Research Interests:
Hellenistic Judaism; Ancient Greek Literature by Jewish Writers; Interactions of Classics and Theology; Literary and Theological Readings of the Bible
Research Centres and Projects:
Oriel Centre for the Study of the Bible
Biography:
Fr Max Kramer studied Classics at Oxford, followed by a move to Cambridge to study Theology, where he specialised in Hebrew Bible. At Cambridge he taught Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Hebrew Bible, while developing an interest in the world of Hellenistic Judaism. In 2016, together with Dr Max Leventhal, he established a research seminar at Cambridge, Being Jewish: Writing Greek, to encourage discussions between Classicists and Theologians interested in the literary aspects of ancient Greek texts written by Jews. This culminated in an international conference in 2017.
Since then, his research has often focused on The Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian, a second century BCE Greek tragedy about the story of the Exodus, of which 269 lines survive. His work explores the poetics of the play and the way in which this text explores issues of literary affiliation, culture, and identity. He is interested more broadly in exploring ancient Jewish-Greek texts as literary works.
Fr Max has also written for a broader audience on Biblical, liturgical, and musical topics. He is the author of a popular book of prayers, and is a contributor to the academically-informed Bible Study Series Guidelines.
He has also served in ministerial roles in a number of Parishes and other Churches, most recently as Precentor of Canterbury Cathedral, before returning to Oxford as Chaplain & Welfare Fellow of Keble College.
Links:
https://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/people/max-kramer/
