imperial) Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek epigraphy

Research: Projects

Ongoing international research projects

  1. Research project‘AnHuNav – Animal and Human Navigation in the Ancient Southern Levant: An Interdisciplinary Project on Spatial Perception, Route Formation, and Orientation between Environmental Knowledge and Textual Tradition (Iron Age to Roman Imperial Period)’ (since 2026)
  2. Research project“Hazor digital ( Digital Archaeology)” (since 2024)
  3. research project „Resettlement of Ruins and Memories in the Making. A Case Study on Hazor and the Shaping of Early Israelite Identities during the Iron Age” (Gerda Henkel-funded project within the “Lost Cities” research focus; project leader: Benedikt Hensel; project partner: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) (since 2024)
  4. Research project “Hazor Excavations – Israel’s largest archaeological excavation” (Co-Director; large-scale interdisciplinary and international project with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) (since 2023)

Book projects

Current book projects in the field of Biblical Archaeology and Ancient Judaism by Benedikt Hensel (monographs):

  1. Archaeological Travel Guide to Ancient Israel, Kröner Verlag: Stuttgart
  2. Archaeology of the Southern Levant. A Study Book on Biblical Archaeology from the Iron Age to the
    Hellenistic Period (Neue Theologische Grundrisse), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen
  3. Textbook on Ancient Judaism, de Gruyter Studium (in collaboration with Stefan Beyerle)

Editorial work for academic journals

  • Editor of the academic book series Works on the Bible and its History (EVA – Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig) (in collaboration with Susanne Luther, Christoph Landmesser and Andreas Schüle) (since 2026).
  • Subject editor for ‘History of Israel and Judah’, WiBiLex (jointly with Michael Pietsch) (since 2026).

International co-operations and completed projects

  • Research focus:‘Emerging Judaism: Studies on Pluriformity and Diversity at the Dawn of Judaism (6th–1st century BCE)’ (since 2017)
  • Research focus: ‘Old Testament Theology, Biblical Theology and Biblical Hermeneutics’ (since 2017)
  • Intercultural ‘Israel’ Summer Schools (Director: Benedikt Hensel) (since 2023)
  • EABS Research Unit 2025–2028: “The Origins of Israel and the Shaping of Early Israelite Identities during the Iron Age: Perspectives from Biblical Studies and Archaeology” (Chair, Organiser and Founder).
  • EABS Research Workshop“Edom East and West of the Arabah Valley, in the Negev and in the Hebrew Bible”; at the EABS Conference in Toulouse 2022 (4–7 July 2022) (Organised and initiated by Benedikt Hensel; co-chaired with Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University).
  • EABS Research Unit“Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and the Diaspora in Biblical Traditions”(Benedikt Hensel, in collaboration with Dany Nocquet, Montpellier, and Bartosz Adamczewski, Warsaw). Since 2019.
  • Concept development and specialised consultancy for the international exhibition “The History of Jews and Samaritans”, Benedikt Hensel, in collaboration with Steven Fine, Yeshiva University New York and Director of the YU Centre for Israel Studies, for the exhibition to be held from February 2023 at the Bibelhaus Erlebnis Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Since 2020.
  • Project team member for “The History of the Pentateuch” (SINERGIA SNF project, involving the Universities of Zurich, Lausanne and Tel Aviv). 2017–2020.
  • Project leader for “The Historical Background of the Jacob Cycle Gen 25–35” (Zurich–Tel Aviv; sub-project of the SINERGIA project), 2017–2020.
  • Curatorial work and specialised consultancy for the exhibition “G*tt (w/m/d). Gender Diversity since Biblical Times” (exhibition in 2021 at the Bibelhaus Erlebnismuseum, Frankfurt am Main). 2019–2020.
  • EABS Workshop 2019“Wisdom and Torah as Dynamic Modes of Scribal Discourse in Israel and Early Judaism: Beyond Biblical Genres and Traditions”(Co-Chairs: JiSeong J. Kwon, Lausanne; Tobias Häner, Vienna). 2018–2019.
  • Organisation and chairing of the conference “Cultural Encounters: Translation, Transformation, Tension” (10th German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities Symposium 2018/GISFOH) (Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH)/Jerusalem and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation/Berlin. 2017–2018.
  • Appointment to the Organising Committee of the “German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities (GISFOH) Symposium” organised by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH)/Jerusalem and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation/Berlin. 2017–2018.
  • Member of the advisory board of the Frankfurt Bible Museum for the preparation of the exhibition ‘Qumran Scrolls’. 2016–2017.
  • Project leader for ‘Judea and Samaria in the Post-Exilic Period’ (DFG project). 2013–2017.
  • Project collaborator on ‘Imperial Aramaic Inscriptions’ (University of Heidelberg; Thyssen Foundation). 2006–2007.

