dr. Silvia Castelli

In the field of Early Judaism, building on my first PhD dissertation, I have worked on Jewish texts in Greek, notably the writings of Josephus in relation to biblical interpretation, narrative, and reception. My research also includes Philo of Alexandria, the Septuagint, and the broader Greco-Roman context of first-century Judaism (see Research output.). 

In the area of New Testament studies, I have worked on the history of New Testament textual criticism, with a particular focus on its methodology. My second PhD dissertation, on the history of the criteria for evaluating variant readings, was published in Brill's NTTSD series in 2020 (see here).

In response to the lack of a coherent interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of biblical studies and spiritual care, I initiated and now co-chair, together with Peter-Ben Smit, the SBL Annual Meeting program unit Biblical Studies and Spiritual Care: Intersections of Pastoral Praxis and Biblical Hermeneutics. The unit promotes methodologically rigorous research through sustained interdisciplinary collaboration and actively works in partnership with other SBL units and the AAR Innovations in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care unit. A volume on Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Care in the Context of Healthcare is forthcoming, and a second volume on the carceral context is currently in preparation. Several valorisation initiatives are also connected to this research project, such as the symposium The Bible in Prison on 30 June 2026 at the VU; please feel free to contact me if you are interested in this line of inquiry.

Trained as a Classicist and a firm believer in interdisciplinary research and team science, I have also worked on the role of agency in innovation within the Anchoring Innovation project (Dutch National Research School in Classical Studies) at Leiden University. The resulting volume was published by Brill in 2023 and is available Open Access (see here).

In my early career, I benefited from several funded research opportunities abroad. I held an 18-month fellowship at the Institut für Europäische Geschichte in Mainz and was awarded a one-year Lady Davis Fellowship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During my first PhD, I also conducted a three-month research stay at Yale University.

For an updated overview of my publications, see my Research output.

My teaching history spans all academic levels. At the University of Trento, Italy (2004-2009) I taught several courses in Greek and Roman History for advanced BA and MA students: Ancient Greek historiography of the Near-East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Palestine; Ancient Judaism from a Greek perspective; Diaspora: Jewish Interaction in the Greco-Roman World; An introduction to Ancient Greek Religion; Ancient Greek divination; Early Christianity in the Roman empire; Roman Palestine: A Geographic and Archaeological Approach; Anti-Semitism in ancient Rome? Problem and Sources; An Introduction to Ancient Roman Religion; The Jewish Community of Ancient Rome. 

At Leiden University (2021-22 and 2023-24), I taught the (Res)MA course Shem in the Tents of Japhet: Exploring Cultural Negotiation in Greco-Roman Jewish-Greek Literature. 

In 2022, I was invited as a Visiting Professor at the University of Pavia, where I taught the MA course History of Judaism in the Roman Age.

At VU Amsterdam, I am the coordinator of the BA Greek courses (Greek I+NT, Greek II+NT, and Greek III), I teach Greek II+ NT and Greek III myself, and co-teach the Seminar Greek/NT Greek reading group, which is primarily aimed at PhD students but open to other students as well. 

Supervision

I am currently co-supervising five PhD students: Marie-Josée Fortin, whose research focuses on composite citations in the NT; Troy Bierma, working on embodied ecotheology; Ramy Shenouda, on the Samaritans in the New Testament; Henk Veldhuijzen, on Hebrews 13; and Charlotte Gibson, on intertextuality in Luke 1-2.

I consider the supervision of PhD students as one of the most rewarding aspects of academic life and welcome projects in the area of Early Judaism, the Greco-Roman and Jewish backgrounds of the New Testament, New Testament research methods, the textual history of the Greek New Testament, and, in particular, the intersection of biblical studies and spiritual care.

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