Collaborations and Cooperations

Collaborationa

Swedish Bible Society

Biblical studies in Uppsala have been involved in the Bible Commission’s translation work since the 1970s. Researchers in the field are members of the Bible Society’s governing council and are participating in the ongoing trial translation of the New Testament.

Religious communities and organizations

Researchers and doctoral students in the subject regularly participate in networks and conferences with the Church of Sweden at the national, diocesan, and parish levels. Collaboration also includes Älvsby Folk High School, the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem, the Sigtuna Foundation Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (Christian Council of Sweden), the Jewish Congregation and Paideia Folk High School, the Science Festival, the Bible Festival (Academy for Leadership and Theology) and the “Meeting Place for Theology, Philosophy and Society” (Newman Institute).

Cooperations

Uppsala University

The subject has recurring joint seminars with subjects at other faculties at Uppsala University. The Hebrew Bible Exegesis specialization has joint seminars with Semitic Languages (Department of Linguistics and Philology). The New Testament Exegesis specialization has seminars with Greek (same department) and with Ancient Culture and Society (Department of Archaeology and Ancient History). Through the former professor of Hebrew Bible Exegesis, Göran Eidevall, the subject has been instrumental in establishing the Forum for Jewish Studies (FJS) at UU, in close collaboration with Paideia, the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. Cecilia Wassén is one of two directors. One of the subject’s teachers, Mikael Larsson, is affiliated with the Center for Religion and Society (CRS), theme Family, Gender, and Demography.

Nordic universities

The subject regularly organizes joint research seminars with Enskilda Högskolan in Stockholm and Johannelunds Teologiska Högskola in Uppsala. The New Testament Exegesis specialization has regular joint seminars with the Higher Seminary in Patristics at the Newman Institute in Uppsala. The New Testament Exegesis specialization has a joint research school with Lund University, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Oslo, and the Faculty of Theology in Oslo, in which Umeå University, the University of Stavanger, and the Independent University in Stockholm also participate. The Hebrew Bible Exegesis specialization has a joint research school with Lund University and the Independent University in Stockholm.

Swedish Exegetical Society (SES)

Every year, the Swedish Exegetical Society publishes the Swedish Exegetical Yearbook and organizes an international conference on current biblical research and teaching. Researchers in the subject sit on the board, currently Mikael Larsson (vice chair) and doctoral student representative Victoria Vasquez. Teachers and doctoral students in the subject participated in the 2023 conference in Umeå on the theme “The Bible in the North.”

Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods (OTSEM)

The international research school OTSEM (Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods) brings together doctoral students, post-docs, and employed teachers and researchers in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible exegesis from 17 Northern European universities for an annual conference. Biblical Studies in Uppsala joined in 2007 and hosted the conference in 2015. Mikael Larsson sits on the board.

International research bodies

Researchers in the subject hold board positions in research panels, program committees for international research organizations such as the European Association for Biblical Studies (EABS), the Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting and International Meeting (SBL), Enoch Seminar, and others. In June 2025, the subject will host the SBL International Meeting in Uppsala.

International journals

Researchers in the subject sit on the editorial boards of journals such as Dead Sea Discoveries, Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Sapientia Logos: A Journal of Biblical Research & Interpretation in Africa, and Advances in Ancient Biblical and Near Eastern Research.

International universities and networks

Since the 1990s, the department has had a tripartite collaboration with the universities of Tübingen and Strasbourg, involving symposia and publications (Mohr Siebeck). The New Testament Exegesis specialization collaborates with the University of Regensburg, the research institute “Beyond Canon: Heterotopias of Religious Authority in Ancient Christianity,” and participates in the Nordic New Testament Network research network. Since 2017, researchers in the Hebrew Bible Exegesis specialization have participated in conferences with the European interdisciplinary network “Transgressive Religion,” which brings together researchers specializing in religion and queer theory.