Conferences and sessions at congresses

  • ‘Digital Antiquity – Digital Archaeology’: Intensive workshop on digital methods in classical studies and biblical archaeology (27–31 January 2025, Spiekeroog: Research Centre of the University of Oldenburg); Organised and run by: Prof. Dr Benedikt Hensel and Prof. Dr Michael Sommer (Ancient History, UOL), in co-operation with Prof. Dr Charlotte Schubert (University of Leipzig).
  • EABS Research Unit 2025–2028: “The Origins of Israel and the Shaping of Early Israelite Identities during the Iron Age: Perspectives from Biblical Studies and Archaeology” (Chair, Organiser and Founder).
  • “Politics and Compromise in the Hebrew Bible” (13–15 December 2024, Trinity College, Melbourne, Australia). International conference. Organised by: Prof. Dr Benedikt Hensel in collaboration with Prof. Dr Mark Brett (Melbourne) and Prof. Dr Rachelle Gilmour (Melbourne).
  • “The Book of Samuel in the Shadow of Empires. Relations between Israel, Judah, and Neighbouring Nations in Historical, Compositional, and Theological Perspective” (University of Basel – 12–14 October 2022); organised and initiated in collaboration with St. Germany, Basel) (funded by the SNF).
  • “Transjordan in Biblical Traditions: Exploring New Avenues and Perspectives for Future Research on Ancient Transjordan from Hebrew Bible Studies and Related Fields” (University of Oldenburg – Chair of the Old Testament, 14–15 July 2022)
  • “Edom East and West of the Arabah Valley, in the Negev and in the Hebrew Bible” (Research Workshop at the EABS Conference in Toulouse 2022: 4–7 July 2022), organised and initiated in collaboration with Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University.
  • “Social Groups and Redactions behind Biblical Traditions: Perspectives from Babylonia, Idumea, Judah and Israel” (Session/Research Unit at the EABS Annual Conference, Toulouse, 4–7 July 2022), organised and initiated in collaboration with Bartosz Adamczewski, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, and Dany Nocquet, Protestant Institute of Theology, Montpellier
  • “Multifaceted Edom. Recent Research on Southern Transjordan in the Iron Age from an Archaeological and Cultural-Historical Perspective” (Zurich/Amman; 8–10 June 2021); in collaboration with Dr Katharina Schmidt, DEIAHL Amman, Prof. Dr Rocío Da Riva, Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona; and Mohammad al Najjar (Amman) (funded by the Thyssen Foundation)
  • “Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and the Diaspora in Biblical Traditions” (EABS Research Unit, Wuppertal 2020), organised and initiated jointly with Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University.
  • “Wisdom and Torah as Dynamic Modes of Scribal Discourse in Israel and Early Judaism: Beyond Biblical Genres and Traditions” (EABS Workshop 2019), in collaboration with JiSeong J. Kwon, Lausanne, and Tobias Häner, Vienna.
  • “The Historical Background of the Jacob Cycle” (Tel Aviv University, 17–18 December 2018), in collaboration with Oded Lipschits and Omer Sergi (TAU).
  • “Cultural Encounters: Translation, Transformation, Tension” (10th German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities Symposium 2018, Berlin, 18–21 November 2018), organised and conducted on behalf of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities (IASH)/Jerusalem and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation/Berlin).
  • “Samaria and the Diaspora in the Persian and Hellenistic Periods: Influence, Significance and Contributions to the Pentateuch and the Prophets” (Montpellier, Protestant Institute of Theology, Montpellier, France, 6–9 December 2018), jointly with Bartosz Adamczewski, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, and Dany Nocquet, Protestant Institute of Theology, Montpellier
  • “Resistance and Obedience. Symposium on Biblical Theology and Liturgy concerning the biblical narratives of Elijah and Elisha” (University of Mainz; 30 September–2 October 2014) in collaboration with Prof. Dr Ansgar Franz, Liturgical Studies, Catholic Theology, Mainz.

