Biography
My path to Trinity College Dublin includes training in Portland, OR (B.A.), Jerusalem (M.A., and Semitic Languages Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rothberg), Germany (Ph.D. Erasmus+ exchange at the University Tübingen), and Britain (Ph.D. at Durham University, advisor: Loren Stuckenbruck). After completing my Ph.D. I held a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University before receiving an Alexander von Humboldt-award which was hosted by the Institute for Ancient Judaism and Hellenistic Religions at the University of Tübingen. I am broadly interested in comparative religions and especially the study of early Judaism and early Christianity in the context of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world. In addition to specializing in wisdom literature, particularly as found among the Hebrew texts from the Dead Sea, I am also engaged in the study of archaeology and material culture. I have volunteered at archaeological excavations, including twice at Qumran. Following on from formal study in Jerusalem, I have since held fellowships at the American School of Oriental Research (Albright Institute); once with an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (2012/13) and again as a Senior Fellow (2017). My current research project is a monograph on the significance of Qumran Wisdom Traditions for the study of the New Testament (anticipated completion summer 2021).
Another of my interests is religion and society in Asia (particularly S.E. Asia); I have spent time at Trinity Theological College, Singapore as a scholar in residence and also was visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2014).
In 2018 I was elected to Fellowship at TCD. I am the co-founder and current director of the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies (www.tcd.ie/tcbs/).
I am presently accepting applications from prospective Ph.D. students who are interested to research in early Jewish studies, and especially the intersection of early Judaism and New Testament literature. Recent (last five years) Ph.D. theses completed under my supervision, or in their final stages, include:
- A Feminist Reconstruction of the Message to Thyatira in the Book of Revelation.
- Warding Off Evil: An Analysis of Apotropaic Tradition in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Synoptic Gospels [Published with Mohr Siebeck].
- The Significance of Obduracy and Obfuscation Motifs in the Letters of Paul.
- Oral Legislation in Rabbinic Judaism: A Comparative Study of the Jurisdiction and the Shabbat Halakhot in the Mishnah and Qumran Scrolls (2nd Century BCE - 2nd Century CE).
- Wisdom in Transition in Early Judaism and the Letter of James.
- Inheritance, Identity and Inclusion in the Gospel of Matthew and Antecedent Tradition [Accepted for publication with Baylor University Press].
- Spirit, Water, and the Self: Early Jewish and Christian Immersion Traditions.
- Religious Experience of Heavenly Cult: A Study in the Ascension of Isaiah.
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Israel's Scriptures in the New Testament: Wisdom in, editor(s)Matthias Henze & David Lincicum , The Old Testament in the New: Israel's Scriptures in the New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 2021, pp1-18 , [Benjamin Wold]
Debt Remission and the Matthean Lord's Prayer in, editor(s)Beth Langstaff, Michael Tilley and Loren T. Stuckenbruck , The Lord's Prayer: Origins, Significance, and Reception, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2021, pp1-25 , [Benjamin Wold]
"Fleshly Spirit" and "Vessel of Flesh" in 4QInstruction and the Thanksgiving Hymns in, editor(s)James Aitken, Hector Patmore and Ishay Rosen-Zvi , The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021, pp49 - 64, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, "Ḥokma of the Hands" in Early Jewish Sapiential Tradition and the Letter of James, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 30, (2), 2020, p74 - 86
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 30, 1, (2020), 1-56p, Benjamin Wold & Daniele Pevarello, [eds.]
Benjamin Wold, Pope Francis on "Lead Us Not Into Temptation": Historical and Linguistic Comments, SEARCH, 43, (1), 2020, p35 - 39
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 30, 2, (2020), 59 - 114p, Benjamin Wold & Daniele Pevarello, [eds.]
