28th Annual Meeting (2025)
Dates: 1–2 December 2025
Host: Laidlaw College, Christchurch Campus
70 Condell Avenue, Christchurch 8053, NZ
Dual mode (in-person and via Zoom)
ENROL NOW: Scan the QR code. Or click the link: https://laidlaw.typeform.com/28thANZABS
Draft programme (may be subject to change)
Click for pdf version here (with abstracts)
Monday, December 1
| STREAM A | STREAM B | |
| 8:45 | Registration | |
| 9:15 | Mihi whakatau | |
| 9:30 | Hui-talanoa Chair: Katie Marcar Deane Galbraith, “The Core of Io / Te Iho o Io: The current impasse in the Māori Supreme God debate and the possibility of a minimal conceptual consensus” Mercy Ah Siu-Maliko, “A Decolonial Reading of the Rape of Tamar: A Samoan Perspective” | Session 1: Ancient Material Culture Chair: James Harding Tim Frank, “Social structure, food storage and dating of the books of Samuel” Julia van den Brink, “Weaving the Tabernacle Curtains” |
| 10:30 | Morning tea | |
| 11:00 | Session 2: Sexual Violence in 2 Samuel Chair: Catherine Brownlie Sarah Hart, “Envisioning Tamar as a voice for Restorative Justice—from Rape-victim to social Empowerer ( 2 Sam 13:1-39)” David Tombs, “The Ten Women Shut Up by David in 2 Samuel 20:3” | Session 3: Hebrews Chair: Matt Wright Philip Church, “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Epistle to the Hebrews” Zoom: Chris Northcott, “Moses Stuart and the Emergence of the ‘Hypothetical Scenario’ Interpretation of Heb 6:4–6” |
| 12:00 | Lunch | |
| 1:30 | ANZABS AGM | |
| 2:00 3:00 | Session 4: Letters of Paul Chair: Jonathan Robinson William Chong, “‘Hostile’ divisions: a delimitation-critical study of τὴν ἔχθραν in Ephesians 2:14 / 15” Andrew Malone, “Collaborative Authorship of Thessalonians: Evidence/Arguments/Corollaries of Plural Contributors” 10 minute break Chanki Shin, “The Poor and Two Schisms of the Corinthian Assembly (1 Cor 1:11–12; 11:18)” | Session 5: Johannine Literature Chair: Paul Trebilco Mofreh Abdelmasih, “Exploring Ethnic Identity and Inclusion in the Rule of the Community and the Gospel of John” Kathleen Rushton, “Exploring the Seven Days of Creation in the Gospel according to John and its Implications for an Anticipatory Reading” 10 minute break Sean Du Toit, “Mimesis in 3 John: The Case of Gaius” |
| STREAM A | STREAM B | |
| 3:40 | Afternoon tea | |
| 4:00 | Session 6: Te Paipera Tapu Chair: William Chong Joshua Black, et. al. “Towards a Diachronic Corpus of Early Paipera Tapu Translations” Forrest Panther, “On the Sources of the Paipera Tapu” | Session 7: Supernatural Worlds Chair: Sean Du Toit Paul Trebilco, “The Sea, the River and the City: Imagery in the Book of Revelation” Katie Marcar, “Descents to the Underworld in Anatolian Hierapolis: Katabaseis in the Cult of Magna Mater, Judaism, and early Christianity” |
| 5:15 | Drinks followed by Dinner (optional, local restaurant TBC) |
Tuesday, December 2
| 9:00 | Session 8: Reading Narrative Chair: Mofreh Abdelmasih Paul Jones, “Reading well, on and off the page: Narratology and leader development” Andrew Brown, “Evaluating the Impact of Fokkelman’s Narrative Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel a Generation On” | Session 9: Gospels Chair: Philip Church Andrew Duncanson, “How Did Jesus Approach Neutrality? Editorial Harmonisation and the Farrer Hypothesis” Matt Wright, “God’s Love According to John and the Roman Stoics” |
| 10:00 | Morning tea | |