Supervised qualification theses

Doctoral projects

  • Veit Dinkelaker, University of Oldenburg, PhD project(first supervisor): "From excavation to exhibition: biblical archaeological research, field research in the South Levant and its didactic representation in museums" (since 1/2026)

  • Benjamin Schnabel, University of Oldenburg, PhD project(first supervisor): "Advanced Technologies in Epigraphy: Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions from the Iron Age IIC and the Persian Period" (since 7/2023)

  • Mareike Duin, University of Oldenburg, PhD project(first supervisor): "Biblical Israel and Land: A theological-historical study on the theological significance of the land in identity formation processes of the emerging Judaism of the Persian and early Hellenistic period - with an outlook on contemporary reconciliation theological and intercultural designs" (since 1/2026).

  • Thomas Hennig, University of Oldenburg, doctoral project(first supervisor): "God works salvation and disaster (Isa 45:7)? On YHWH's concepts of justice in Deurero-Isaiah and the Book of Job." (since 2/2023)

  • Fabian Shehu, University of Oldenburg, PhD project(first supervisor): ""Idumaea - a semi-arid economic area in the network of trans-regional trade during the Hellenistic period (3rd to 1st century BC): a GIS-based modelling study of routes, nodes and connectivity in the archaeology of the Southern Levant" (since 7/2025)

Habilitation projects

  • Gad Barnea"Under the Ptolemaic Sun: The Making of the Bible and the Alexandria Mouseion" (since 2023)
  • Jordan Davis: "The Aims of Jeremiah: Shifting Perspectives on the Fate of 'Israel' within the Fixed Historical Frame" (since 2022)
  • Kishiya Hidaka: "Tribes of Israel in the Book of Judges: A Historical, Literary-Historical, and Conceptual Study of the Tribal Culture of Israel in the Book of Judges " (since 2024)

Publications (selection)

I Books

Monographs

  1. 2027: Hensel, B., Archaeological Pathways to Ancient Israel. Excavated History(ies) as Cultural History Traced Through Archaeological Sites. Stuttgart: Alfred Kröner Verlag 2027 (in preparation: manuscript submitted to the publisher in September 2026)
  2. 2025: Hensel , B., The Book of Jonah (Commentary series: Reading the Bible Today), Theologischer Verlag Zürich: Zurich 2025 (184 pages).
  3. 2016: Hensel, B., Judah and Samaria. On the Relationship between Two Post-Exilic YHWH-Communities (Research on the Old Testament I/110), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2016 (habilitation thesis). On the Relationship of Two Post-exilic YHWH-communities (Studies in the Old Testament I/110), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2016 (Habilitation thesis).Awarded the 2018 Armin Schmitt Prize for Biblical Textual Research (www.armin-schmitt-stiftung.de) (487 pages).
  4. 2011: Hensel, B., The Reversal of the Firstborn Blessing in Genesis. An Analysis of the Narrative-Theological Structure of the First Book of the Torah (Supplements to the Journal of Old Testament Studies 423), de Gruyter: Berlin/New York, January 2011 (PhD thesis) (387 pages).
  5. 2008: The Old and Imperial Aramaic Inscriptions, Volume 1: Concordance. Edited by D. Schwiderski. In collaboration with Walter Bührer and Benedikt Hensel (Fontes et Subsidia ad Bibliam pertinentes 4), Berlin/New York (Walter de Gruyter) 2008 (983 pages).

