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Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme

Professor - Fagseksjonen

Email a.k.de.h.gudme@teologi.uio.no

Phone +47 22 85 03 56

Available hours By appointment

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Visiting address Blindernveien 9 Domus Theologica 0371 OSLO

Postal address Postboks 1023 Blindern 0315 Oslo

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News

My good colleague, Søren Lorenzen, and I have a book coming out this fall! It is called The Body in the Hebrew Bible, and it is published by Eisenbrauns. In the book, we map out not only human bodies but also animal, angelic, and divine ones, helping readers see both the biblical roots of modern perceptions of the body and the surprising ways in which ancient conceptions differ from contemporary ones.

I was on research leave in the spring of 2026, working on a monograph on hospitality in the Hebrew Bible. I was doing a 'research stint' at the Polin Institute at Åbo Akademi in Finland and I spent one month as a guest at Hamburg University with generous funding from The Humboldt Foundation. I submitted the manuscript for review in June.

Academic interests

My main research area is Hebrew Bible religion in its ancient cultural contexts.

I am particularly interested in cult and ritual, such as sacrifices and offerings, and in ritualized social practices, such as gift-giving, hospitality and meal practices. My current projects focus on materiality and sensuality in Hebrew Bible religion and on meals and hospitality in the Hebrew Bible and in the ancient Mediterranean.

Courses taught

Background

From 2011 to 2019 I worked as assistant professor (2011-2013), professor with special responsibilities (2013-2018) and associate professor of Hebrew Bible Studies at the Faulty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. I have a PhD in Hebrew Bible also from the University of Copenhagen.

I have been on longer research stays at the Georg-August Universität in Göttingen (2013-2014 og 2018), at the University of Helsinki (2016), the University of Bonn (2023), the University of Hamburg (2026), and the Polin Institute at Åbo Akademi (2026).

Awards

The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters’ Silver Medal 2018
University of Copenhagen’s Gold Medal 2007

Partners

Since 2020: Committee Member, European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS).
2018-2025: Coordinator of the OTSEM network, a network formed by Hebrew Bible scholars from 17 North European universities. The aim of OTSEM is to improve Hebrew Bible research by facilitating contact, cooperation and exchange.

Tags: Hebrew Bible Studies/Old Testament, History of Religions, Ancient Judaism, Biblical Archaeology, Phenomenology of Religion, Religion and Culture of Antiquity, Ritual Studies, Hebrew

Monographs

Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible: An Anthropological Analysis of the role, function and literary use of hospitality in the Hebrew Bible, The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Series, London: Bloomsbury, forthcoming (manuscript submitted, expected publication in 2027).
Himmelsk føde og forbuden frugt. [Food and Drink in the Bible]. Håndbiblioteket. København: Det Danske Bibelselskabs Forlag, 2018.
Before the God in This Place for Good Remembrance: A Comparative Analysis of the Aramaic Dedicatory Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim, BZAW 441, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013.

Journal Articles

“Invitation to Murder: Hospitality and Violence in the Hebrew Bible”, Studia Theologica – Nordic Journal of Theology, 2019.
“A Pleasing Odor for Yahweh: The Smell of Sacrifices on Mount Gerizim and in the Hebrew Bible”, Body and Religion 2: 7-24, 2018.
”Hvad ville Jesus spise? Bibelreception i kogebøger” [What would Jesus Eat? Reception of the Bible in Bible Cookbooks], Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift 68: 51-63, 2018
“A Lingering Memory: Materiality and Divine Remembrance in Aramaic Dedicatory Inscriptions”, Religious Offerings and Sacrifices, ARAM Periodical 29: 89-104, 2018.
“Tomhændet må ingen se mit ansigt! Gavens teologi i Det Gamle Testamente” [Theology of the Gift in the Hebrew Bible], Dansk Teologisk Tidsskrift 78: 261-280, 2015.
“Blev templet på Garizim bygget med templet i Jerusalem som forbillede?” [Was the Temple on Mt. Gerizim Modelled on the Temple in Jerusalem?], Dansk Teologisk Tidsskrift 78: 1-21, 2015.
“Dyed Yarns and Dolphin Skins: Temple Texts as Cultural Memory in the Hebrew Bible”, Jewish Studies 50: 1-14, 2014.
““If I were hungry, I would not tell you” (Ps 50,12): Perspectives on the Care and Feeding of the Gods in the Hebrew Bible”, Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 28: 170-182, 2014.
“How Should We Read Hebrew Bible Ritual Texts? A Ritualistic reading of the Law of the Nazirite (Num 6:1-21)”, Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 23: 64-84, 2009.
Co-authored with Professor Jesper Høgenhaven, “Det Gamle Testamentes Eksegese” [Hebrew Bible Exegesis], Fønix 32: 154-163, 2009.

