I approach the Hebrew Bible from a variety of angles -- history of religions, textual criticism, linguistics, comparative mythology, literature, cultural studies. I have several ongoing projects, including the Oxford Hebrew Bible project (for which I'm editor-in chief) and a new commentary on Genesis for the Anchor Bible commentary series.
Here is my trilogy of books:
Remembering Abraham: Culture, Memory, and History in the Hebrew Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
The Text of Genesis 1–11: Textual Studies and Critical
Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Awarded the Frank Moore Cross Prize by the American Schools of Oriental Research; and Best Book Relating to the Old Testament by the Biblical Archaeology Society. (Google book preview)
The Epic of the Patriarch: The Jacob Cycle and the Narrative Traditions of Canaan and Israel. Harvard Semitic Monographs 42; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. Part II was awarded the Mitchell Dahood Memorial Prize in Biblical Hebrew and Northwest Semitic by the Society of Biblical Literature.
Here are a few of my writings that are available as PDF files. For a full list, see my CV (in the right column).
"Remembering Mary Douglas." Jewish Studies 45 (2008) 3*-15*.
"Other Edens." Pp. 185-89 in Exploring the Longue Durée: Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, ed. D. Schloen. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2008.
"Isaiah and the Transition from Prophecy to Apocalyptic." Pp. 261-79 in Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul, eds. C. Cohen, et al. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2008.
"Leitwort Style and Literary Structure in the J Primeval Narrative." Pp. 93-109 in Sacred History, Sacred Literature: Essays on Ancient Israel, the Bible, and Religion in Honor of Richard E. Friedman, ed. S. Dolansky. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2008.
"The Oxford Hebrew Bible: Prologue to a New Critical Edition.” Vetus Testamentum 58 (2008) 1-28.
"Mary Douglas and Anthropological Modernism.” Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 8 (2008), article 8.
"Plural Texts and Literary Criticism: For Instance, 1 Samuel 17.” Textus 23 (2007) 1-19.
"Table and Altar: The Anthropology of Food in the Priestly Torah.” Pp. 131-48 in To Break Every Yoke: Essays in Honor of Marvin L. Chaney, eds. R. B. Coote and N. K. Gottwald. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2007.
"The Biblical Sense of the Past." Pp. 95-107 in Remembering Abraham: Culture, Memory, and History in the Hebrew Bible. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
"Israelite Religion." Pp. 4742-50 in Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. L. Jones. 2nd ed. New York: Macmillan, 2004.
"The Exodus in Biblical Memory." Journal of Biblical Literature 120 (2001) 601-22.
"'Begetting' and 'Being Born' in the Pentateuch: Notes on Historical Linguistics and Source Criticism.” Vetus Testamentum 50 (2000) 38-46.
"Aniconism and Anthropomorphism in Ancient Israel." Pp. 205-28 in The Image and the Book: Iconic Cults, Aniconism, and the Veneration of the Holy Book in Israel and the Ancient Near East, ed. K. van der Toorn. Leuven: Peeters, 1997.
"The Poetics of Myth in Genesis." Pp. 157-70 in The Seductiveness of Jewish Myth, ed. S. D. Breslauer. Albany: SUNY Press, 1997.
"In the Margins of the Hebrew Verbal System: Situation, Tense, Aspect, Mood.” Zeitschrift für Althebraistik 9 (1996) 152-81.
"Sibilants and šibbōlet (Judges 12:6).” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 301 (1996) 69-75.
"Tangled Plots in Genesis." Pp. 35-51 in Fortunate the Eyes that See: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman, eds. A. B. Beck, et al. Grand Rapids, Mich.; Eerdmans, 1995.
"Of Demigods and the Deluge: Toward an Interpretation of Genesis 6:1–4.” Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987) 13-26.
Here are some short pieces I've written as a columnist for Biblical Archaeological Review and Bible Review:
"Giants at Jericho." Biblical Archaeology Review 35/2 (2009) 20, 66.
"Forgers and Scholars." Biblical Archaeology Review 34/3 (2008) 32.
"Dishing Dirt." Biblical Archaeology Review 33/5 (2007) 28, 84, 86.
"Them Dry Bones." Biblical Archaeology Review 33/1 (2007) 26, 79.
"Is There a Biblical Archaeology?" Biblical Archaeology Review 32/4 (2006) 20.
"Genesis and the Cathedrals." Bible Review 21/5 (2005) 10, 50.
"Dating Creation." Bible Review 21/3 (2005) 12.
"Twenty Years That Have Passed." Bible Review 21/1 (2005) 10.
"Amending Marriage." Bible Review 20/5 (2004) 8.
"Eve Ate the Apple." Bible Review 20/3 (2004) 8.
"The Ten Commandments and the Courthouse." Bible Review 20/1 (2004) 8.
"Was There a Temple in Jerusalem?" Bible Review 19/5 (2003) 8, 42.
"The Search for Noah's Flood." Bible Review 19/3 (2003) 8.
"What Difference Does a Century Make?" Bible Review 19/1 (2003) 10.
"That Old Time Religion." Bible Review 18/5 (2002) 12, 58.
"It Ain't Necessarily So." Bible Review 18/3 (2002) 10.
"The Birth of the Canon." Bible Review 18/1 (2002) 8.
"The Empire of David - Or Not?" Bible Review 17/5 (2001) 8.
"Of Doubt, Gadflies, and Minimalists." Bible Review 17/3 (2001) 8.
"King David Loves Bathsheba." Bible Review 17/1 (2001) 6.
"Of Sacred Leopards and Abominable Pigs." Bible Review 16/5 (2000) 8.
"Where is Mt. Sinai?" Bible Review 16/3 (2000) 8.
"Teaching Creation in Kansas." Bible Review 16/1 (2000) 12.
"Going Around in Circles." Bible Review 15/4 (1999) 13.
"Our Bodies, Our Bibles." Bible Review 15/2 (1999) 14.
"Getting Back to the Garden of Eden." Bible Review 14/6 (1998) 17, 47.
"Restoration Project: The Hebrew Bible." Bible Review 14/4 (1998) 23, 55.
"The Law in the Gospel." Bible Review 14/2 (1998) 20, 52.
"The Plain Sense of Scripture." Bible Review 13/6 (1997) 17, 47.
"Knocking on Heaven's Gate." Bible Review 13/4 (1997) 20.
Here is an exposé of a really awful book, The Bible Code:
"The Secret Code Hoax." Bible Review 13/4 (1997)
23-24.