Wisdom in the New Testament in, editor(s)M. J. Goff and S. Adams , The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature, Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Blackwell, 2019, pp351 - 367, [Benjamin Wold]
Old Testament Context: Insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls in, editor(s)D. Allen & S. Smith , Methodology in the Use of the Old Testament in the New, London, T & T Clark, Library of New Testament Studies, 2019, pp115 - 126, [Benjamin Wold]
Words of the Luminaries and John's Plague Septets in, editor(s)B. Blackwell & J. Maston , Reading Revelation in Context: John's Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2019, pp131 - 137, [Benjamin Wold]
James in the Context of Jewish Wisdom in, editor(s)Eric S. Mason & Darian R. Lockett , Reading the Epistle of James: A Resource for Students, Atlanta, GA, SBL Press, 2019, pp73 - 86, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Sin and Evil in the Letter of James in Light of New Qumran Discoveries, New Testament Studies (Cambridge University Press), 65, (1), 2019, p78 - 93
Book of Genesis in, editor(s)D. M. Gurtner and L. T. Stuckenbruck , Companion to Second Temple Judaism, London, T & T Clark, 2019, pp1-8 , [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Reading Messiah Texts Afresh? Comments on Matthew Novenson's "Grammer of Messianism", Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, 16, (2), 2018, p243 - 249
Benjamin Wold, "基于库姆兰的新发现对《雅各书》的重新解读" ("James in Light of New Qumran Discoveries"), Journal for the Study of Biblical Literature (圣经文学研究), 18, (1), 2018, p1-15
Instruction in, editor(s)George J. Brooke and Charlotte Hempel , Campanion to the Dead Sea Scrolls, T & T Clark (Bloomsbury Companions), 2018, pp318 - 319, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Universal and Particular Law in James and Early Judaism, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 41, (1), 2018, p95 - 106
4Q174 (Florilegium) 4Q175 (Testimonia) in, editor(s)R. Herms, B. Embry, A. Wright , Early Jewish Literature: An Anthology, Eerdmans, 2018, pp1-10 , [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, 4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies, STDJ 123, Leiden, Brill, 2018, 1 - 246pp
Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 41, 1, (2018), 1 - 138p, Benjamin Wold, [editor]
Apocalyptic Thought in the Epistles of Colossians and Ephesians in, editor(s)Benjamin Reynolds and Loren Stuckenbruck , Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition and the Shaping of the New Testament, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2017, pp291 - 310, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Is the 'Firstborn Son' in 4Q369 a Messiah? The Evidence from 4QInstruction, Revue de Qumran, 29, (1/109), 2017, p3 - 20
Benjamin Wold, Jan Dochhorn, Susanne Rudnig-Zelt (eds.), Das Böse, Der Teufel, und Dämonen - Evil, the Devil, and Demons, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2016, 1 - 297pp
Teacher of Righteousness, Eric Orlin, et al., Routledge Dictionary of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, 2016, pp1 , [Benjamin Wold]
Jesus among Wisdom's Representatives in, editor(s)Loren Stuckenbruck and Gabriele Baccaccini , Enoch and the Synoptic Gospels: Reminiscences, Allusions, Intertextuality , Atlanta, SBL Press, 2016, pp317 - 336, [Benjamin Wold]
Demonizing Sin? The Evil Inclination in 4QInstruction and the Dead Sea Scrolls in, editor(s)Chris Keith and Loren Stuckenbruck , Evil in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity, Tuebingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2016, pp34 - 48, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Genesis 2-3 in Early Christianity and 4QInstruction, Dead Sea Discoveries, 23, (3), 2016, p329 - 346
Apotropaic Prayer and the Matthean Lord's Prayer in, editor(s)B. Wold, J. Dochhorn, S. Rudnig-Zelt , Evil, the Devil, and Demons: Dualistic Characteristics in the Religion of Israel, Ancient Judaism, and Christianity, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2016, pp90 - 101, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, "Flesh" and "Spirit" in Qumran Sapiential Literature as the Background to the Use in Pauline Epistles, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 106, (2), 2015, p262 - 279
Exile in Second Temple and Hellenistic Judaism, Vol. 8 Essenes-Fedeism, Dale C. Allison, Jr., Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception, 8, Berlin, Walter de Gruyter, 2013, pp1-4 , [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, The Universality of Creation in 4QInstruction, Revue de Qumran, 26, (2/102), 2013, p211 - 226
Enosh ("Man") in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Heinz-Josef Fabry, Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumranschriften, Band I, Stuttgart, Kohlhammer W., GmbH, 2012, pp241 - 247, [Benjamin Wold]
Ebion ("Poor") in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Heinz-Josef Fabry, Theologisches Wörterbuch zu den Qumrantexten, Band I, Stuttgart, Kohlhammer W., GmbH, 2012, pp13 - 17, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Agency and Raising the Dead in 4Q521 2 ii and 4QPseudo-Ezekiel, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 103, (1), 2012, p1 - 19
The Eschatological Application of Exodus Plagues in Revelation 16 in, editor(s)H. Lichtenberger, H.-J. Eckstein, C. Landmesser (eds.) , Eschatology/Eschatologie: The Sixth Tübingen/Durham Symposium, Tuebingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2011, pp249 - 266, [Benjamin Wold]
The Eschatological Application of Exodus Plagues in John's Apocalypse in, editor(s)H. Lichtenberger, H.-J. Eckstein, C. Landmesser , Eschatologie - Eschatology: The Sixth Durham-Tübingen Colloquium, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2011, pp249 - 266, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Agents of Resurrection in 4Q521, 4QPseudo-Ezekiel, and the Saying Source Q, Judaism in Antiquity Seminar, Durham University, November 12, 2010, Robert Hayward, 16pp