Book Chapters

“Gelübde”, Handbuch Alttestamentlicher Anthropologie, edited by Jan Dietrich and Alexandra Grund-Wittenberg, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming (expected publication in 2020).
“Israel – Cult vs. Popular Religion” (Chapter 1.3.4) in The Oxford Handbook of Religions in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Tawny Holm et al., Oxford University Press, forthcoming (expected publication in 2019).
”Whoever is Kind to the Poor Lends to Yahweh, and Will Be Repaid in Full” (Prov 19:17): Patterns of Indirect Reciprocity in the Book of Proverbs and in the Sermon on the Mount”. Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount. Edited by Rikard Roitto, Colleen Shantz and Petri Luomanen, Studies in Ancient Religion and Culture, Equinox, forthcoming (expected publication in 2020).
”En historie om rigtige mænd: Samuelsbøgernes teologi og ideal om hegemonisk maskulinitet” [A Story of Manly Men: Theology in the Books of Samuel and their Ideal Hegemonic Masculinity], Teologiske læsninger i Det Gamle Testamentes bøger: Gammeltestamentlige teologier i det 21. århundrede [An Anthology on Contemporary HB/OT Theologies]. Edited by Jan Dietrich and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme with assistance from Else K. Holt and Søren Holst, Aarhus, DK: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, forthcoming (expected publication in 2020).
“Visiting the Dead: Traces of Mortuary Ritual Practices in the Roman Near East”. Approaching the Dead: Studies of Mortuary Ritual, edited by Kirsi Valkama and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme. Helsinki: The Finnish Exegetical Society, forthcoming (expected publication in 2020).
“Death at the Hand of a Woman: Hospitality and Gender in the Hebrew Bible”. Gender, Methodology and the Ancient Near East, edited by Stephanie Lynn Budin et al. Monographica Orientalia. Barcelona: Barcino, 23-33, 2019.
“Liquid Life: Blood, Life and Conceptual Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East”. Language, Cognition, and Biblical Exegesis: Interpreting Minds. Edited by Ronit Nikolsky, Istvan Czachesz, Frederick Tappenden and Tamas Biro. Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 63-70, 2019.
“Mortuary Rituals” (Chapter 20) in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual. Edited by Risto Uro et al., Oxford University Press, 353-369, 2018.
“A Pleasing Odor for Yahweh: The Smell of Sacrifices on Mount Gerizim and in the Hebrew Bible” in Sensual Religion: religion and the five senses, edited by Graham Harvey and Jessica Hughes. London: Equinox, 2018.
”Den Præstelige Teologi” [Priestly Theology], i Fire indgange til gammeltestamentlige teologi. Edited by Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Søren Holst, Jesper Høgenhaven and Frederik Poulsen. København: Publikationer fra det Teologiske Fakultet, 52-76, 2016.
“Vow” and “Votive Offering” in The Routledge Dictionary of Ancient Mediterranean Religions. Edited by Eric Orlin, Michæl Satlow, Lisbeth Fried and Nicola Denzey-Lewis, Routledge, 994-997.
“Med Døden til bords: Gæstfrihed og kvinder i Det Gamle Testamente” [Hospitality and Gender in the Hebrew Bible]. Mad og drikke i bibelsk litteratur, Forum for Bibelsk Eksegese 19. Edited by Finn Damgaaard og Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Copenhagen: Forlaget Anis, 26-53, 2015.
“Inside – Outside: Domestic Living Space in Biblical Memory”. Memory and the City in Ancient Israel. Edited by Diana V. Edelmann and Ehud Ben Zvi, Eisenbrauns, 61-78, 2014.
“Sex, Violence and State Formation in Judges 19-21”. Greek Connections, Copenhagen Seminar Series. Edited by Philippe Wajdenbaum and Thomas L. Thompson, Acumen Publishers, 165-174, 2014.
“A Kind of Magic? An Analysis of the ’Law of Jealousy’ in Numbers 5:11-31 as Magical Ritual and as Ritual Text”. Magic and Divination in the Biblical World. Edited by Jacobus, Guillaume and Gudme, Gorgias Press, 149-167, 2013.
“The Biblical Vow as Barter Deal or Friend-Making Gift: A reconsideration of the vow of the sailors in Jonah 1:16”. In The Gift in Antiquity. Edited by Michael Satlow, Blackwell Publishers, 189-201, 2013.
“Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Dedicatory Inscriptions as Communication with the Divine”. Mediating Between Heaven and Earth: Communication with the Divine in the Ancient Near East. Edited by Stökl, Zernecke and Crouch, T&T Clark International, 1-15, 2012.
“Der er ingen vampyrer i Det Gamle Testamente: Blod, liv og konceptuelle metaforer” [Blood, Life and Conceptual Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible]. Den Store Fortælling: Festskrift til Geert Hallbäck. Edited by Søren Holst and Christina Petterson, Forlaget Anis, 173-184.
“Barnemorderen Manasse: Kong Manasse af Juda i Kongebøgerne og i Krønikebøgerne – og i virkeligheden” [Manasseh the Child-Slayer: King Manasseh of Judah in Kings, in Chronicles and in Real Life]. Bibelske genskrivninger. Edited by Mogens Müller and Jesper Høgenhaven, Museum Tusculanum, 78-85, 2012.
“Modes of Religion: An alternative to ‘popular/official’ religion”. Anthropology and the Bible: Critical Perspectives. Edited by Emanual Pfoh, Gorgias Press, 77-90, 2010.
“Practice behind the Text? The Conditional Vow in the Hebrew Bible Narrative Texts”. Text and Ritual. Edited by Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, University of Copenhagen, 69-79, 2009.

