Jurgen Zangenberg is Professor for Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity. His research focuses on the place of ancient Jewish communities in the Greco-Roman context, their self-definition as cultural and ethnic minority, their literature and material culture, and on how early Christianity originated from its Jewish and Greco-Roman matrix and slowly developed its peculiar way of life and thought.

More information about Jürgen Zangenberg

Research

Many different cultures shaped what we now call the Ancient Mediterranean World. Next to Greeks and Romans, Jews and Christians deeply influenced our Western way of perceiving ourselves and the many worlds around us. As Professor for Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, my research focuses on the place of ancient Jewish communities in the Greco-Roman context, their self-definition as cultural and ethnic minority, their literature and material culture, and on how early Christianity originated from its Jewish and Greco-Roman matrix and slowly developed its peculiar way of life and thought.

Material culture always plays an important role in this context, above all research in places and regions like Jerusalem, Rome, Qumran, the Galilee or Samaria with their many cultures, but also social-religious institutions such as early churches or ancient synagogues. It is a particular privilege to be able to excavate an unexplored Galilean synagogue with students and colleagues from Leiden, Bern, Helsinki and Wofford College and many other volunteers in the context of Kinneret Regional Project (www.kinneret-excavations.org). New finds always produce new insights and new questions. 

C.V.

Other activities

• Member of Societas Novi Testamenti Studiorum, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Conventus, NOSTER, Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Theologie, Society of Biblical Literature, American Schools of Oriental Research, European Association for Biblical Studies, Deutscher Verein zur Erforschung Palästinas.
• Extensive archaeological training and fieldwork as member of excavation teams to Callirhoe/Jordan (1986, German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in the Holy Land), Petra/Jordan (1992, Naturhistorische Gesellschaft Nuremberg) as volunteer.
• Staff member with responsibility in teaching, fieldwork and publication in excavations teams to Sepphoris/Israel (1993-1994 and 1996-1997, Prof. Dr. Eric M. Meyers), Tel Kinrot/ Israel (1994, 1998 Prof. Dr. Volkmar Fritz).
• Co-director of Kinneret Regional Project since 2001 ( www.kinneret-excavations.org)
• Director of the excavations at the Roman-Byazantine village at Horvat Kur/Galilee, a sub-project of Kinnret Regional Project, since 2007, in 2010 discovery of a Byzantine synagogue, excavations with colleagues from Bern, Helsinki and Wofford College (USA) (www.kinneret-excavations.org).

Publications