Professor David Shepherd

Professor David Shepherd

Professor, School of Religion


Biography

Following doctoral studies at New College (University of Edinburgh) and academic appointments in Canada, Belfast and England, Professor Shepherd was appointed at Trinity in 2013. His research interests and publications range widely across biblical studies from studies of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient literary context, to its ancient versions, to the reception of the Bible in the visual and performing arts in the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent projects have involved collaboration with experts in 20th century German theatre and experimental psychologists in neuroscience. Alongside teaching and supervising doctoral research in these areas, Professor Shepherd was the founding director of the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies at the University and has served as committee member and co-chair of programme units for both the Annual and International meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature (Books of Samuel, Bible and Visual Culture, Bible and Visual Art). He has served as Secretary of the Society for Old Testament Studies (UK and Ireland), vice-president for the Irish Biblical Association, and the International Organization for Targum Studies and is co-editor of the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament and DeGruyter's monograph series, Studies in the Bible and its Reception. He has served as external examiner of both undergraduate taught programmes (Sheffield and Durham universities) as well as doctoral theses and has also served on panels of accreditation for HE institutions in Europe (most recently Estonia). Professor Shepherd has fulfilled various roles within the University including Head of Discipline for Religious Studies, Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning, Acting Head of School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies. Beyond the School, he has sat on the Council and Board of the University and was appointed by the Provost as Dean of Undergraduate Studies/Senior Lecturer from 2021-2023.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • David Shepherd and Christopher J.H. Wright, Ezra & Nehemiah, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2018Book, 2018
  • Biblical Interpretation, 26, 4-5, (2018), 435-551p, David Shepherd and Tchavdar S. Hadjiev, [eds.]Journal, 2018
  • David Shepherd (ed.), The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927), New York, Routledge, 2016, 1-292ppBook, 2016
  • David Shepherd (ed.), Images of the Word: Hollywood's Bible and Beyond, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2008, vii-227ppBook, 2008
  • David Shepherd, King David, Innocent Blood, and Bloodguilt, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2023Book, 2023
  • David Shepherd, Jan Joosten, Michaël van der Meer (co-editors), Septuagint, Targum and Beyond: Comparing Aramaic and Greek Versions from Jewish Antiquity , Leiden, Brill, 2020Book, 2020, DOI
  • David J. Shepherd and Nicholas E. Johnson, Bertolt Brecht and the David Fragments (1919-1921): An Interdisciplinary Study, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2020, 1 - 224ppBook, 2020, URL
  • David Shepherd, 'Ruth in the days of the Judges: Women, Foreignness and Violence', Biblical Interpretation, 26, (4-5), 2018, p528 - 543Journal Article, 2018
  • David Shepherd, ''Noah's Beasts Were the Stars': Arthur Melbourne Cooper's Noah's Ark (1909)', Journal of Religion and Film , 20, (1), 2016Journal Article, 2016
  • David Shepherd, 'Visible Violence: Numbers 25 and the Atonement of Phinehas', Judaïsme ancien / Ancient Judaism, 4 , 2016, p123-137Journal Article, 2016
  • David Shepherd, ''Do you love me?' A narrative-critical reappraisal of agapao and phileo in John 21:15-17', Journal of Biblical Literature, 129 , (4 ), 2010, p777 - 792Journal Article, 2010
  • David Shepherd, ''Strike his bone and his flesh': Reading Job 2 from the Beginning', Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 33 , (1), 2008, p81-97Journal Article, 2008
  • David Shepherd, 'What's in a name? Targum and Taxonomy in the Caves of Qumran', Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 17, (3), 2008, p189-206Journal Article, 2008
  • David Shepherd, 'From Gospel to Gibson: An Interview with the Writers behind Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ', Religion and the Arts , 9 , (3-4), 2005, p321-31Journal Article, 2005
  • David Shepherd, 'Rendering Flesh and Bones: Pair Reversal and the Peshitta of Job 2:5', Aramaic Studies, 3, (2), 2005, p205-13Journal Article, 2005
  • David Shepherd, 'Prophetaphobia: Fear and False Prophecy in Nehemiah 6', Vetus Testamentum, 55, (2), 2005, p232-250Journal Article, 2005
  • David Shepherd, 'Violence in the Fields? Translating, Reading and Revising in Ruth 2', Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 63, (3), 2001, p444-65Journal Article, 2001