Edited Volumes

Teologiske læsninger i Det Gamle Testamentes bøger: Gammeltestamentlige teologier i det 21. århundrede [An Anthology on Contemporary HB/OT Theologies]. Edited by Jan Dietrich and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme with assistance from Else K. Holt and Søren Holst, Aarhus, DK: Aarhus Universitetsforlag (expected publication in 2020)
Approaching the Dead: Studies of Mortuary Ritual, edited by Kirsi Valkama and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme. Helsinki: The Finnish Exegetical Society (expected publication in 2020).
Psalms and Prayer in Late 2nd Temple Judaism. Scandinavian Journal of the
Old Testament: Theme issue, edited by Mika Pajunen and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme (expected publication in 2019/2020).
Fire indgange til gammeltestamentlige teologi [Four Hebrew Bible Theologies]. Edited by Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Søren Holst, Jesper Høgenhaven og Frederik Poulsen. København: Publikationer fra det Teologiske Fakultet, 2016.
Mad og drikke i bibelsk litteratur [Food and Drink in Biblical Literature], Forum for Bibelsk Eksegese 19. Edited by Finn Damgaard og Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Forlaget Anis, 2015.
Myths of Exile. Edited by Ingrid Hjelm and Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme, Acumen Publishers, 2015.
Studies on Magic and Divination in the Biblical World. Edited by Helen R. Jacobus, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme & Philippe Guillaume, Gorgias Press, 2013.
Text and Ritual. Edited by Anne Katrine de hemmer Gudme, University of Copenhagen, 2009.