| 10:30 | Session 10: Contextual Bible Studies, Grief and Trauma Chair: David Tombs Jess Hall, “Interpretations of Genesis in Purity Guidebooks” Catherine Brownlie, “Disenfranchised Grief in the Narratives of Hagar: Genesis 16 & 21” 10 minute break Jeremiah Baker, “The Use of Contextual Biblical Studies in Trauma Recovery” | Session 11: Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures Chair: Kathleen Rushton Kate Tyler, “People of the Whole Story” Zoom: Crystal Hong, “A Historical-Canonical Reading of Ezekiel 16 and 23” 10 minute break William Chong, et. al., “And Darkness is My Friend:” Contextualising Psalm 88 as Christian Congregational Worship” |
| STREAM A | STREAM B | |
| 12:10 | Lunch | |
| 1:30 2:30 | Session 12: Synoptic Gospels Chair: Andrew Duncanson Peter Collier, “A Proposed Allusion to Exodus 21:32 LXX in Matthew 26:15” Jonathan Robinson, “The Evacuation of Defilement: The Scholarly Constipation over Mark 7:19, καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα” 10 minute break Kevin Waldie, “When examining the preceding context that Luke has provided for his briefer version of the Lord’s Prayer (Lk 11:1-4) what does Luke’s compositional style and vocabulary reveal?” | Session 13: Job & Jeremiah Chair: Chanki Shin Therese Aitchison, “There is Hope for a Tree: Job 14:7-9 and the Hope for Human Renewal” James Harding, “Allusive Soundplay in Job 9:17” 10 mintue break Joshua Axtens, “The Psychogeography of the Covenant Sermon: Urban Dreams and Nightmares in Jeremiah 11:1-13” |
| 3:10 | Afternoon Tea & Departure | |
Address:
70 Condell Avenue
Papanui
Christchurch 8053
New Zealand
Previous Annual Meetings
27 (3–4 December 2024) Carey Baptist College, Auckland [Conference Programme and Abstracts pdf]
26 (4–5 December 2023) Te Kupenga Catholic Theological College, Auckland [Conference Programme and Abstracts pdf]
25 (5–6 December 2022) University of Otago, Dunedin [Conference Programme and Abstracts pdf]
24 (6–7 December 2021) Virtual Conference (Laidlaw College, Auckland) [Conference Programme and Abstracts pdf]
23 (30 November–1 December 2020) Laidlaw College, Christchurch [Conference Programme pdf]
22 (1–3 July 2019) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
21 (6–7 December 2018) Trinity Methodist Theological College and St John’s College, Auckland
20 (4–5 December 2017) University of Otago, Dunedin
19 (27–28 June 2016) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
18 (7–8 December 2015) Laidlaw College, Auckland
17 (8–9 December 2014) University of Otago, Dunedin
16 (1–2 July 2013) Laidlaw College, Auckland
15 (10–11 December 2012) Laidlaw College, Auckland
14 (5–6 December 2011) Laidlaw College, Christchurch
13 (6–7 December 2010) Good Shepherd College, Auckland
12 (7–8 December 2009) University of Otago, Dunedin
11 (6–11 July 2008) University of Auckland, Auckland (in conjunction with the International SBL Annual Meeting)
10 (3–4 December 2007) Bible College of New Zealand, Auckland
9 (7–8 December 2006) Knox Church, Christchurch
8 (14–15 November 2005) University of Otago, Dunedin
7 (15–17 July 2004) Carey Baptist College, Auckland
6 (17–18 November 2003) Good Shepherd College, Ponsonby, Auckland
5 (18–19 November 2002) Knox College, Dunedin
4 (3–4 December 2001) St John’s College, Auckland
3 (30 November – 1 December 2000) Bible College of New Zealand, Auckland
2 (2–3 December 1999) Knox College, Dunedin
1 (29–31 October 1998) St John’s College, Auckland