Dr Benjamin Wold
Assistant Professor in New Testament,
Director of Undergraduate Teaching & Learning
e: woldb@tcd.ie
t: +353 1 896 1375/896 1297
Academic Degrees / Qualifications
M.A. (Dubl., Jerusalem), Ph.D. (Durh.)
Background
Before joining the Department of Religions and Theology at TCD in 2007, Benjamin Wold was Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Institute for Ancient Judaism and Hellenistic Religions(Institut für antikes Judentum und hellenistische Religionsgeschichte) at the University of Tübingen, Germany. In addition to studies at Durham University, both Ph.D. and Post-doctoral, he has also spent time at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During more than half a decade living and studying in Jerusalem he participated in archaeological excavations, including as a volunteer at excavations at Qumran. In 2012 Benjamin was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities research fellowship at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem to complete a book on one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Research Interests
The interaction between religious traditions in ancient Jewish thought and practice from the second century BCE to the second century CE and how they contribute to our understanding of the cultural contexts that exerted influence on emerging Christianity are Benjamin’s key interests. Approaches to this topic are particularly focused on languages, literature, material culture, and archaeology from the period.
Benjamin’s publications have focused on Dead Sea Scrolls (esp. 4QInstruction, 4QPseudo-Ezekiel, 4Q521, 4QTestimonia, 4QFlorilegium), the synoptic gospels, the book of Revelation, conceptualizations of “evil” (Dualism, Demonology), and the phenomenon of ancient “apocalypticism”.
Current collaborations with colleagues include: co-chairing the Biblical Studies Research Seminar, a joint initiative of the Religions and Theology Department and the Loyola Institute; the Trinity Millennialism Project where he is co-director with Professor Crawford Gribben (Queens University Belfast); he is a member of Trinity College’s Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, and co-chairs a project on the Devil, Demons, and Dualism with Jan Dochhorn (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Susanne Rudnig-Zelt (Kiel University, Germany).
Departmental and School Responsibilities
Professor Wold is Director of Teaching and Learning (Undergraduate) for the Confederal School of Religions, Theology and Ecumenics and will be Senior Sophister Head of Year from September 2013.
Teaching
- Literary and Historical Approaches to the Gospels (HE2313)
- The End of the World: The Johannine Writings (HE2314)
- Paul and the Development of Early Christianity (HE2325)
- Pauline Letters in Context (HE2326)
- Sects & Sages: The New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls (HE4008)
In addition to teaching Intermediate and Advanced level Greek courses, Benjamin also regularly reads Post-biblical Hebrew and Classical Ethiopic (Ge‘ez) in graduate seminars.
Recent Publications
“Agency and Raising the Dead in Pseudo-Ezekiel and 521 2 ii” in Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 1/103 (2012): 1-19.
“The Eschatological Application of Exodus Plagues in John’s Apocalypse,” in H. Lichtenberger, H.-J. Eckstein, C. Landmesser (eds.), Eschatologie – Eschatology: The Sixth Durham-Tübingen Colloquium (WUNT I; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011) pp. 249-66.
“Reading Revelation’s Plague Septets: New Exodus and Exile,” in F. García Martínez (ed.), Echoes from the Caves: Qumran and the New Testament (STDJ 85; Leiden: Brill, 2009) pp. 279-98.
Publications in Process/Forthcoming
Wold, Benjamin together with Jan Dochhorn (eds.), Dualism, the Devil, and Demons (WUNT2; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014).
“Representatives of Wisdom in Luke 7:35, 4QInstruction, and 1 Enoch,” (Proceedings from the Seventh Enoch Seminar: Camaldoli, Italy July 2013).
The Mystery of Existence: The Construction of Authority in 4QInstruction (forthcoming monograph, funded by the NEH)
Editorial Board
Benjamin serves on the editorial board for Versita Publishers in association with de Gruyter (Theology & Religious Studies); and he is a member of the committee for the annual periodical: Christianitas Antiqua (Gdańsk University).
List of undergraduate theses and PhD theses supervised
Contact
Room 5031, Arts Building, Trinity College
t: 01 896 1375
f: 677 4844
e: woldb@tcd.ie