Revelations Plague Septets: New Exodus and Exile in, editor(s)Florentino García Martínez , Echoes from the Caves: Qumran and the New Testament, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 2009, pp279 - 298, [Benjamin Wold]
Benjamin Wold, Family Ethics in 4QInstruction and the New Testament, Novum Testamentum, 50, (3), 2008, p286 - 300
Benjamin Wold, Metaphorical Poverty in Musar leMevin, Journal of Jewish Studies, 58, (1), 2007, p140 - 153
Benjamin Wold, Loren Stuckenbruck, Stephen Barton (eds.), Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, WUNT, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 394 pgs., pls. i-vipp
Remembrance in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Exodus, Creation and Cosmos in, editor(s)B. Wold, L.T. Stuckenbruck, S. Barton , Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007, pp47 - 74, [Benjamin Wold]
Erhard Blum, 'Historiography or Poetry? The Peculiarities of Old Testament Prose Tradition', Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, (WUNT), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 25 - 46
Hermann Lichtenberger, 'History Writing and History Telling in First and Second Maccabees', Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, (WUNT), Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 95 - 110
Benjamin Wold, Reconstructing and Reading 4Q416 2 ii 21: Comments on Menahem Kister's Proposal , Dead Sea Discoveries, 12, (2), 2005, p205 - 211
Benjamin Wold, Women, Men and Angels: The Qumran Wisdom Document Musar leMevin and its Allusions to Genesis Creation Traditions, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2005, 286 pgs, pls. i-ixpp
Benjamin Wold, Re-examining an Aspect of the Title Kyrios in Light of 4Q416 2 iii, Zeitschrift fuer die Neuetestamentliche Wissenschaft, 95, (3/4), 2004, p149 - 160
Research Expertise
Projects
- Title
- Student & Faculty Mobility (Erasmus+ KA 107 Mobility Grant)
- Summary
- These Erasmus+ grants enable reciprocal mobility for faculty and students in the School of Religion at TCD with two leading universities in Israel: Bar Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Faculty and students visiting HUJ and BIU are able to learn from leading scholars working across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, while also availing of unique resources for the study of archaeology, languages, and the intersection of religion and society.
- Funding Agency
- Erasmus+
- Date From
- 09/01/2018
- Date To
- 09/01/2023
- Title
- Wisdom: From the Judean Wilderness to Diaspora
- Summary
- What is "wisdom" and how do we understand it across religious traditions? As typically understood, these traditions teach that there are those who measure up to wisdom's standards by birth, gender, propriety, or achievement and those who do not. "Conventional wisdom," a somewhat misleading category, consists of what is observable in the world around us and its practical character is taken for granted; a sage can teach how to live in relationship to it and this can be applied across peoples and cultures. Such wisdom is rooted in the consequences of the here and now, if one acts in the ways instructed it will result in observable outcomes. In the last two decades, compositions discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls have challenged these notions of wisdom. In much of this newly discovered Jewish literature, which is not "sectarian," we find that social boundaries and distinctions are challenged, and that act and consequence are no longer limited to this present life. This international symposium takes as its point of departure scrolls that have changed the last generation of scholarly categories and their social function. Furthermore, new questions are asked about how wisdom literature discovered at Qumran relates to Jewish Hellenistic and Diaspora traditions and whether our scholarly constructs are misconceived. A number of international research symposia are planned that will bring together experts across religious traditions. Meetings are planned that will focus on Jewish and Christian Wisdom, as well as Near Eastern and Far Eastern religious traditions. This is the first of a series of symposia, which is scheduled to take place at Trinity College Dublin this December 2nd and 3rd. The proceedings of this first symposium are being published in two thematic editions of the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha (Sage).
- Funding Agency
- AHSS Benefactions Fund & Ireland Fund of Canada
- Date From
- December 2019
Recognition
Representations
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Sage Publishers, editorial board
Associate Editor, De Gruyter Open (Religious Studies)
External Examiner, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Department of Theology, Religious Studies, and Islamic Studies.
Awards and Honours
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD)
Senior Associate Fellow - Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (Jerusalem)
Visiting Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Vice President, Irish Biblical Association
Honorary President, Theological Society (TCD)
National Endowment for the Humanities award
M.A. Jure officii, Trinity College Dublin
Alexander von Humboldt (Forschungsaufenthalt)
Alexander von Humboldt award
Lightfoot Scholarship, Durham University
Erasmus+ Ph.D. exchange to University of Tübingen, Germany (12-months)
Memberships
Society of Biblical Studies (SBL)
European Association of Biblical Studies
European Association of Jewish Studies
Enoch Seminar
British New Testament Society
International Organization of Qumran Studies (IOQS)