  • David Shepherd, 'Speaking up for Qumran, Dalman, and the Son of Man: Was Bar Enasha a Common Term for 'Man' in the Time of Jesus?, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 81, 2001, p81-122Journal Article, 2001
  • David Shepherd, 'Will the Real Targum Please Stand Up? Translation and Coordination in the Ancient Aramaic Versions of Job', Journal of Jewish Studies, 51, (1), 2000, p88-116Journal Article, 2000
  • David Shepherd, 'MN QDM: Deferential treatment in the Aramaic of Daniel and 11QarJob?', Vetus Testamentum, 50, (3), 2000, p401-404Journal Article, 2000
  • David Shepherd, 'Translating and Supplementing: A(nother) look at the Targumic Versions of Genesis 4:3-16', Journal for the Aramaic Bible (now Aramaic Studies), 1, 1999, p125-46Journal Article, 1999
  • David Shepherd, 'Before Bomberg: The Case of the Targum of Job in the Rabbinic Bible and the Solger Codex', Biblica, 79, (3), 1998, p360-75Journal Article, 1998
  • '11Q10 / 4Q157', L. Stuckenbruck and D. Gurtner, T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism , London, T & T Clark/Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2019
  • '4Q156', T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism , London, T & T Clark/Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2019
  • 'Targumim', L. Stuckenbruck and D. Gurtner, T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism , London, T & T Clark/Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2019
  • 'Aramaic Job (11Q10 and 4Q157)', G. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel, T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls, London, T & T Clark/Bloomsbury Academic, 2018, pp259-260 , [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2018
  • 'Seeing is Believing: Aronofsky's Noah (2014) and Cinematic Spectacle' in, editor(s)R. Burnette-Bletsch and J. Morgan , Noah as Antihero, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017, pp84-101 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2017
  • 'Qumran Aramaic Version of Job', Armin Lange, The Textual History of the Bible , 2nd ed., 1C, Leiden, Brill, 2016, [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2016
  • 'Targum of Job', Armin Lange, The Textual History of the Bible , 2nd ed., 1C, Leiden, Brill, 2016, [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2016
  • 'David's Anger was Greatly Kindled: Melodrama, The Silent Cinema and the Books of Samuel' in, editor(s)C. Van der Stichele and L. Copier , Close Encounters between Bible and Film: An Interdisciplinary Engagement, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2016, pp127-153 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2016
  • David Shepherd, 'See this great sight: Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings and the Evolution of Biblical Spectacle in the Cinema', Biblical Reception, 4, 2016, p75-90Journal Article, 2016
  • 'La naissance, vie et passion du Christ (Gaumont, 1906): The Gospel according to Alice Guy' in, editor(s)David Shepherd , The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927), New York, Routledge, 2016, pp60-77 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2016
  • 'Final Reflections' in, editor(s)David Shepherd , The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927), New York, Routledge, 2016, pp271-280 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2016
  • 'The Bible on Silent Film' in, editor(s)Rhonda Burnette Bletsch , The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film, Berlin, De Gruyter, 2016, pp139-159 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2016
  • 'When Brian Met Moses: Life of Brian (1979), Wholly Moses (1980) and the 'Failure' of Biblical Parody' in, editor(s)Joan Taylor , Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python's Life of Brian, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, pp43-54 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2015
  • 'An Orgy Sunday-School Children Can Watch'?: The Seduction of Spectacle and the Spectacle of Seduction in DeMille's Ten Commandments (1923)' in, editor(s)Maria Wyke and Michelakis Pantelis , The Ancient World in the Silent Cinema, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp262-74 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2013
  • 'The Life of Moses (1909-1910)' in, editor(s)Adele Reinhartz , Bible and Cinema: Fifty Key Films, New York, Routledge, 2013, pp182-186 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2013
  • 'Is the governor also among the prophets? Parsing the purposes of Jeremiah in the memory of Nehemiah' in, editor(s)M. Boda and L. Wray-Beal , Prophets and Prophecy in Ancient Israelite Historiography, Grand Rapids, Eisenbrauns, 2013, pp209-228 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2013
  • 'Re-solving the Son of Man 'Problem' in Aramaic' in, editor(s)L. Hurtado and P. Owen , Who is this 'Son of Man'? The Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus, New York, T & T Clark International, 2011, pp50-60 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2011
