 The
Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) has received a National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) grant to develop an interactive website that would improve public
understanding of the Bible and its contexts.
This
website, Bible Odyssey, will support and foster the
large public interest in matters biblical and will draw on the work of SBL
members. In a time of academic
departmental cutbacks, this is an opportunity to demonstrate to the public the
value to society that biblical scholars offer.
Project Overview
After receiving an NEH Planning Grant in 2009, SBL was awarded an implementation grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2011 to build a website for
general audiences on the Bible and its contexts. BibleOdyssey.com will be a
member written, member reviewed, free website that shares key insights from the field and
showcases the diverse interests and approaches within the guild.
The website will be multimedia, with
photographs, artworks, videos, essays, maps, timelines, interactive games, multiple texts of the Bible, and the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (condensed edition). The style will
be accessible to general audiences, similar to a news magazine.
The site is organized around key people, places,
and passages of the Bible. These were determined by an extensive survey and through advisory board consultations and include a mix of known and lesser-known topics. The site will launch with over a thousand entries and will continue to grow as members add content.
Bible Odyssey launches in the Spring of 2014. The target audience is the general public, including college students, journalists, clergy, and
others interested in learning about the Bible from the perspective of humanities scholarship.
2011-2014
Editorial Board
Timothy Beal, Case Western Reserve (2014)
Brennan Breed, Columbia Theological Seminary
(2016)
Marc Brettler, Brandeis University (2014)
Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch, Greensboro College
(2014)
Michael Chan, Luther Seminary (2016)
James Charlesworth, Princeton University (2014)
Nicola Denzey Lewis, Brown University (2014)
Paul Dilley, University of Iowa (2015)
Jennie Ebeling, University of Evansville (2016)
Mark
Goodacre, Duke University (2014)
Carol
Meyers, Duke University (2014)
Mark
Allan Powell, Trinity Lutheran Seminary (2014)
Sarah
Shectman, Stanford University (2015)
Elizabeth
Shively, University of St. Andrews (2016)
Samuel
Thomas, California Lutheran University (2016)
Jacob
Wright, Emory University (2014)
Request for SBL Member Participation
We invite SBL members to contribute rights-free images, maps, video,multimedia, and other content suitable for the subject areas listed below. Please
log in with your SBL ID to view project details or to contact the managing editor.
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