NTCS

From our beloved IOTS President Willem Smelik:

Dear members of the IOTS and other interested parties,

The IOTS has long discussed the desirability of new editions of (most of) the Targums. A first task, the collection of data on targumic manuscripts, has already started and has come to a promising, even if partial, conclusion at the Theologische Universiteit of Kampen, the Netherlands. Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman came with a proposal for a system of sigla which, if agreed upon and endorsed by the IOTS, could be used in any future studies and editions of the Targums, similar to the sigla nowadays common in the study of the Peshitta. The advantages of a common system are clear to everyone.

At the last meeting of the IOTS it was agreed that we should establish a committee to discuss the format for the sigla of manuscripts, starting with the afore-mentioned proposal. We would therefore like to invite interested scholars to come forward and express any interest that they might have in contributing to this task. The executive body of the IOTS will then discuss the options and decide upon a representative and suitable committee, who will hopefully be able to report their findings at the next meeting of the IOTS in Helsinki 2010.

The contact address is:

Willem Smelik
willem.smelik AT ucl.ac.uk
26 Tenison Road
Cambridge CB1 2DW
UK

With kind regards,
on behalf of the IOTS

Willem Smelik