  • 'Prolonging The Life of Moses: Spectacle and Story in the Early Cinema' in, editor(s)David Shepherd , Images of the Word: Hollywood's Bible and Beyond, Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2008, pp11-38 , [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2008
  • 'Peshitta (NT)', 'Peshitta (OT)', '11QarJob' and '4QarLev', J. Neusner, A. Avery-Peck, , Encyclopedia of Religious and Philosophical Writings in Late Antiquity: Pagan, Judaic, Christian , Leiden, Brill, 2007, pp190, 212, 338-340 , [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2007
  • David Shepherd and Nicholas Johnson, 'The David Fragments - After Bertholt Brecht', Beckett Theatre - Dublin; Greenwood Theatre - London, 2017, -Theatre Production, 2017
  • ''Blessed Are the Peacemakers': The Deployment of Jesus in American and German Cinema During and After the First World War' in, editor(s)Richard Walsh , T & T Clark Companion to the Bible and Film, London, T & T Clark/Bloomsbury Academic, 2018, [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2018
  • Nicholas Johnson and David Shepherd, The David Fragments in Performance, The Brecht Yearbook / Das Brecht Jahrbuch, 44, 2019, p61 - 80Journal Article, 2019, URL
  • 'See God and Die? Job's Final Words (42:6) according to His First Aramaic and Greek Interpreters' in, editor(s)David Shepherd, Jan Joosten, Michaël van der Meer , Septuagint, Targum and Beyond: Comparing Aramaic and Greek Versions from Jewish Antiquity, Leiden, Brill, 2019, pp228 - 248, [David Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2019
  • Knowing Abner in, editor(s)Keith Bodner and Benjamin J.M. Johnson , Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel, London, Bloomsbury Academic (T&T Clark), 2020, pp205 - 225, [David J. Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2020
  • David J. Shepherd and Richard S. Briggs (eds.), Remember their Sin No More? Forgiveness and the Hebrew Bible, Eugene, OR, Wipf & Stock, 2022, 1-162ppBook, 2022
  • "The Trespass of Your Servant" Looking for Forgiveness in the Story of David, Abigail, and Nabal in, editor(s)David J. Shepherd and Richard S. Briggs , Remember their Sin No More? Forgiveness and the Hebrew Bible, Eugene, OR, Wipf & Stock, 2022, pp39 - 51, [David J. Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2022
  • The Reception of the Hebrew Bible in Literature, Theatre and Film in, editor(s)John Barton , Understanding the Hebrew Bible: Essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024, [David J. Shepherd]Book Chapter, 2024
  • David J. Shepherd and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer (eds.), Oxford Handbook of King David, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024Book, 2024
  • David J. Shepherd, Response, Panel Review Session devoted to my monograph, King David, Innocent Blood, and Bloodguilt (OUP, 2023), Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, Nov 19-21, 2023, 2023Conference Paper, 2023
  • David J. Shepherd, The Bible on Silent Film: Spectacle, Story and Scripture in the Early Cinema, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013Book, 2013
  • David Shepherd, Targum and Translation: A Reconsideration of the Qumran Aramaic version of Job, Assen, Van Gorcum, 2004Book, 2004
  • David Shepherd, 'When he comes, will he build it? Temple, Messiah and Targum Jonathan , Aramaic Studies, 12, 2014, p89 - 107Journal Article, 2014
  • 'Louis Feuillade'; 'Gene Gauntier', 'The Golden Calf', H.-J. Klauck et al., Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, 1st, 9, Berlin, De Gruyter, 2014, - - [David Shepherd]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2014
  • David Shepherd, Seeking Sabbath: A Personal Journey, Oxford, BRF, 2007Book
  • David Shepherd, Review of Why hidest thy face: Job in traditions and literature, by Michael Caspi , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 31, (5), 2007, p105-106Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Was 1 Esdras first?; an investigation into the priority and nature of 1 Esdras, by Lisbeth Fried , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 36, (5), 2012, p183-184Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Translation and Translator of the Peshitta of Hosea, by Eric Tully , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 40, (5), 2016, p58Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The surprising election and confirmation of King David, by John Randall Short , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 38, (5), 2014, p79Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The fate of Saul's progeny in the reign of David, by Cephas Tushima , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 36, (5), 2012, p98-99Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Courtier and the Governor: Transformations of Genre in the Nehemiah Memoir, by Sean Burt , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 