Lunchtime seminar: Honey from the rock — Psalms of creation in Judaism and Christianity

A distinctive interfaith dialogue through art and scholarship. Susan Gillingham, a leading expert on the reception history of the Psalms, and Debra Band, acclaimed for her illuminated manuscripts exploring biblical and Jewish texts, present their collaborative project on Christian and Jewish interpretations of psalms relating to creation. Band's paintings embody the rich meanings of the psalms through imagery that can be read within both traditions. Accompanying commentaries explore areas of convergence and difference, revealing how each tradition understands these texts and how those interpretations are reflected in the paintings' symbolism. Rather than seeking to persuade or proselytize, the project aims to foster understanding, dialogue and mutual respect. As our guests explain: “The two of us, Anglican theologian and expert in the reception history of the Psalms, and Hebrew manuscript artist, scholar and author, present you with the fruits of our unique collaboration exploring, in art and word, the often-conflicting Christian and Jewish understandings of this body of biblical poetry at the root of both our traditions. While Judaism and Christianity share a love for this poetry, core tenets of our beliefs lead us often (but not always) understand their meanings in entirely different ways. In our paintings and commentaries we do not hide or paper-over the differences and similarities, but fully recognize and explain them, embodied in the symbolic imagery in the paintings according to our respective religions." The Revd Canon Professor Susan Gillingham is Emeritus Professor of the Hebrew Bible at the University of Oxford and an internationally recognised scholar of the Psalms, influential in developing reception history approaches to biblical interpretation. Debra Band’s work in Hebrew illuminated manuscripts draws upon her love of both the manuscript arts and biblical studies. She holds a BA Honours in History from Concordia University in Montreal and an MS in Political Science from MIT and turned full attention to Hebrew manuscript arts in 1987. Descended from an eminent rabbinic family, her extensive studies of Jewish texts and research into medieval European and middle Eastern painting and manuscripts inform her work.