Conference: "Determinism, Divine Providence, and Human Agency in Second Temple Judaism"

Determinism has long been recognized as an important feature of Second Temple Jewish literature, but its diverse forms and functions across early Jewish texts remains underexamined. Discussion has typically concentrated on texts, such as Daniel 7-12 and parts of 1 Enoch, whose determinism appears in apocalyptic settings, invoked by the term “apocalyptic determinism." This workshop aims to open a more nuanced and integrative view of determinism and related notions of divine foreknowledge and human agency by bringing more texts into the conversation, including Qoheleth, Ben Sira, Jubilees, the Hodayot, and the Qumran Rule Texts. It will bring together senior and early-career scholars who specialize in a variety of aspects of Second Temple literary culture.

The workshop is organized by Molly Zahn and Jeffrey Cross, and is sponsored by Yale Divinity School and the Yale Program in Jewish Studies.