HERE'S A REPORT on November's SBL conference in Philadelphia, published (apparently accidentally in two versions with editor's comments in between) in the local newspaper of Aberdeen South Dakota. The Old Testament pseudepigrapha and other early Jewish writings get good coverage:

One major approach is to study the biblical writings within the larger context of ancient Jewish and Christian literature. Many ancient Jewish and Christian writings were not accepted into the Bible, but still shed light on the beliefs and practices of various ancient communities, and on the biblical writings themselves.

Several groups study the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Jewish writings like 1 Enoch, 4 Ezra, the Psalms of Solomon, or the Ascension of Isaiah. Early Christian writings studied include the Acts of Peter, the Gospel of Mary, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Several papers were devoted to the writings of two figures roughly contemporary with Jesus: the Jewish historian Josephus and the Jewish philosopher and biblical commentator Philo.

Many groups are focused on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity during the first few centuries of Christianity. I presented a paper on a fourth-century document that records a debate between Jews and Christians on whether certain Old Testament scriptures are prophecies of Jesus or refer to other historical events.

The author is Martin Albl, who teaches religious studies at Presentation College.