Sub-project 2.1 (Prophetic Literature - Hebrew Bible)
Dr. Petra Schmidtkunz investigates a number of late prophecies in the book of Isaiah which have sometimes been called “proto-apocalyptic.” She examines their theology as well as their interrelations with traditional texts and topoi, paying special attention to the scribal techniques that were used. The findings are correlated with similar developments in prophetic texts from Late Period Egypt, a corpus which has often been labelled “apocalyptic,” such as the Oracle of the Lamb, the Oracle of the Potter, or the so-called “Demotic Chronicle”.
In her book project Dr. Petra Schmidtkunz analyses notions of rule in the book of Isaiah and in late Egyptian prophetic literature, including The Oracle of the Lamb (P.Vienna 10000) and an Aramaic composition known as The Demise of Righteousness (P. BL 106vo). The concepts of rule therein span a wide horizon ranging from personal (kingly) rule to human messianic figures and visions of theocratic rule. One major result of her research is that different conceptualisations not only evolved over time but also existed side by side, both in Egypt and in Judah, suggesting the need to nuance existing models of literary development in biblical research, allowing for simultaneous contradicting developments.
Dr. Schmidtkunz has consistently shared her research at major international conferences and contributed to several publications in the field of Biblical Studies. In the past years, she has presented her work at the Annual Conference of the European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS). Additionally, Schmidtkunz contributed to the (Anti-)Apocalypticism in Antiquity conference held at the University of Zurich in July 2023, where she presented a paper titled “‘When the Snake Does Not Bite’: How the Notions of an Ideal Urzeit and Endzeit Belong Together and What This Tells Us About Apocalypticism” (read more about it on the DEMBIB blog). Dr. Schmidtkunz’s scholarly involvement extended to the Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense LXXIII, held in August 2024 at the KU Leuven and Université Catholique de Louvain.