Popular Science Articles in the Media and Online Publications

2019 ”Hvorfor er Højsangen med i Bibelen?” [Why is the Songs of Songs in the Bible?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2018 “Fem hårrejsende bibeltekster” [Five Horrible Bible Stories for Halloween], Bibelselskabet.dk
2018 “10 ting Bibelen siger om mad og drikke” [Ten Things in the Bible about Food and Drink], Kristendom.dk
2018 “Hvad ville Jesus spise? Guddommeligt inspirerede kogebøger er en ny trend” [What Would Jesus Eat? Divinely Inspired Cook Books], Forskerzonen.dk
2018 “Omskæring” [Circumcision], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2017 ”Må Herren åbne” [May the Lord Open: The Handmaid’s Tale and the Hebrew Bible], Weekendavisen, Ideer, p. 4, July 7.
2017 ”Gud oser af sex i Det Gamle Testamente” [God smells of sex in the Hebrew Bible], Videnskab.dk: 53
2017 “Sex og Synd?” [Sex and sin?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2017 ”Påskemåltidet smager af slaveri, offer og fællesskab” [The Easter Meal tastes of slavery, sacrifice and community], Videnskab.dk
2017 “Hvor finder man had og ondskab i Bibelen” [Is there hatred and evil in the Bible?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2016 “Hvad hedder Noas kone?” [What is the name of Noah’s wife?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2015 “Kan fortællingen om Babelstårnet tolkes anderledes?” [Is there another way to interpret the story about the Tower of Babel?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2015 “Materiality and Divine Remembrance: The Votive Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim”, The Votives Project’s Blog
2015 “Hvorfor plantede Gud Kundskabens træ?” [Why did God plant the Tree of Knowledge?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2015 ”Skal Fadervor ændres til Modervor?” [Should we change ’Our Father’ to ’Our Mother’?]
2014 ”Den parterede konkubine” [The Gruesome Story of the Levite’s Concubine in Judges 19]
2014 “Grusomme og glemte fortællinger” [Gruesome and Forgotten Tales from the Hebrew Bible]
2014 “Har Gud kone og børn?” [Does God have a Wife and Kids?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2014 “Er Jesus et korrekt offerlam?” [Is Jesus the right kind of sacrifice?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2014 “Sinajbjerget, Moses og de ti bud” [Mount Sinai, Moses and the Ten Commandments]
2013 “Vin i Det Gamle Testamente” [Wine in the Hebrew Bible], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column,
2013 ”Vin i Det Nye Testamente” [Wine in the New Testament], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column,
2013 Kan man læse Det Gamle Testamente i kronologisk rækkefølge? [Is it possible to read the texts in the Hebrew Bible in chronological order?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2013 Er der mon en regnefejl i Fjerde Mosebog? [Numbers in the Book of Numbers], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2012 “Hvorfor lever vi?” [Why are we alive according to the Hebrew Bible?], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2012 ”Er oversætterne løbet sur i teksten?” [Different Hebrew words for ’milk’ in the Hebrew Bible], Ask About the Bible, The Danish Bible Society’s Correspondence Column
2010 “Når børnene flytter hjemmefra” [When the children move away from home: an interpretation of Genesis 3]

Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). David the Man: David’s Masculinity in the Hebrew Bible. In Shepherd, David & Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of King David. Oxford University Press. ISSN 9780197652718. p. 69–82. doi: 10.1093/9780197652749.003.0007. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Abstract This study investigates David’s masculinity in the Hebrew Bible and in biblical scholarship. First, it offers a brief summary of the importance of the character of David for Hebrew Bible masculinity studies and for the developing scholarly checklist of masculinity traits in the Hebrew Bible. Then David is assessed according to the books of Samuel’s configuration of ideal masculinity. This is done by focusing on David alongside his three male co-protagonists, Saul, Jonathan, and Absalom, in order to tease out the dynamics of gender performance, as these four characters both embody an ideal and fall short of it. Lastly, the question of Yhwh and hegemonic masculinity in relation to David is considered. How does a hegemonic male such as David best cope with a divine patron, who is the ultimate alpha male? The solution lies in David’s recognition of the power dynamics and hierarchy in a patron-client relationship between hegemonic males.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). Jacob’s Lentils and Sarah’s Bread: Bible Reception in Bible Cookbooks. In Bobrowicz, Ryszard; Saggau, Emil Hilton & Otterbeck, Jonas (Ed.), The Signs of the Times: The Intersection between Popular Culture and Political Theology. Springer. ISSN 9783031840067. p. 45–76. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-84006-7_3. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). Beauty, Power, and Gender in the Hebrew Bible. In Dolansky, Shawna & Shectman, Sarah (Ed.), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion, Gender, and Sexuality in the Ancient Near East. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9781350382015. p. 265–276. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). “Your flowing locks are like purple” (Song 7,5): Hair and Hair Colour in the Hebrew Bible. Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament. ISSN 0901-8328. 39(2), p. 208–227. doi: 10.1080/09018328.2025.2488305. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This study is a survey of descriptions of hair and specifically hair colour in the Hebrew Bible. It is an exploration of the phenomenology of hair in the Hebrew Bible, and of how hair “speaks” in these texts and communicate messages of social status, of aesthetics and beauty, gender and power. First, I shall give an introduction to hair in the Hebrew Bible more generally by exploring the relationship between hair and ritual and between hair and concepts of beauty. Then, I shall look into three case-studies that mention the colour of hair specifically: Esau in Gen 25 and 27; references to hair colour and appearance in three passages in the Song (4,1; 5,11; 7,6) and descriptions of grey hair in a number of Hebrew Bible texts. I explore these texts to determine how they inform us of social and aesthetic values in the Hebrew Bible and of the hierarchies that these values indicate.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2024). The Agency of an Altar: A Material Semiotics-Inspired Investigation of the Relationship between Fumigation Altars and Texts about Incense Altars. In Biermann, Bruno; Cardoso, Silas K.; Porzia, Fabio & Uehlinger, Christoph (Ed.), Challenging Dichotomies and Biases in the Study of the Ancient Southern Levant. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISSN 9783666560972. p. 41–57. doi: 10.13109/9783666560972.41. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
A fumigation altar is a tangible object that has a multisensorial impact as it engages the sense of smell, sight, and touch. It is also an object that indexes a certain place, a sanctuary, a certain ritual practice, an offering, and a certain ‘presence,’ a divine recipient of the offering. With this study, I wish to show how a material-semiotics inspired approach may affect our reading of Hebrew Bible texts. For this purpose, I shall use the two fumigation altars from Arad as examples and analyse them alongside Exodus 30, a text that describes the manufacture, design, and use of such altars.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2024). Gelübde. In Dietrich, Jan; Janowski, Bernd; Grund-Wittenberg, Alexandra & Neumann-Gorsolke, Ute (Ed.), Handbuch Alttestamentliche Anthropologie. Mohr Siebeck. ISSN 9783161627514. p. 430–432. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2023). Acts that work, texts that work: Ritual in the Hebrew Bible. In pfoh, emanuel (Eds.), T&T Clark Handbook of Anthropology and the Hebrew Bible. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567704733. p. 395–420. doi: 10.5040/9780567704757.ch-018. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2022). Eksegese som kontaktsport: Det Gamle Testamente i 2020’erne. Dansk teologisk tidsskrift. ISSN 0105-3191. 85(3-4), p. 203–228. doi: 10.7146/dtt.v85i3-4.135215. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This article makes an assessment of Hebrew Bible studies in the current decade of the 2020s. It points to four defining areas for Hebrew Bible research in the coming years. These four areas are the body, climate and ecology, the non-Western world, and the ever-increasing fluidity of the boundaries of the field.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2022). The Aroma of Majesty: Gender and the Hebrew Bible’s Olfactory Cultic Theology. In Graef, Katrien De; Garcia-Ventura, Agnes; Goddeeris, Anne & Nakhai, Beth Alpert (Ed.), The Mummy Under the Bed. Essays on Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East. Zaphon. ISSN 9783963270888. p. 217–231. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2022). Den velduftende helligdom: Næsens teologi og Jahves majestætiske maskulinitet. Religionsvidenskapeligt Tidsskrift. ISSN 0108-1993. 1. doi: 10.7146/rvs.v1i.132816. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). Downing One's Destiny: Drinking and Judgement in the Hebrew Bible. In Scheuer, Blazenka & Davage, David (Ed.), Sin, Suffering, and the Problem of Evil. Mohr Siebeck. ISSN 9783161575389. p. 53–66. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). The Ambiguous Neighbor in the Hebrew Bible: A Survey of the Concept of Neighborship in Hebrew Bible Texts. In Kartzow, Marianne Bjelland (Eds.), The Ambiguous Figure of the Neighbour in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Texts and Perceptions. Routledge. ISSN 9780367637835. p. 25–43. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). En historie om rigtige mænd: Samuelsbøgernes teologi og ideal om hegemonisk maskulinitet. In Dietrich, Jan & Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (Ed.), Gud og os : teologiske læsninger af Det Gamle Testamente i det 21. århundrede. Bibelselskabets forlag. ISSN 9788772321714. p. 185–207. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). Permanent and passing words: Addressing the divine in the sanctuary on Mount Gerizim. In bonnet, corinne & galoppin, thomas (Ed.), Divine Names on the Spot Towards a Dynamic Approach of Divine Denominations in Greek and Semitic Contexts. Peeters Publishers. ISSN 9789042947269. p. 44–60. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to Yahweh, and will be repaid in full” (Prov 19:17): Patterns of Indirect Reciprocity in the Book of Proverbs and in the Sermon on the Mount. In Roitto, Rikard; Shantz, Colleen & Luomanen, Petri (Ed.), Social and Cognitive Perspectives on the Sermon on the Mount. Equinox Publishing. ISSN 9781781794227. p. 264–285. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). Jakobs linser og Saras brød: Reception af Bibelen i bibelkogebøger. In Buch-Hansen, Gitte & Nielsen, Jesper Tang (Ed.), Bibelske konfigurationer i kunst og kultur. Eksistensen Akademisk. ISSN 9788741000251. p. 273–303. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2020). Was the Temple on Mount Gerizim Modelled after the Jerusalem Temple? Religions. doi: 10.3390/rel11020073. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Was the Yahweh temple on Mount Gerizim modelled after the temple in Jerusalem? This question is important for our understanding of the sanctuary on Mount Gerizim and the people who worshipped there in the Persian and Hellenistic period; if the Gerizim temple was modelled after the Jerusalem temple, the argument in favour of the Gerizim cult as derived from the cult in Jerusalem is strengthened. On the other hand, if no such connection can be demonstrated convincingly, one must look elsewhere for the answer to the question of Samaritan origins. The present study gives a brief introduction to the relationship between early Judaism and early Samaritanism, or rather Southern and Northern Yahwism, followed by a presentation of Mount Gerizim and the excavations that were carried out there between 1982 and 2006. Finally, I shall turn to the theory that the temple on Mount Gerizim was modelled after the Jerusalem temple, which has been recast by Dr Yitzhak Magen (2008). I conclude that the archaeological remains from the Persian-period sanctuary on Mount Gerizim offer no evidence that this temple was modelled on the temple in Jerusalem.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2020). Visiting the Dead: Traces of Mortuary Ritual Practices in Roman Palestine. In Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer & Valkama, Kirsi (Ed.), Approaching the Dead: Studies on Mortuary Ritual in the Ancient World. The Finnish Exegetical Society. ISSN 9789519217734. p. 122–145. Full text in Research Archive

