Nicolò Mazza

Biography

I am an Italian Jesuit priest pursuing a DPhil in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Alison G. Salvesen. I hold a BA and MA in Classics from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, an STB from the Facultés Loyola Paris (formerly Centre Sèvres), and an SSL from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. I have also studied Semitic languages in Jerusalem and at Leiden University. I have extensive international experience in study, teaching, and work, and taught Religious Studies, Latin, and Greek for several years in Italian secondary schools. I have also taught Introduction to the Bible at Loyola University Chicago and been involved in biblical formation in Italy and abroad.

My doctoral research, Managing Ambiguity: Translational Behavior in the Septuagint and Latin Versions of Qohelet, investigates how ancient translators negotiated the semantic, lexical, pragmatic, and referential ambiguities of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). It also explores how the treatment of ambiguity in the Hebrew text and its ancient translations shapes the representation and interpretation of human experience, opening up broader anthropological and theological questions.

My research interests include the Hebrew Bible, wisdom literature, Hebrew poetry and poetics, translation theory, textual transmission, and the history of biblical interpretation and reception. My wider interests include biblical anthropology, embodiment and identity, and the interpretation of biblical texts through contemporary theoretical approaches, including sociological and anthropological perspectives, gender and masculinity studies, and other critical approaches to biblical literature. Alongside my academic work, I write poetry and have published several collections, including Silenzi Versati, Epiloghi, Stupore d’oltre, Canti delle distanze, and Altre sembianze.

Thesis

Managing Ambiguity: Translational Behavior in the Septuagint and Latin Versions of Qohelet

Supervisor

Professor Alison G. Salvesen