Aims & Scope

Research

The TAB-PUB (Tracking Ancient Bible Publishers) project investigates the variant literary editions that can be reconstructed behind the ancient textual forms of the Hebrew Bible. Combining textual criticism, literary criticism and digital humanities, it examines how ancient scribes revised, reorganised and transmitted biblical texts. The Book of Kings serves as the project’s central case study, while the textual history of the Pentateuch — especially the (pre-)Samaritan textual tradition — provides a comparative framework for interpreting these variant literary editions. Its results will be made available through open-access publications, presentations, structured research data and a searchable digital knowledge graph. By integrating text-critical and literary-historical analysis with digital modelling, TAB-PUB aims to offer fresh perspectives on ancient scribal culture, the transmission of biblical texts and the formation of scriptural authority.

Overview

A key challenge in biblical scholarship is explaining the substantial differences among ancient versions of biblical texts. These divergences have often been treated as secondary developments in relation to the Masoretic Text. Yet discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, together with renewed analysis of the Septuagint and its recensions, show that distinct literary editions circulated concurrently during the Second Temple period. This evidence challenges the assumption of a single, fixed textual form and instead points to a dynamic scribal culture in which texts were revised and republished in response to changing communal and historical circumstances.

TAB-PUB begins from the hypothesis that many large-scale textual differences result not merely from scribal error or accidental transmission, but from deliberate editorial intervention. Such adaptations may reflect the theological, political, or literary concerns of particular communities. By reframing these differences as acts of ancient publishing, the project offers a more nuanced and historically grounded account of how sacred texts were continuously reshaped to meet evolving interpretive and religious needs.

The project addresses several key questions: What are the most significant editorial interventions in the ancient versions of the Books of Kings? How can these interventions be classified according to type, scale, and purpose? What do they reveal about the theological, cultural, and socio-political contexts in which they emerged?

TAB-PUB adopts an integrated methodology that combines comparative textual analysis with historical-contextual research. Large-scale differences across ancient versions of Kings will be systematically collated and categorized. The resulting data will inform a revised reconstruction of the book’s textual and literary development while also offering broader insights into ancient editorial practices. The research proceeds through four interconnected phases: collation, classification, analysis, and contextual interpretation. Together, these phases support both detailed case studies and a synthetic account of how the Books of Kings were revised, transmitted, and republished in antiquity.

TAB-PUB offers a fresh perspective on the transmission of the Hebrew Bible and the formation of textual authority. By interpreting specific scribal interventions as deliberate editorial acts, the project shifts attention from questions of textual fidelity to the dynamics of interpretive creativity. It shows how sacred texts were adapted and reauthorised in response to evolving historical, theological, and communal contexts, thereby providing a more historically grounded and theologically attuned account of the Bible’s development.

Beyond biblical studies, TAB-PUB contributes to wider academic debates in religious studies, ancient Near Eastern history, classics, literary theory, cultural studies, and the digital humanities. It advances a new model of ancient publishing that can be applied to other literary traditions, while fostering a deeper understanding of how communities construct, preserve, and transmit collective memory through textual practices.

Although TAB-PUB investigates ancient texts, its research questions are closely connected to contemporary cultural challenges. The authenticity of texts – consider the phenomenon of “fake news” – the reinterpretation of tradition – for instance, in the context of AIgenerated content – and the role of authority – whether ecclesiastical or state – remain pressing issues today. The project helps us understand how normative texts influence the flow of information and shape public opinion. Another tangible outcome is a public digital platform that facilitates the comparison of ancient versions of the Book of Kings and may also serve as a useful model for other disciplines concerned with the transmission and interpretation of ancient or modern texts.