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Lorenzen, Søren & Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). The Body in the Hebrew Bible. Eisenbrauns. ISBN 9781646023844. 182 p. doi: https:/www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-64602-384-4.html. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The human body stands at a fascinating intersection between what all people share and what each culture makes of it. Our bodies today are not so different from those of ancient people, allowing us to recognize experiences across time and place. Yet ideas about the body—its meanings, values, and taboos—vary widely. The Body in the Hebrew Bible takes this insight as its starting point. Written in a lively, conversational style, this book presents a comprehensive introduction to the body in the Hebrew Bible. Organized anatomically from the inside out and from top to bottom, it explores everything from the location of the nefesh (life force) in the throat to the seductive power of hair and the moral symbolism of the kidneys. Along the way, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Søren Lorenzen map out not only human bodies but also animal, angelic, and divine ones, helping readers see both the biblical roots of modern perceptions of the body and the surprising ways in which ancient conceptions differ from contemporary ones. Drawing on perspectives from disability studies, sensory studies, gender studies, and cognitive linguistics, The Body in the Hebrew Bible remains fully accessible to newcomers. Ideal for undergraduate students in theology, biblical studies, religious studies, and cultural studies—and a valuable resource for instructors—it offers an engaging, easy‑to‑use entry point into the cultural world of biblical bodies.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer & Lorenzen, Søren (2023). Kroppen i Det gamle testamente. Eksistensen Akademisk. ISBN 9788741009797. 209 p. Full text in Research Archive
Dietrich, Jan & Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2021). Gud og os : teologiske læsninger af Det Gamle Testamente i det 21. århundrede. Bibelselskabets forlag. ISBN 9788772321714. 578 p. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer & Valkama, Kirsi (2020). Approaching the Dead: Studies on Mortuary Ritual in the Ancient World. The Finnish Exegetical Society. ISBN 9789519217734. 179 p. Full text in Research Archive