39, (5), 2015, p99-100Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Not 'Who Is on the Lord's Side?' but 'Whose Side Is the Lord On?: Contesting Claims and Divine Inscrutability in 2 Samuel 16:5-14, by Timothy Simpson , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 40, (5), 2016, p139-140Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Jeremiah: a commentary based on Ieremias in Codex Vaticanus, by Georg Walser , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 38, (5), 2014, p58Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Iconography of Printed Bibles 1475-1900: Images from Bereshit I, by Fabio Mora , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 40, (5), 2016, p136Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Historical Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew: Steps Toward an Integrated Approach, by Robert Rezetko and Ian Young , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 40, (5), 2016, p214-215Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Ezra, Nehemiah, by Thomas Bolin , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 38, (5), 2014, p105-106Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of 2 Samuel, by Craig Morrison , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 39, (5), 2015, p71-72Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: An Introduction to its Method and Practice, by Izaak De Hulster, Brent Strawn and Ryan Bonfiglio , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 42, (5), 2018, p13-14Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Last King(s) of Judah: Zedekiah and Sedekias in Hebrew and Old Greek Versions of Jeremiah 37(44):1-40(47):6, by Shelley Birdsong , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 42, (5), 2018, p53Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Proselyte and the Prophet Character Development in Targum Ruth, by Christian Brady , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 41, (5), 2018, p53Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of David's Capacity for Compassion: A Literary-Hermeneutical Study of 1-2 Samuel, by Barbara Green , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 42, (5), 2018, p136-137Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Biblical Aramaic: A Reader and Handbook, by Donald Vance, George Athas, Yael Avrahami and Jonathan Kline , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 42, (5), 2018, p260Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Job's Journey: Stations of Suffering, by Manfred Oeming and Konrad Schmid , Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 17, 2017Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Dictionary of Qumran Aramaic, by Edward Cook , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 41, (5), 2017, p190Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Figures de Moïse, by Denise Aigle and Francoise Briquel Chatonnet , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 41, (5), 2017, p101-102Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Transmission of Targum Jonathan in the West: A Study of Italian and Ashkenazi Manuscripts of the Targum to Samuel, by Hector Patmore , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 41, (5), 2017, p52Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Legitimacy, illegitimacy, and the right to rule: windows on Abimelech's rise and demise in Judges 9, by Gordon Oeste , Vetus Testamentum, 64, (2), 2014, p349Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Reconciling violence and kingship: a study of Judges and 1 Samuel, by Marty Alan Michelson , Vetus Testamentum, 65, (2), 2015, p329Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The nature of biblical criticism, by John Barton , Vetus Testamentum, 59, (1), 2009, p159-160Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Joshua, by J Gordon McConville and Stephen N. Williams , Vetus Testamentum, 62, (3), 2012, p465-466Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Biblical Interpretation: an integrated approach, by W. Randolph Tate , Vetus Testamentum, 60, (2), 2010, p301-302Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Jonah: a theological exposition of sacred scripture, by Robert Reed Lessing , Vetus Testamentum, 60, (1), 2010, p159Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Prophets and proverbs: more studies in Old Testament poetry and biblical religion, by Anthony Ceresko , Studies in Religion, 32, (4), 2003, p515-516Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of Cain and Abel in text and tradition: Jewish and Christian interpretations of the first sibling rivalry, by John Byron , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 39, (5), 2015, p157Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Targums in the Light of Traditions of the Second Temple Period, by Thierry Legrand and Jan Joosten , Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 39, (5), 2015, p171Review
