I began this blog in 2008 as an outlet to improve my writing and share my studies in Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitics. The blog was most active from 2009 to 2010. From 2011 to 2018, my writing energies went into my PhD thesis and my day job as an academic editor. Since 2018, I've focused my writing attention on academic publications and my academic editing work.
Bio
My education in Bible started early. My dad is an evangelical pastor, so I grew up going to church, AWANA, Sunday School, VBS, and more. I did my undergrad degree at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN, majoring in History and Bible. My studies emphasized ancient history, ancient languages, and the Bible in the ancient world. I learned biblical Greek, biblical Hebrew, and classical Latin at Northwestern. I also studied OT, NT, and Christian theology. One of my undergraduate mentors was Michael Wise, noted Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, who taught me Hebrew, Latin, and Second Temple Judaism. Wise also encouraged my critical thinking and continued to offer advice and guidance in learning Hebrew even long after I graduated in 2000. He was supportive of my decision to continue with graduate studies and highly recommended the program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I began graduate school in Hebrew & Semitic Studies at UW-Madison in 2004. Over the next 8.5 semesters, I earned an MA in Hebrew Bible and completed all required PhD coursework. The program at Madison emphasizes Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitics, so I studied numerous Semitic languages in addition to intensive work on Hebrew, biblical criticism, linguistics, and ancient Judaism. We focused on exegesis of the biblical text in its textual, cultural, and historical context.
I was preparing for preliminary exams at Madison when we got the news that Prof. Michael V. Fox was retiring at the end of 2010 and that Prof. Cynthia Miller was marrying Jacobus Naude and moving to the University of the Free State in South Africa. Along with a few of my classmates, I chose to pursue research under Miller's supervision at the University of the Free State. My thesis was titled "To Conceal or Reveal? Self-Censorship and Explicitation in the Ancient Bible Versions." The title had been picked at the beginning and required a lot of red tape to change, so it doesn't exactly communicate what the final project ended up looking like. The thesis examined how Biblical Hebrew idioms and euphemisms were handled in the Septuagint, Peshitta, and Targums. The literal wordings of idioms and euphemisms conceal their meaning to outsiders, so how would that meaning be revealed or communicated in translation? I submitted the thesis for examination at the end of the 2017 academic year and graduated officially with a PhD in June 2018.
Theological Inclinations
I hesitate to offer a full account of my theological preferences I don't want to be pigeon-holed by traditional labels and theological categories. I want to present my view without anyone writing me off because I'm a part of X theological camp, not Y. I consider myself an evangelical Christian, and my statement of faith is the Apostles' Creed. I believe that critical scholarship on the Bible enhances my understanding of the text and informs my theological conclusions; it isn't a threat to my faith. I believe most controversial splits over theological issues are focused on non-essentials. The problem is those non-essentials get mistaken for essentials by well-meaning people who can't tell the difference. I endeavor to fairly explain and analyze theological and exegetical issues in everything that I write. I'm not interested in winning theological debates or promoting a certain point of view. I'm interested in honest engagement with the biblical text, taking it seriously in all its complexity and diversity.
Education
Ph.D., Department of Hebrew, University of the Free State, South Africa
M.A., Hebrew Bible, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.A., Hebrew Bible, University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A., History and Biblical Studies,
Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN
Research Interests
Ancient Bible Versions – LXX, Peshitta, Targum
Ancient History – Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome
Ancient History – Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome
Ancient Judaism – Second Temple Jewish Literature, Rabbinic Literature, Christian Origins
Bible Translation – English Versions,
Translation Studies
Biblical Languages – Hebrew grammar
and lexicography
Dead Sea Scrolls – esp. biblical
interpretation in the DSS
Hebrew Bible – Latter Prophets, wisdom literature,
inner-biblical exegesis, Isaiah, Deuteronomy
History and Archaeology of the Biblical
World
History of Biblical Interpretation
History of Religions – early
Christianity, Judaism, Islam. Religion in the ancient world.
New Testament – esp. NT use of the
OT, general epistles, Gospels
Northwest Semitic Languages and
Inscriptions
Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible
(using LXX, Peshitta)
Languages with Research Competence
Ancient Hebrew (biblical, epigraphic,
Qumran, and rabbinic)
Aramaic (biblical, Targum, Elephantine,
epigraphic, Qumran, Syriac)
Greek (New Testament and Septuagint)
Canaanite Dialects (includes epigraphic
evidence in primarily in Moabite, Ammonite, Phoenician, and
Philistine Canaanite)
Ugaritic
Latin
French
German