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Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). Gift-Giving in the Ancient Near East. doi: https:/www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/gift-giving-in-the-ancient-near-east/. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). Gift-Giving in the Ancient Near East. doi: https:/www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/gift-giving-in-the-ancient-near-east/. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
An introduction to hospitality in the HB and how to study it.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2026). The Hostesswith the Mostest: Women, Hospitality, and Gender Performance in the Hebrew Bible. doi: https:/gemane7.hcommons.org/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
With this presentation, I wish to combine two lines of investigation that I have presented at two past GeMANE meetings: the question of women offering hospitality in the Hebrew Bible (Barcelona 2017), and the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and hegemonic femininity in biblical literature (Malta 2024). In my work on Hebrew Bible hospitality texts, I use anthropological fieldwork (Julian Pitt Rivers; Michael Herzfeld) in Mediterranean-type societies to create a model of the kind of hospitality practices one could expect in this kind of society. Then, I use my model to investigate Hebrew Bible hospitality accounts against these expectations. In this kind of investigation, which is inspired by the work of Philip Esler, the model is not a description of any lived or historical reality. It is rather an analytical tool that helps me to pose the right questions to the texts and to wonder about the right details in the text. In this presentation, I wish to revisit the question of women offering hospitality in the Hebrew Bible. Generally, in these texts, hospitality is the privilege and social duty of the male head of the household. There are exceptions, however, as I presented in my 2017-Gemane paper. Different expectations seem to apply to unmarried and financially independent women, such as Rahab the sex worker in Joshua 2, incredibly wealthy married women, such as royal women, and supernatural women, such as Wisdom personified in Proverbs 9. In this context, the case of the Woman of Shunem in First Kings 4 is an interesting case-study. She is married, she is ‘great’ (gedolah), possibly referring to wealth, she is described as socially well-connected, and she offers lavish and consistent hospitality to the prophet Elisha and his servant. I wish to examine the Shunamite’s hospitality behavior in terms of gender performance, specifically the performance of hegemonic femininity (Schippers; Charlebois) and hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt). If we look at the character of the Shunamite intersectionally, she is intriguing. She is a childless (not barren!) married woman, relatively speaking a vulnerable position for women in the Hebrew Bible, but she demonstrates significant social agency in the narrative, offering hospitality without involving her husband, refusing a counter-gift from a renowned prophet, and handling both material wealth and social connections. My question is, can an intersectional analysis combined with an analysis of gender performance in Second Kings 4 help us to untangle the intricate power dynamics in the text?
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). Feel the Power! Body-imagination and the senses in Hebrew Bible Royal Texts. doi: https:/www.theologie.hu-berlin.de/en/iosot-2025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
In the Hebrew Bible, texts about royalty are packed full of information that speaks directly to the senses with descriptions of polychrome textiles, glittering gold, and enticing scents. These texts underline the relationship between beauty, luxury, wealth, and power in biblical literature and cognate texts. With this presentation, I wish to investigate the interplay between body-imagination and the senses in the reading of three selected Hebrew Bible passages, the description of the king and his bride in Psalm 45, the queen of Sheba’s visit to Jerusalem in First Kings 10, and queen Jezebel’s death in Second Kings 9. For all three examples, I ask if approaching these texts through the use of sensory perception stimulates body-imagination, and if the aesthetic of these texts triggers mechanisms of identification and empathy in the reader.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). “I have opened my doors to the traveler” (Job 31:32): The Social Grammar and Narrative Function of Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible. doi: https:/www.theologie.hu-berlin.de/en/iosot-2025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Hospitality is both everywhere and nowhere in the Hebrew Bible. It is nowhere, because there is no word for hospitality in Biblical Hebrew, nor are there words for host, guest, or invitation. But hospitality is there in so many Hebrew Bible narratives, as a concept and a theme, as a recognizable and meaningful social setting, in which events may unfold, and often as a social value that is highlighted or negotiated in the texts. Think of Abraham’s three divine guests in Gen 18, the two traumatizing stories of hosts, guests and “the men of the city” in Gen 19 and Judg 19, and the overflowing cup put in front of the Psalmist in Ps 23. This lecture is an anthropological investigation of hospitality in the Hebrew bible. The analysis shows a complex web of socio-cultural values, in which hospitality is sometimes presented as an ultimate and universal value, sometimes merely as nice-to-have and secondary to other socio-cultural concerns. In all instances, however, hospitality is a recognizable type-scene and as such an ideal backdrop for telling tales, both exemplary and horrific, and an ideal literary tool to characterize both people and deities.
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). Gendered Violence in Biblical Narrative: The Devouring Metaphor: Esther Brownsmith | Lectora: revista de dones i textualitat. Lectora: Revista de dones i textualitat. ISSN 1136-5781. 31, p. 358–360. doi: 10.1344/Lectora2025.31.21. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2025). Fra middelalderens gryder til i dag. Apollon : Forskningsmagasin for Universitetet i Oslo. ISSN 0803-6926. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2023). Jesus og svinebønderne. doi: 10.18261/kok.128.4.5. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2023). Janling Fu, Cynthia Shafer-Elliot, and Carol Meyers, eds. T&T Clark Handbook of Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel T&T Clark Handbooks London: T&T Clark, 2021. Pp. xxi + 616. Hardcover. $175.00. ISBN 9780567679796. Review of Biblical Literature, Society of Biblical Literature http://www.bookreviews.org/subscribe.asp. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2023). Tiende søndag i treenighetstiden. Første Mosebok 50. In Stordalen, Terje (Eds.), Samklang: Det gamle testamentet i Den norske kirkes prekener. Verbum Forlag. ISSN 9788254315729. p. 183–189. Full text in Research Archive
Valkama, Kirsi & Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2020). Introduction: Approaching the Dead. In Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer & Valkama, Kirsi (Ed.), Approaching the Dead: Studies on Mortuary Ritual in the Ancient World. The Finnish Exegetical Society. ISSN 9789519217734. p. 6–10. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2020). Wat zou Jezus eten? De wonderbare wereld van Bijbelse kookboeken. Schrift : tweemaandelijks tijdschrift over de Bijbel. ISSN 0167-3114. 52(4), p. 55–59. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2020). At læse Bibelen gennem køkkenet, Tanker i Lockdown. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. ISSN 9788773044360. p. 100–106. Full text in Research Archive
Pajunen, Mika & Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2019). Foreword: Functions of Psalms and Prayers in the Second Temple Period?A Nordic Perspective. Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament. ISSN 0901-8328. 33(2), p. 161–163. doi: 10.1080/09018328.2019.1686279. Full text in Research Archive
Gudme, Anne Katrine de Hemmer (2019). Det Kønnede Køkken: Mad, Gud og Kønsroller i Det Gamle Testamente. Kirke og kultur. ISSN 0023-186X. 123(4), p. 308–315. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-3002. Full text in Research Archive