  • David Shepherd, Review of The Targums: A Critical Introduction, by Bruce Chilton and Paul Flesher , Review of Biblical Literature, 2012Review
  • David Shepherd, Down to the Bare Bones: Saul, David and the Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Sam 21:1-14, Doktorandenkolloquium, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, April 20, 2018Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Re-assessing Rizpah: Gibeonite blood and Saulide bones in 2 Sam 21:1-14, Senior Research Seminar, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, February 21, 2018Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Blessed are the Peacemakers: the deployment of Jesus in American and German cinema during and after WWI, Religion and Theology Research Seminar, University of Nottingham, Nov 1, 2017Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, 'Naturally religious': Jesus and his women in Alice Guy's La Vie du Christ (Gaumont, 1906), Theology Dinner, Worcester College, University of Oxford, May 16, 2017Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, 'He's got a big mouth': Bertolt Brecht's play-fragments of David (1920-21), Seminar on the Bible in Art, Music and Literature, Trinity College, University of Oxford, May 15, 2017Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, How (not) to lead? Ezra-Nehemiah and Weber's analysis of authority, Old Testament Research Colloquium, Princeton Theological Seminary, November 16, 2016Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Kings who kill: the problem of bloodguilt in Judges 9, Religious Studies Research Seminar, University of Lausanne, Mar 2, 2016Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, David's Anger Was Greatly Kindled: Melodrama, Silent Cinema and the Books of Samuel, Research Seminar, Theology and Religious Studies Department, University of Chester, Apr 27, 2016Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Where did Naboth the Jezreelite die? New light on an old mystery, Biblical Studies Research Seminar, New College, University of Edinburgh, Mar 7, 2014Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Is the governor also among the prophets? Parsing the purposes of Jeremiah in the memory of Nehemiah, Joint seminar of the Faculty of Divinity and CAMES, University of Cambridge, February 9, 2011Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, What's in a name? Targum and Taxonomy in the Caves of Qumran , Seminar for the Study of Judaism in Late Antiquity, Faculty of Theology, University of Durham, May, 2013Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Prophetaphobia: Fear and False Prophecy in Nehemiah 6 , Biblical Studies Research Seminar, New College, University of Edinburgh, June, 2003Invited Talk
  • David Shepherd, 'Put him to death for the life of his brother': the problem of bloodguilt and the peculiar death of Absalom, Joint-Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Study, OTW and OTTSA, University of Groningen, Aug 23, 2018Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'See God and die' The last words of Job (42:6) according to his first interpreters, Joint meeting of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies and the International Organisation for Targum Studies , University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, September 4-9, 2016Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, What's 'Targumic' about an Apocryphon: Reflections on 1Q20 as an Aramaic Version, Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Denver, Nov 18, 2018Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, Toying with the Ark: Melbourne Cooper's Deluvian Dream and the Beginning of Biblical Animation, Religion and Film Conference, Istanbul, Turkey, May 21-24, 2015Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, If he comes, he will build it: Temple, Messiah and Targum Jonathan, Congress of the International Organisation for Targum Studies , Munich, Aug, 2013Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'The Sword Shall Never Depart...': Blood, Guilt and the House of David , Society for Old Testament Study, Summer Meeting, Manchester, July 17, 2012Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, Children at Risk: Exodus and Anxiety in the Early French Cinema, Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Nov 20-23, 2004Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'An Orgy Sunday-School Children Can Watch'?: The Seduction of Spectacle and the Spectacle of Seduction in DeMille's Ten Commandments (1923), Transformations of Antiquity Symposium, Humboldt University, Berlin, March 18, 2011Conference Paper
