It was in 1988 that Prof. Dr. Johan LUST founded the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism at the Faculty of Theology. The first group of permanent researchers who formed his team included Albert Claes, Erik Eynikel, Katrin Hauspie, Antoon Ternier and Frans Van Segbroeck. After his retirement, Prof. Lust has been succeeded by Prof. Dr. Hans AUSLOOS as the director of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism.

The research of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism initially focused on:

• Text-critical studies on the book of Ezekiel
• The development of the Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint and its revised edition
• Messianism and the messianic texts in the Tanach and the Septuagint

Against the background of this specific research interest, both the edition of the book of Ezekiel as part of the international project Biblia Hebraica Quinta and a translation with commentary for La bible d’Alexandrie are in preparation. In addition to this, the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism equally prepares the Ezekiel volume of the Hexapla project under the auspices of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS).

Since directorship of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism passed on to Prof. Dr. Hans AUSLOOS and Prof. Dr. Bénédicte LEMMELIJN, the Centre has acquired a number of new research projects, in addition to the initial research interests, that focus on:

• the book of Canticles (textual criticism, study of translation technique, literary-poetical criticism)
• the book of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes)
• the study of Greek renderings of Hebrew hapax legomena
• the book of Judith

The Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism is also working on the edition of Canticles within the Hexapla project under the auspices of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS).

For a full account of the realised projects and events of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism, please click here.

The Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism expands its expertise by attracting international guest researchers. C. Begg (The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.), A. Gianto (Pontifico Istituto Biblico), J. Cook (Stellenbosch University), G. Steyn (University of Pretoria), H. Van Rooy (Noordwes-Universiteit), G. Prinsloo (University of Pretoria) and P. Kruger (Noordwes-Universiteit) have collaborated with and supported the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism in the past. Conversely, Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism have stayed as visiting scholars at the University of Stellenbosch and at the Noordwes-Universiteit, Potchefstroom (17th December 2006 - 18 January 2007).
 
The Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism has also participated in the organisation of the congresses of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) in Oslo (1998), Basel (2001) and Leiden (2004). In the recent past, the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism has been working together closely with the Stellenbosch University (South Africa), within the scope of the bilateral project Textual Studies in Early Judaism – The Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls (South African promoter: J. Cook). In the context of this research project, a Specialists' Symposium on the Septuagint Translation was organised in Leuven from 4 – 6 December, 2006. The proceedings of this international colloquium have recently been published in H. AUSLOOS, J. COOK, F. GARCIA MARTINEZ, B. LEMMELIJN, M. VERVENNE (eds.), Translating a Translation. The Septuagint and its Modern Translations in the Context of Early Judaism (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 213), Leuven: Peeters, 2008.

At present the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism welcomes P. Krüger (University of Stellenbosch) and D. Pienaar (University of the Freestate) as visiting researchers. From 25 January 2008 to 6 March 2008, Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn have stayed at the University of the Freestate, courtesy of prof. F. Snyman. From 1 March 2008 to 14 May 2008, Reinhart Ceulemans was a visiting scholar at the Septuaginta-Unternehmen in Göttingen.

In addition to the mentioned cooperation, and in the context of Septuaginta Deutsch, H. Ausloos and B. Lemmelijn function as editor of the section Theology in the recently started, multi-volume Handbuch der Septuaginta.

In cooperation with J. Trebolle Barrera (Facultad de Filología, Departamento de Estudios Hebreos y Arameos, Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spanje), H. Ausloos and B. Lemmelijn prepare an international congress on Old and Modern Editions of the Biblical Texts: The Book of Kings (2009), in which the Leuven Centre of Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism will take the responsibility of editing the concomitant publication.

Furthermore, several research fellows of the Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism are involved in a number of international projects. In addition to the already mentioned collaboration with the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (Johan Lust, Antoon Ternier) and La Bible d'Alexandrie (Katrin Hauspie, Dries De Crom, Reinhart Ceulemans), Johan Lust also functions as Sachberater for the Ezekiel volume of Septuaginta Deutsch and as member of the Advisory Board of the Hexapla Project. In this project, the book Ezekiel is assigned to Katrin Hauspie and the book of Canticles to Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn with the collaboration of Reinhart Ceulemans and Dries De Crom. Finally, Johan Lust acts as ‘immediately past president’ in the board of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS).

Prof. Dr. Hans AUSLOOS
Centre for Septuagint Studies and Textual Criticism
Faculty of Theology, Department of Biblical Studies (Old Testament)
Maria-Theresiacollege
Sint-Michielsstraat 6
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium
tel: +32 (0)16 32 38 10 en +32 (0)11 74 49 09
e-mail: hans.ausloos@theo.kuleuven.be

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