Collected volumes

  1. 2027: Together with Mark Brett, Jordan Davis and Rachelle Gilmour (Eds.), Politics and Compromise in the Hebrew Bible (in press; May 2026). (360 pages)
  2. 2026: Hensel, B./Lasater, P. (eds.), Fear, Fear of God, and God Fearers: Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity (FAT II 173), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2026 (269 pages).
  3. 2025: Davis, J./Hensel, B. (eds.), A Prophet to the Nations: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives on Jeremiah 46–51 (Vetus Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus/VTOA), Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht 2025. (peer-reviewed volume). (open access).
  4. 2025: Germany, S./Hensel, B. (eds.), Israel, Judah, and Neighbouring Groups in the Book of Samuel: Historical and Textual Approaches ( Series: Oriental Religions in Antiquity / Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2025 (peer-reviewed volume). (open access).
  5. 2024: Hensel, B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology – in collaboration with Jordan Davis, edited by Benedikt Hensel (ArchB 8), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024 (355 pages). (peer-reviewed volume)
  6. 2023: Hensel, B. et al. (eds.), Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period ( Research on the Old Testament 167), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023 (267 pages). (peer-reviewed volume)
  7. 2023: Hensel, B./Wetz, C. (eds.), Migration and Theology. Historical Reflections, Theological Foundations and Hermeneutical Perspectives from Old and New Testament Studies (ABG/Studies on the Bible and its History 74); Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig 2023 (512 pages).
  8. 2022: Hensel, B. et al. (eds.), Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period: Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Worlds of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean/WANEM), Equinox: Sheffield 2022 (479 pages). (peer-reviewed volume)
  9. 2021: Hensel, B. (ed.), The History of the Jacob Cycle (Genesis 25–35). Recent Research on the Compilation, Redaction and Reception of the Biblical Narrative and Its Historical and Cultural Contexts (Archaeology and Bible 4), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2021 (241 pages). (peer-reviewed volume)
  10. 2020: Hensel, B. et al. ( eds.), Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and the Diaspora in Biblical Traditions (Research in the Old Testament, II/120), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2020 (347 pages).
  11. 2011: Dinkelaker, V. / Hensel, B. / Zeidler, F. (eds.), Since When Has ‘That Israel’ Existed? Collected Studies on the TNK and Ancient Judaism. In Honour of Bernd J. Diebner on his 70th Birthday (Contributions to the Understanding of the Bible 17), LIT-Verlag: Münster, 2011 (312 pages).

II Articles and essays (selection)