  • David, Can Anything Targumic Come from Qumran? Revisiting Klaus Beyer's 'Targums' of Tobit and Isaiah, Congress of the International Organisation for Targum Studies , Helsinki, August, 2010Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'Do you love me?': John 21:15-17 in its narrative context, Irish Biblical Association, Autumn Meeting, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth., October 13, 2009Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, Put him to death for the life of his brother: the peculiar death of Absalom and the problem of bloodguilt, Faculty of Divinity Research Seminar, University of Glasgow, October 10, 2019, Department of Theology and Religious StudiesInvited Talk
  • David J. Shepherd, Put him to death for the life of his brother: the peculiar death of Absalom and the problem of bloodguilt, Biblical Studies Research Seminar, New College, University of Edinburgh, October 11, 2019, Faculty of DivinityInvited Talk
  • David Shepherd, Down to the Bare Bones: Saul, David and the Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Sam 21:1-14 , Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Boston, November 21, 2017, 2017Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, The trespass of a servant: finding forgiveness in 1 Sam 25? , Remember their sins on more? Forgiveness and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Dublin, May 11-12, 2018, 2018Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, Deliver me from `bloodguilt': For what might the superscription's David be hoping in Psalm 51?, HOPE FOR THE WORLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, Tyndale Fellowship (Symposium held online), June 29, 2021, 2021Conference Paper
  • David J. Shepherd, `The Devil's in the Detail: William Burges' Job Window in St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork,", The Book of Job and its Afterlives, St. Patrick's Maynooth, February 19, 2022, 2022Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'Deliver Me from `Bloods'': The Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Samuel 11:12 and Psalm 51, International Organisation for the Study of the Old Testament, University of Zurich, August 9-11, 2022, 2022Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'Lost in Translation': A Fresh Analysis of One Aspect of the Aramaic Bisitun Inscription in Its Wider Aramaic Context , Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, November 19-21, 2022Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, 'There Will Be Blood': Amnon, Tamar, and the "Innocence" of Absalom, Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, Nov 19-21, 2022, 2022Conference Paper
  • David Shepherd, Bones of Contention: David, Rizpah and the Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Sam 21:1-14, Seminar, Örebro Teologiska Högskola - Sweden, Feb 11, 2022, 2022Invited Talk
  • David J. Shepherd, How modern vendettas compare with blood vengeance in the age of King David, The Conversation (Feb 19, 2024), 2024Journal Article
  • David J. Shepherd, Now you see him, now you don"t: Moses and the Burning Bush in the stained glass of the Church of Ireland and Presbyterian Church in Ireland, New Illuminations: Stained Glass in Ireland and Beyond, Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies (School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies), Sept 21-23, 2023, 2023Conference Paper

Research Expertise

My research is focused in three distinct streams within biblical studies: Ancient Translation My recent and current work on the Jewish translation of the Bible in antiquity builds on my first monograph in which I argue that the Aramaic version of Job found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls is quite distinct from other ancient Jewish translations. Recent articles, the doctoral work I supervise, and a collection of essays I've recently edited seek to extend my analysis to earlier Aramaic translations and Greek versions in preparation for a larger research project exploring the genesis and development of Bible translation in antiquity. Leadership, Violence and Antiquity Prompted by the perennial importance of leadership in society, my recent work on the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context focused on the representation of leadership in the post-exilic figures of Ezra and Nehemiah (see 'PR Publications' for articles and book). The interface of ethics and leadership visible in this work appears in a more fully-fledged form in my book, King David, Innocent Blood, and Bloodguilt (forthcoming April 2023, OUP) which will be followed by a wider project (2024-25) considering the dynamics of kingship and violence in antiquity more generally. Visualizing and Performing the Bible in the 19th and 20th c. This work began with my monograph (CUP, 2013) and edited collection (Routledge, 2016) on the Bible and silent film, was extended to include the Bible and theatre (play and book [Bloomsbury, 2020]) and is now being extended further to include the Bible and stained glass (AHSSBF grant, IRC New Foundations grant and most recently Templeton grant). I have now been invited to apply for following on grant funding from Templeton (up to $1,000,000) to continue this work, paving the way for an ERC Advanced grant focusing on 'The Bible and Artistic Modernism'.

