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Co-edited book on Luke-Acts and ancient historiography

We are happy to announce the publication of contributions to our international colloquium on Luke-Acts and ancient historiography, which took place at the University of Fribourg in September 2017 (see program).

Book description:


English: In biblical research, consensus is rare. Formulated by Dibelius at the beginning of the 20th century, the thesis that Luke is “the first Christian historian” is one such. Among the authors of the New Testament, Luke is alone in tracing the future of the Church after Easter, composing a two-volume work (B.W. Bacon ; H.J. Cadbury). If this action is original, it does not escape influences from ancient historiography. It is to explore these links that this volume is dedicated.

French: Dans la recherche biblique, les consensus sont rares. Formulée par Dibelius au début du xxe siècle, la thèse qui fait de Luc « le premier historien chrétien » en est un. Dans le Nouveau Testament en effet, l’auteur à Théophile est le seul à retracer le devenir de l’Eglise au lendemain de Pâques, composant une œuvre en deux tomes : « Luc-Actes » (B.W. Bacon ; H.J. Cadbury). Si ce geste est original, il n’échappe toutefois pas aux influences et dépendances face aux pratiques anciennes d’écriture. C’est à explorer ces liens que se consacre le présent volume, fruit d’un colloque organisé en 2017 à Fribourg. Entre reprises et développements des modèles et pratiques littéraires de l’Antiquité, l’écriture de Luc,
l’historien, est ainsi profilée.

To order this book: go to Amazon or LIT Verlag

Abstract of my contribution:

Daniel Marguerat describes Saint Luke's writings as being at the crossroads of two historiographies, Jewish and Greek. Indeed, Luke helped to clear a new road of historiography, which is both Greek and Jewish and without any apparent complex about it. In fact, the way Luke brings these two roads together is multidimensional. One key aspect is through his representation of the divine in a fresh way that brings the two roads together in order to make sense of the past, for the interest and benefit of an international audience. This manner of writing history may be considered a subgenre, ‘prophetic historiography’, one that includes the divine from the historian’s own worldview as a central part of the narrative’s argumentation. This essay then proposes this subgenre as a research tool for exploring historians with a retrospective prophetic role in their own societies. This conceptual link is a key part of a broader writing project that explores this history-writing sans complexe as manifest in the writings of two fathers of historiography, Herodotus and Luke. In the latter part of the article, it will be suggested that Luke sought not only to imitate the tradition that Herodotus established, but also to culminate effectively Jewish and Greek historiographical traditions.
Morgan, James, "Prophetic historiography: Definition and relevance for Herodotean and Lukan research" in Le corpus lucanien (Luc-Actes) et l’historiographie ancienne : quels rapports ?, S. Butticaz, L. Devillers, J. M. Morgan et S. Walton (sous dir.), Zurich, LIT, 2019, 69–95.

Women and prophecy in Herodotus and Luke: my contribution to the Festschrift for Max Küchler

It was a pleasure to contribute a chapter to honor our colleague Max Küchler on his 75th birthday. Here's a short description of my contribution:

In the Greek historiographical tradition, Herodotus and Saint Luke stand out in a few ways from historians of their times. One way is their inclusion of women in their histories, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Another way is their substantial
inclusion of the divine sphere as a part of their descriptions of human history. Th is essay then explores the link between these two interests: women and the divine. For the limits of this contribution, the comparison will be on the narrative significance of women in relation to divine communication. Additionally, the encounter of the Pythian tradition and the Christian prophetic tradition in the Acts of the Apostles will be examined as well as later developments in early church history.

For more info:

Morgan, James M., "Marvelous Women of Prophecy in the Narrative Strategies of Herodotus’s Histories and Luke-Acts" in Sprachbilder und Bildsprache. Studien zur Kontextualisierung biblischer Texte. Festschrift für Max Küchler zum 75. Geburtstag, NTOA / StUNT 121, M. Lau, K. M. Schmidt et T. Schumacher (sous dir.), Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019, p. 423–455.

New book on the Dead Sea Scrolls

It was a pleasure to contribute to this book project that celebrates and reviews research on the Dead Sea Scrolls since their discovery 70 years ago. My contribution explores how the the Scrolls and their context shed light on the Christian movement and texts.

