Benedikt Hensel appointed

PD Dr. Benedikt Hensel has been appointed Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Oldenburg's Institute of Protestant Theology and Religious Education.

He previously held various academic positions and interim professorships at the Universities of Mainz, Zurich (Switzerland) and Göttingen.

Hensel studied Protestant theology, Jewish studies and classical archaeology at the Universities of Heidelberg, Amsterdam and Utrecht (the Netherlands). He completed his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Mainz. From 2017 to 2021 he conducted research in Zurich on the origins of the Torah from an archaeological perspective, in a project with the Tel Aviv University (Israel).

Hensel's main research interests are the cultural and religious history of Israel and early Judaism, biblical archaeology and the literary history of the Hebrew bible. In Oldenburg, his research will focus - amongst others - on processes of identity formation in ancient Judaism. He is also conducting research on ancient Jordan and its influence on cultural and political developments in the Ancient Near East.