  • Title
    Rediscovering Ancient Hebrew Imagery in Irish Stained Glass
    Summary
    The project's overall aims are to discover how the legacy of the ancient Jewish Scriptures (e.g.characters like Moses, David, Ruth etc) has been preserved in the stained glass of church buildings and to build capacity within local communities for nurturing an appreciation of their ancient Jewish/Hebrew heritage. Building on recently completed cataloguing, this project proposes to analyze the interpretation of ancient Hebrew traditions in the glass of various parishes and its local use within the united dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough (CoI), and to facilitate new knowledge transfer and capacity building by means of one-to-one training, seminars and public and published outputs.
    Funding Agency
    Irish Research Council
    Date From
    April 1
    Date To
    January 31
  • Title
    The Silents of Jesus: Representations of the life and passion of the Christ in the early Cinema'
    Summary
    A collaborative project involving a symposium held in Vienna, Austria and culminating in a publication (The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema [1897-1927]) published by Routledge in 2016.
    Funding Agency
    Trinity College Dublin
    Date From
    February 2014
    Date To
    February 2016

Philosophy, Ethics and Religion, Other Humanities, Philosophy, Ethics and Religion, Languages & literature, Creative & performing arts, Languages & literature, Other Humanities, Creative & performing arts,

Recognition

  • Fellow of Trinity College Dublin 2018
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) 2012
  • Member, Society for Old Testament Study present
  • Member, International Organization for Targum Studies present
  • Member, Irish Biblical Association present
  • Member, Society of Biblical Literature present
  • PhD Examiner, Manchester University 2015
  • Member, Editorial Board, Journal for the Study of Pseudepigrapha 2015 - 2019
  • External Examiner, University of Sheffield, UG programme (biblical studies) 2011 - 2015
  • Co-Chair, The Bible and the Moving Image programme unit, International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature 2011 - 2015
  • Co-Editor, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (one of the two leading journals in my discipline) 2016 -
  • Vice-President, International Organization for Targum Studies 2018 -
  • External Member, Appointment Panel for an academic post in Hebrew Bible, University of Aarhus, Denmark Mar 2021
  • Committee Member, International Organisation for Targum Studies 2013 - 2018
  • Member, Expert Accreditation Panel, Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (on behalf of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education) Mar 2023
  • PhD Examiner, St Mary's University, Twickenham Jan 2023
  • Vice-President, Irish Biblical Association 2015 - 2018
  • Committee Member, Bible and Visual Art program unit, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting 2023 -
  • PhD Examiner, University of Aberdeen 2014
  • External Examiner, Durham University, PG programmes (biblical studies) 2016 - 2019
  • Committee Member, Book of Samuel: Narrative, Theology and Interpretation Program Unit, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting 2023 -
  • Secretary, Society for Old Testament Study (UK and Ireland) 2015 - 2021
  • PhD Examiner, Durham University Oct 2019
  • Co-Chair, Bible and Visual Culture program unit, Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting 2016 -
  • PhD Examiner, University College London Jan 2023