  1. Hensel, Benedikt. ‘The Archaeology of the Transjordan during the Persian Period.’ In *The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in the Persian Period*, edited by Deirdre N. Fulton, Anna Angelini, and Peter Altmann. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Forthcoming (submitted to the publisher)
  2. Hensel, Benedikt. ‘Spatial Turn: Biblical Archaeology and Regional Studies.’ In *Handbook of Bible and Cultural Studies*, edited by S. Hübenthal and B. Collinet. London: T&T Clark / Bloomsbury. Forthcoming (submitted to the publisher)
  3. Hensel, Benedikt. ‘Obadiah’s Edom Reconsidered: Othering, the Archetypal Enemy, and the Realities of Idumea.’ In *Joel and Obadiah*, edited by Charlie Hadjiev and Brad Anderson. *Themes and Issues in Biblical Studies*. Sheffield: Equinox. Forthcoming (submitted to the publisher)
  4. Hensel, Benedikt. ‘Caleb the Edomite or Caleb the Judahite? Joshua 14:6–15 and 15:13–19 and the Narrative Negotiation of Idumea, Judah, and Biblical Israel in the Context of Emerging Judaism(s) in the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods.” In *Politics and Compromise in the Hebrew Bible*, edited by Mark G. Brett, Jordan Davis, Rachelle Gilmour, and Benedikt Hensel, 103–139. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Forthcoming (submitted to the publisher)
  5. Hensel, Benedikt. In press. “From Hero to Zero? The Bronze Age–Iron I Transition at Hazor: Resettlement of Ruins and Memories in the Making.” In *Abandoned Cities – Resilience in Perceptions and Interpretations*, edited by M. Zimmermann and St. Roloff, 49–62. (to be published 7/2026). Forthcoming (submitted to the publisher)
  6. Hensel, B., “The ‘YHWH-fearing Sailors’ in Jonah 1:5–16 as a Model for the Classification of the ‘Nations’ in Early Judaism: A Search for Literary and Historical Traces in the Book of Jonah,” in: Hensel, B./Lasater, P. (ed.), Fear, Fear of God, and God-Fearers: Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity, Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2026, 151–169 (peer-reviewed).
  7. Hensel, Benedikt/Lasater, Phillip, “Fear, Fear of God, God-Fearers: Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity,” in: Hensel, B./Lasater, P. (eds.), Fear, Fear of God, and God Fearers: Philological and Historical Perspectives on the World of Ancient Judaism and Christianity, Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2026, 1–16 (peer-reviewed).
  8. Igor Kreimerman, Erik Eynikel, Benedikt Hensel, Bénédicte Lhoyer, Débora Sandhaus, Tel Hazor 2023: Preliminary Report”, Journal of the German Palestine Society 141/1 (2025) (peer-reviewed).
  9. Hensel, Benedikt/Kreimerman, Igor, “NewExcavations at the Megapolis of Hazor: Descending into the Settlement Layers of Ancient Israel,” in: World and Environment of the Bible 1 (2024), 62–65.
  10. “Reconsidering Yahwism in Persian-Period Idumea in Light of the Current Material Findings.” In: Barnea, G./Kratz, R.G. (eds.), *Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire. Prof. Shaul Shaked in memoriam* (BZAW), Berlin: de Gruyter 2024, 151–196.
  11. “The Origins and Spread of Early YHWH Worship: A Re-evaluation of the Sources with a Special Focus on the Copper Industry in the Arava Rift.” In: transformatio; Issue 1 – 2024: Mobility. Religion and Faith in Motion, 40–69 (peer-reviewed) (Open access: here).
  12. “Transjordan and Judah from the Babylonian to Hellenistic Periods: Their Cultural, Religious, Economic, and Political Entanglements and Their Impact on the Formation of the Hebrew Bible.” In: Hensel B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology – in collaboration with Jordan Davis (ArchB 8), Tübingen 2024, 195–234 .
  13. “Untangling History and Story: Shifting Trends in the Study of Ethnic Groups in the Book of Samuel.” In: Israel, Judah, and Neighbouring Groups in the Book of Samuel: Historical and Textual Approaches ( Series: Oriental Religions in Antiquity / Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times), edited by Stephen Germany and Benedikt Hensel, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2024, 7–19.
  14. ‘YHWH’s Self-Predication and the Exodic Formula in the Opening of the Decalogue, Ex 20:2–6/Deut 5:6–10: On the Theology of a Concept of God and its Development in the History of Religion and Law,” in: Hensel, B./Wetz, C. (eds.), Migration and Theology. Historical Reflections, Fundamental Theological Elements and Hermeneutical Perspectives from Old and New Testament Studies (Studies on the Bible and its History 74), Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig 2023, 337–381.
  15. “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. (eds.), Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period (Research in the Old Testament 167), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023, 11–23.
  16. “The Ark Narrative(s) of 1 Sam *4:1b–7:1 / 2 Sam 6* between Philistia, Jerusalem, and Assyria: A New Approach for a Historical Contextualisation and Literary-Historical Classification.” In: Hagemeyer, F. (ed.), Jerusalem and the Coastal Plain in the Iron Age and Persian Periods. New Studies on Jerusalem’s Relations with the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel/Palestine (c. 1200–300 BCE). RIAB 4/ORA 46. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2022, 163–191.
  17. “Fundamental Elements of an Old Testament Theology of Migration: A Contribution to the Current Debate on Migration-Sensitive Theology from the Perspective of Old Testament Studies.” In: Evangelische Theologie/EvTh 82/1 (2022), 19–31.
  18. “The Complexity of a Site: ‘Edom’ in the Persian Period from the Perspectives of Historical Research, Hebrew Bible Studies, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies.” In: Benedikt Hensel et al. (eds.), About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period. Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Series: Worlds of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean), Equinox, Sheffield 2022, 13–47.
  19. “God-fearing sailors (Jonah 1:5–16) and repentant enemies (Jonah 3:5–10) Two Different Models of ‘Salvation for the Nations’ in the Book of Jonah," Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 133/2 (2021).
  20. “‘Wine of the Promised Land’: The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1–12) in the Context of Old Testament Images of Renewal and Liberation,” Junge Kirche 1 (2021).
  21. “Tightening the Bonds between Edom and Israel (Genesis 33:1–17*): On the Further Development of Edom’s Role within the Continuation of the Jacob Cycle in the Exilic and Early Persian Periods,” *Vetus Testamentum* 71 (2021), 397–417.
  22. “Edom in the Jacob Cycle (Gen *25–35): New Insights on Its Positive Relations with Israel, the Literary-Historical Development of Its Role, and Its Historical Background(s).” In: Hensel, B. (ed.), The History of the Jacob Cycle (Genesis 25–35). Recent Research on the Compilation, the Redaction and the Reception of the Biblical Narrative and Its Historical and Cultural Contexts (Archaeology and Bible 4), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2021, 55–134.
  23. “Opening up new horizons in the Old Testament? Biblical-theological and hermeneutical observations on Matthew 1–2,” *Biblische Zeitschrift*, Leiden: Brill 64/1 (2020), 1–20.
  24. “Deuteronomy 12:13–19: On the Localisation of the One Maqom,” Neue Folge. Biblische Notizen. Neue Folge (BN) 182 (2019), 9–43.
  25. “From ‘Israelites’ to ‘Foreigners’: On the Development of Anti-Samaritan Polemics from the Hasmonean Period Onwards,” ZAW 126/4 (2014), 475–493.
  26. “The Public Church – A Church-Leadership Perspective.” In: Heinemann, L./Höfle, K., Scherle, P. (eds.), God in the Public Sphere. The Media Image of the Church and its Practice (Herborner Beiträge 6), Berlin 2013, 7–27 (co-authored with Sigurd Rink).
  27. “Defining the Relationship between the Old and New Testaments as the Foundation of Christian Theology – Arnold A. van Ruler’s Approach and the Recent Canonical-Intertextual Debate.” In: Communio Viatorum 51 (2009).
  28. Various articles in WiBiLex (www.wibilex.de) and EBR/Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception.
  29. Regular reviews for ZAW, ZAW Zeitschriftenschau, Theologische Literaturzeitung and Welt des Orients.

