Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this seminar, 2020 Nils Klim Laureate Frederik Poulsen, Casey Strine and Kristin Joachimsen discuss how ancient biblical texts can enrich our thinking about migration.
The Bible contains numerous stories about migration and life among foreigners. From the very beginning, Adam and Eve are driven out of Eden into a brutal world. The patriarch Abraham and his family travel as strangers, and figures such as Joseph, Ruth, and Daniel embody challenges and opportunities of settling down in new cultural contexts. While at first sight studying these ancient texts hardly solves today’s challenges, the narratives and discources are a rich resource for thinking about migration. The Bible offers words and images for expressing and coping with these experiences, for ancient readers as well as modern.
PROGRAM
01:07 Welcome by Ellen Mortensen, Academic Director for the Holberg Prize
04:34 Introduction by moderator Einar Thomassen, Professor Religous Studies, University of Bergen
12:37 Frederik Poulsen: "Fleeing from God: Cain and Jonah as Refugees on the Move."
36:23 Kristin Joachimsen: "When Bethlehemites and Moabites Meet: Migration Stories of Hospitality and Risk in the Book of Ruth"
57:14 Casey Strine: "Fear and Loathing in the Levant: King David as Asylum Seeker and Refugee"
1:22:34 Panel Discussion
1:48:11 Q&A
Closing remarks by Einar Thomassen
See abstracts, speaker presentations and more details about the event here: https://holbergprisen.no/en/nils-klim-seminar-migration-stories
Photo Credits: The Biblical figure of Cain, first son of Eve, is shown fleeing with his family from the Curse of Jehovah in the painting "Cain flying before Jehovah's Curse" (1880) by Fermon Common. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0.
In this seminar, 2020 Nils Klim Laureate Frederik Poulsen, Casey Strine and Kristin Joachimsen discuss how ancient biblical texts can enrich our thinking about migration.
The Bible contains numerous stories about migration and life among foreigners. From the very beginning, Adam and Eve are driven out of Eden into a brutal world. The patriarch Abraham and his family travel as strangers, and figures such as Joseph, Ruth, and Daniel embody challenges and opportunities of settling down in new cultural contexts. While at first sight studying these ancient texts hardly solves today’s challenges, the narratives and discources are a rich resource for thinking about migration. The Bible offers words and images for expressing and coping with these experiences, for ancient readers as well as modern.
PROGRAM
01:07 Welcome by Ellen Mortensen, Academic Director for the Holberg Prize
04:34 Introduction by moderator Einar Thomassen, Professor Religous Studies, University of Bergen
12:37 Frederik Poulsen: "Fleeing from God: Cain and Jonah as Refugees on the Move."
36:23 Kristin Joachimsen: "When Bethlehemites and Moabites Meet: Migration Stories of Hospitality and Risk in the Book of Ruth"
57:14 Casey Strine: "Fear and Loathing in the Levant: King David as Asylum Seeker and Refugee"
1:22:34 Panel Discussion
1:48:11 Q&A
Closing remarks by Einar Thomassen
See abstracts, speaker presentations and more details about the event here: https://holbergprisen.no/en/nils-klim-seminar-migration-stories
Photo Credits: The Biblical figure of Cain, first son of Eve, is shown fleeing with his family from the Curse of Jehovah in the painting "Cain flying before Jehovah's Curse" (1880) by Fermon Common. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0.