Here's a summary in French: 

La découverte des manuscrits de la mer Morte est certainement la plus grande découverte archéologique du 20e siècle. C’est tout près du site archéologique de Khirbet Qumrân, aux abords de la mer Morte, que les premiers manuscrits sont découverts par des bédouins en 1947. Après 70 années de recherche, ces manuscrits n’ont pas dévoilé tous leurs mystères…

Quels sont les liens entre les grottes qui renfermaient les manuscrits et le site archéologique de Khirbet Qumrân ? Les manuscrits entreposés dans les grottes ont-ils été produits par les habitants du site de Qumrân ? Quid de la thèse essénienne ? Jean le Baptiste était-il l’un des leurs ? Comment les manuscrits de Qumrân viennent-ils éclairer la formation du canon de l’Ancien Testament ? Quels sont les liens possibles entre le Nouveau Testament et les manuscrits découverts près de la mer Morte ?

La HET-PRO a réuni différents spécialistes du sujet pour tenter de répondre à l’ensemble de ces questions le temps d’une journée. En voici les actes.

Sous la direction d'Antony Perrot, avec la participation de : Antony Perrot, Dennis Mizzi, Damien Labadie, Innocent Himbaza et James Morgan. Premier livre publié aux Editions HET-PRO.

Points forts:

• une synthèse à jour après 70 ans de recherche sur les manuscrits de la mer Morte
• menée par des chercheurs spécialistes du sujet
• accessible aux esprits curieux
• illustrée par des visuels et des tableaux de synthèse

For more information: YouTube and Facebook

To order the book: La maison de la Bible

"Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques: Herodotus and Luke's use of the divine 'plupast' in their histories."

My paper at the annual conference of British New Testament Society (St Mary's University - 2018)

English here (en français en bas)

The annual conference of the British New Testament Society was held this year at St Mary's University (London Twickenham) from September 6 to 8. In this welcoming and stimulating setting, I gave a lecture on my book project which compares the history-writing of Herodotus (the first Greek historian) and that of St. Luke. The title in English was: "Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques: Herodotus and Luke's use of the divine 'plupast' in their histories."


From the fourth chapter of my project, the lecture showed the manner in which the Greek historian refers to the divine several times and in different ways in the first part of his work (Book 1, chapters 1-25). Essentially, the purpose of this section is to show some events before the reign of Croesus, defined by Herodotus as the cause of Greco-Persian conflicts. We find, for example:

• the genealogy attached to a deity or a hero, in this case the genealogy of the Lydian kings that goes back to the hero Heracles, 
• oracles that confirm or announce an event 
• the vital link between the sacred and the customs 
• the importance given to structures dedicated to the gods 
• the divine retribution for the offense of one of the elements above 

Since these elements are recurrent in the work, the rhetorical effect of the presence of the divine in this section, at the very beginning of his work, directs readers or listeners to follow the rest of the story. A comparison with the first section of Luke-Acts (Luke, chapters 1-3 up to the genealogy of Jesus) suggests some interesting leads to explore. To view the PowerPoint (in English) of the conference, click here.

En français:

La conférence annuelle de la British New Testament Society s’est tenue cette année à la St Mary’s University (Londres Twickenham) du 6 au 8 septembre. Dans ce cadre accueillant et stimulant, j'ai donné une conférence sur son projet de livre qui compare la manière d’écrire l’histoire d’Hérodote (le premier historien grec) et celle de saint Luc. Le titre en anglais était : « Dissimilar religious metanarratives, similar techniques : Herodotus and Luke’s use of the divine ‘plupast’ in their histories ». en français « Métarécits religieux dissemblables, techniques similaires : l’emploi du ‘plupast’ divin dans les histoires d’Hérodote et de Luc »).