Memberships and functions

Memberships

Specialised academic roles

  • Member of the Steering Committee of the EABS Research Unit ‘Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: Tracing Perspectives of Group Identity from Judah, Samaria, and the Diaspora in Biblical Traditions’ 2018–2023.
  • Organising Committee of the ‘German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities (GISFOH) 2017–2018.
  • Curator of the exhibition ‘Respect! The Samaritans in the Bible and Today’ – a collaborative project between the Yeshiva University Centre for Israel Studies in New York, the Museum of the Bible, the Bible Museum in Frankfurt am Main and the University of Oldenburg, 2021–2024.
  • Member of the academic advisory board of the Frankfurt Bible Museum for the preparation of the exhibition ‘Qumran Scrolls’ 2016–2018.
  • Representative for the University of Oldenburg: Conference of Institutes of Protestant Theology (KIET): since 2023.
  • Representative of the KIET for the Protestant Faculty Council for the Lower Saxony regional group: since 2023.

Academic self-administration and positions at the University of Oldenburg

Expert reports

  • Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
  • German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • Israel Science Foundation (ISF)
  • Vetus Testamentum
  • Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism (JSJS) – Brill
  • Journal of Biblical Literature
  • Journal of Hebrew Scriptures
  • Communio Viatorum
(Changed: 28 Sep 2026)  |  Kurz-URL:Shortlink: https://uol.de/p89061en
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