Journal Articles

Divine Presence, Divinely Inflicted Pain, and Forced Migration in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Also Introduction to special issue on Mobility and Identity Formation in Ancient Judaism, co-edited with Eelco Glas.

NTT Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion 79/1 (2025)

The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe their eponymous prophets experiencing undeserved pain caused by YHWH. Paradoxically, the texts repeatedly assert that YHWH is a fair god, who causes pain as a punishment on those who are unfaithful to him. Using pain studies from medicine and literature as well as comparisons with other biblical and ancient Near Eastern texts, this article investigates the unexplained pain experienced by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. I argue that the divinely caused pain the two prophets are said to experience functions as literary “proof” of YHWH’s presence with them in a historical moment of doubt—the destruction of Jerusalem and displacement of its population—and ultimately of the deity’s own “migration” with a select group of his people.

Paul’s interpretation of Genesis 2-3 as a story about Adam’s “fall” and the universal origins of sin and death (Romans 5:12) has had an immense impact on Christian theology. Even though biblical researchers have long recognized that this interpretation is by no means self-evident in the Old Testament text, some have continued even in recent years to read Genesis 2-3 through the lens of Romans 5. In this article, I examine both the interpretational traditions that led Paul to his reading of Genesis 2-3 and those that tend to inspire contempo-rary academic interpretations of the same text. I conclude with my own reading of the Garden of Eden story as an etiology for why human lives in ancient Syria-Palestine tended to be short and full of hardship, discussing how the narrative functions as a fitting introduction to the Pentateuch. The purpose is not to argue for one “correct” understanding of Genesis 2-3, but to demonstrate how different motivations underlie different interpretations—and that it is important to be explicit about what those motivations are.

Drinkable Ink or Womb-Destroying Words? The Solution for Suspected Adultery in Numbers 5:11-31 

Postscripts 14/1 (2023) Also in Gender and Sacred Textures: Entanglements of Materiality, Embodiment, and Sacred Texts in Religious Identities, ed. Marianne Schleicher (Equinox, 2025).

The biblical text of Numbers 5:11–31 describes a ritual designed to determine the guilt or innocence of a woman suspected of adultery: she must drink a mixture of water, dirt, and the ink of written curses given to her by a priest. This article analyses how the ritualized use of a material sacred text as described in Numbers 5:11–31 – and the ways it interacts with the bodies of the people involved – impacts the biblical construction of gender identities. Using concepts introduced by R. W. Connell, I argue that the ritual makes use of a material sacred text to reinforce a hegemonic masculine identity for the Israelite priesthood, while encouraging the complicit masculinity of laymen and the subjugated feminine identity of women. In doing so, the ritual of Numbers 5:11–31 bolsters the hierarchy of gender identities constructed by the book of Numbers and the Pentateuch more broadly.

Justice, Righteousness, and the Davidic Dispute in Jeremiah and Ezekiel

Vetus Testamentum 73 (2023) 

The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel both use the phrase עשׂה מִשְׁפָט וּצְדָקָה (“doing justice and righteousness”) to discuss the responsibilities of the Davidic king and the future of Judah in light of the disruptive events of the early sixth century BCE. The tradition of linking the terms מִשְׁפָט and צְדָקָה with kingship is widespread in the Hebrew Bible and has strong ancient Near Eastern parallels. Yet the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel employ the two words as part of an idiomatic phrase, reflecting their divergent interpretations of the role and identity of the future Davidic king and, relatedly, what עשׂה מִשְׁפָט וּצְדָקָה entails. While the two books’ disagreements can be explained to some extent by their different settings (Judah and Egypt versus Babylonia), their distinct preferences for one Davidic line over another are suggestive of opposing political allegiances that may have contributed to neither book acknowledging the other’s existence.

Clothing and Body Modification in the Hebrew Bible

Religion Compass 15/3 (2021) 

Descriptions of clothing and body modification in the Hebrew Bible often communicate information about the wearers' identities, emotions, and changes of status. Dress studies is an interdisciplinary pursuit that has expanded greatly since the 1980s as part of a wider academic recognition that the human body is a primary site of cultural construction. Hebrew Bible scholars have increasingly recognized the value of this approach with regard to biblical texts and continue to explore its multifaceted dimensions. The studies to date include examinations of permanent body modifications in the Hebrew Bible: circumcision, scarification, tattooing, and piercing. Scholars have also analyzed temporary body modifications, such as styling or cutting the hair and applying cosmetics. Additionally, there are studies of the supplements added to the body, most notably clothing and jewelry. When examined in their social context, biblical descriptions of clothing and body modification reveal important information about the figures involved, the development of a narrative, and the ideologies of biblical writers.

For-Profit Prophets? Ezekiel 13:17-23 and the Threat of Female Intermediaries 

Hebrew Studies 61 (2020)

The passage concerning female intermediaries in Ezek 13:17–23 is beset with interpretational obstacles. For example, the Hebrew is unclear as to whether the women receive payment in barley and bread, even though many translations assert it. Commentators often assume the payment hints at corruption. Yet the passage suggests that Ezekiel believed the women wielded significant power in their community, amounting to far greater gains than grains. The exact nature of their ritual activities remains uncertain, but reading Ezek 13:17–23 in the context of other passages concerning women and religious authority sheds light on Ezekiel’s ideology and rhetoric. For example, the misogynistic language in Ezekiel 16 and 23 reflects his androcentric response to the emasculating experience of the Babylonian exile. Ezekiel’s desire to preserve the Judean community in Babylonia provoked him to condemn women whom he thought perverted their social roles. The same desire is reflected in his efforts to assert his religious authority as a Zadokite priest and Yhwh’s prophet. Those who contradicted him represented a threat to his credibility and his attempts to preserve the group identity of his community. Ezekiel 13:17–23 thus sits at the intersection of two of Ezekiel’s societal concerns: women and religious authority. It is important to recognize this context as well as his use of gendered rhetoric to undermine the female intermediaries. Such an understanding contradicts the traditional interpretation that the female intermediaries really were conducting dangerous sorcery: an interpretation which has historically harmed those (primarily women) accused of being witches.

The Apparel Oft Proclaims the Man: Clothing and Identity in Ezekiel 23

Die Welt des Orients 50/2 (2020) 

Ezekiel 23 is unusual in the Hebrew Bible for providing detailed descriptions of the clothing and adornment practices of Assyrians and Babylonians The terminology the writer used reveals the characteristics of these people groups, real or imagined, which he wished to emphasize. When examined in their socio-historic context, it is clear the author selected specific terms to portray the Mesopotamians as completely “other” from the Judeans in exile with regard to ethnic, class, religious, and even professional identities. The purpose of such rhetoric was to encourage the Judeans in Babylonia to retain their own distinct identity and not integrate with the foreigners surrounding them.