Tiré du quatrième chapitre de mon projet, la conférence a montré la manière dont l’historien grec évoque le divin à plusieurs reprises et de différentes manières dans la première partie de son ouvrage (Livre 1, chapitres 1–25). Essentiellement, le but de cette section est de montrer quelques événements avant la prise de pouvoir de Crésus, défini par Hérodote comme la cause des conflits gréco-perses. On y trouve, par exemple : 

• la généalogie rattachée à une divinité ou un héros, en l’occurrence la généalogie des rois lydiens qui remonte au héros Héraclès, 
• des oracles qui confirment ou annoncent un événement 
• le lien vital entre le sacré et les coutumes 
• l’importance accordée aux structures consacrées aux dieux 
• la rétribution divine pour l’offense d’un des éléments ci-dessus 

Puisque ces éléments sont récurrents dans l’ouvrage, l’effet rhétorique de la présence du divin dans cette section, tout au début de son ouvrage, oriente les lecteurs ou les auditeurs à suivre le reste du récit. Une comparaison avec la première section de Luc-Actes (Luc, chapitres 1–3 jusqu’à la généalogie de Jésus) suggère des pistes intéressantes à explorer. Pour voir le PowerPoint (en anglais) de la conférence, cliquez ici.

"Christian"...what does that mean?

Just passing on an article that I wrote (in French) on the meaning of "Christian" in the New Testament and how it is used today.

On January 17, 2015, the burning of churches and Christian-related buildings in Niamey, and elsewhere in Niger, caused me to reflect on the meaning of Christian existence in today's societies.

For many, it is surprising that the expression "christian" is only used three times in the New Testament. Here are the occurrences in English (ESV) and Greek (NA28):

• Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. 
• καὶ εὑρὼν ἤγαγεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν. ἐγένετο δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον συναχθῆναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ διδάξαι ὄχλον ἱκανόν, χρηματίσαι τε πρώτως ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τοὺς μαθητὰς Χριστιανούς. 
• Acts 26:28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” 
• ὁ δὲ Ἀγρίππας πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον· ἐν ὀλίγῳ με πείθεις Χριστιανὸν ποιῆσαι. 
• 1Pet. 4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 
• εἰ δὲ ὡς χριστιανός, μὴ αἰσχυνέσθω, δοξαζέτω δὲ τὸν θεὸν ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ.

To explore this topic more, here is the article: "A Antioche ou à Niamey, être chrétien dérange"

Sorry, it has been translated yet...I will try to do that in the future. 

Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the conference (March 21, 2018) on the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) at the Haute école de théologie (HET-PRO). My paper explored the value of DSS research for New Testament studies. Although the topic was not new to me, it was a challenge to read through the latest and most pertinent exegetical literature.

This event attracted the attention of the press, so some interviews were organized. You can read these here if interested (all in French).

• La Liberté
• Vivre
• Christianisme aujourd'hui
• Protestinfo

As a part of the acts of this conference, my contribution will be published by Editions HET-PRO later this year (or next year). 

International colloquium on ancient historiography and Luke-Acts

Two days (Sept. 14-15, 2017) shared with great scholars exploring links between ancient historiography and the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The colloquium took place here in Fribourg (Switzerland) at the Dominican priory, the Albertinum. My paper delved into the question how historians have a prophetic voice, thus "prophetic historiography", and how this link is useful for exploring Herodotus and Luke, two "fathers" of historiography. The conference papers will be published with LIT Verlag in Fall 2018.

Joining the HET-PRO team

Some professional changes are in the works. At the end of July 2017, my contract with VBG will end. Since 2012 I have been involved in the Bible groups here in Fribourg, with GBU and VBG. It has been a pleasure and a challenge to juggle work between the French and German-speaking groups. But that is life at the University of Fribourg, the only bilingual university in Switzerland.

Another change. After several years of teaching NT and exegesis at the Institut biblique et missionnaire Emmaüs (IBME), I will join the new school HET-PRO in St-Légier and the first teaching team ever of this new adventure. If you'd like to read my "portrait" in French, go to this page on the HET-PRO website. There you can also discover how this school builds on IBME's heritage but also extends it in innovative ways.

What doesn't change: my position as lecturer at the University of Fribourg. Here I also enjoy being a part of a team focusing on the connections between ancient historiography and Luke-Acts. I'm looking forward to an exciting conference that we are organizing on this subject right here in Fribourg (14-15 Sept. 2017).

So, although I'll miss working with the Bible groups in Fribourg, I'm looking forward to concentrating my energy on teaching and research on various subjects in the field of New Testament studies.