Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies

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School of Religion
Room 1.03
Faculty of Arts
Humanities and Social Sciences
Trinity College Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland

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woldb@tcd.ie
Professor Benjamin Wold

Professor Benjamin Wold

Professor In, School of Religion

Biography

Research Interests and Supervision
I supervise research at the intersection of the New Testament and ancient Judaism, with particular focus on the Dead Sea Scrolls and related Second Temple Jewish literature. My work combines textual analysis, cultural history, and archaeology to explore how early Jewish and Christian communities articulated belief, identity, and social structure.

I have published three monographs and multiple edited volumes on these topics. My most recent book, Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament: Exploring Early Jewish and Christian Textual Cultures (Cambridge University Press, 2022), offers interrelated studies on James, Matthew, and the Pauline letters, highlighting resonances with Jewish wisdom motifs. I am currently developing a new project on prayer and ritual in early Judaism and Christianity.

I welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate students interested in topics related to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple Judaism, early Christianity, and Jewish-Christian relations in antiquity.

Biography
I completed my Ph.D. at Durham University (UK), specializing in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Durham, I held an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship at the Institut für antikes Judentum und hellenistische Religionsgeschichte in Tübingen. I joined the staff at Trinity College Dublin in 2007.

My research interests also include archaeology and material culture. I have participated in several excavations, including two seasons at Qumran. I have held fellowships at the American School of Overseas Research (Albright Institute) in Jerusalem: first with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (2012–13), and later as a Senior Fellow (2017).

Administrative Role
I currently serve as Director of Research for the School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies (RTPS).

Undergraduate Teaching
Semester 1:
• Jewish Thought and Practice (REU12731)
• The Apostle Paul: Life and Letters (REU33114)
• Co-teaching Introducing the Hebrew Bible (REU12101)

Semester 2:
• The Historical Jesus and the Gospels (REU22111)
• The Dead Sea Scrolls (REU44722)
• Co-teaching Introducing the New Testament and Early Christianity (REU12112)

Ph.D. Students
• Krueger Tumiwa (1st year Ph.D.)
• Maicol Cortes (2nd year Ph.D.)
• Irene Barbotti (3rd year Ph.D.)
• Simon Brummer (3rd year Ph.D.)
• Jadesmon Saragih (3rd year Ph.D.)
• Jesse Sykes (4th year Ph.D.)

Selected Publications

Monographs:
• Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament, Cambridge University Press, 2022
• 4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies, STDJ 123, Brill, 2018
• Women, Men, and Angels, Mohr Siebeck, 2005

Edited Books:
• "Bring Them into the Land": The Holy Land in Ancient Judaism and Nascent Christianity: Essays in Honor of R. Steven Notley (co-edited), Wipf & Stock, 2025
• Das Böse, Der Teufel, und Dämonen — Evil, the Devil, and Demons (co-edited), Mohr Siebeck, 2016
• Memory in the Bible and Antiquity (co-edited), Mohr Siebeck, 2007

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • 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]Book Chapter, 2017, URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2016, URL
  • "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]Book Chapter, 2021, DOI , URL
  • 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 - 279Journal Article, 2015, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Is the 'Firstborn Son' in 4Q369 a Messiah? The Evidence from 4QInstruction, Revue de Qumran, 29, (1/109), 2017, p3 - 20Journal Article, 2017, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Genesis 2-3 in Early Christianity and 4QInstruction, Dead Sea Discoveries, 23, (3), 2016, p329 - 346Journal Article, 2016, URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2019, DOI , URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2019, URL
  • 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, p1-15Journal Article, 2018, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, 4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies, STDJ 123, Leiden, Brill, 2018, 1 - 246ppBook, 2018, DOI , URL
  • Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 41, 1, (2018), 1 - 138p, Benjamin Wold, [editor]Journal, 2018, DOI , URL
  • 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 - 93Journal Article, 2019, DOI , URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2019, URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2019, DOI , URL
  • 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 - 249Journal Article, 2018, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Universal and Particular Law in James and Early Judaism, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 41, (1), 2018, p95 - 106Journal Article, 2018, DOI , URL
  • 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, 2022, pp91 - 114, [Benjamin Wold]Book Chapter, 2022, DOI , URL
  • Hermann Lichtenberger, 'History Writing and History Telling in First and Second Maccabees', Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, (WUNT), Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 95 - 110Translation, 2007
  • Erhard Blum, 'Historiography or Poetry? The Peculiarities of Old Testament Prose Tradition', Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, (WUNT), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 25 - 46Translation, 2007
  • Benjamin Wold, Pope Francis on "Lead Us Not Into Temptation": Historical and Linguistic Comments, SEARCH, 43, (1), 2020, p35 - 39Journal Article, 2020, URL
  • Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 30, 1, (2020), 1-56p, Benjamin Wold & Daniele Pevarello, [eds.]Journal, 2020, DOI , URL
  • 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 - 86Journal Article, 2020, DOI
  • Wisdom in, editor(s)Matthias Henze & David Lincicum , Israel's Scriptures in Early Christian Writings, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 2023, pp1-18 , [Benjamin Wold]Book Chapter, 2023, URL
  • Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 30, 2, (2020), 59 - 114p, Benjamin Wold & Daniele Pevarello, [eds.]Journal, 2020, DOI
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2019, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, "Mystery" in the Wisdom of Solomon and 4QInstruction, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 31, (1), 2021, p28 - 47Journal Article, 2021, DOI
  • Benjamin Wold, Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament: Exploring Early Jewish and Christian Textual Cultures, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2023, 1 - 236ppBook, 2023, DOI
  • Psalms, Hymns and Prayers and the New Testament in, editor(s)Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Ron Herms, Archie Wright , The New Testament in its Second Temple Period Context monograph series, introductory volume, Eugene, OR, Cascade Press, 2024, pp1-12 , [Benjamin Wold]Book Chapter, 2024
  • Benjamin Wold, Daniel Machiela, Jeff Garcia, Chad Pierce (ed.), "Bring Them into the Land": The Holy Land in Ancient Judaism and Nascent Christianity: Essays in Honor of R. Steven Notley, Eugene, OR, Wipf & Stock, 2025, 1-300ppBook, 2025
  • Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, [Member of Editorial Board], 2015Editorial Board, 2015
  • Early Christianity, James C. VanderKam Lawrence H. Schiffman Sidnie White Crawford, Brill's Online Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Research Tool for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Leiden, Brill, 2025, pp1-15 , [Benjamin Wold]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2025
  • Creation, James C. VanderKam Lawrence H. Schiffman Sidnie White Crawford, Brill's Online Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Research Tool for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Leiden, 2025, pp1-5 , [Benjamin Wold]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2025
  • Florilegium, James C. VanderKam Lawrence H. Schiffman Sidnie White Crawford, Brill's Online Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Research Tool for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Leiden, Brill, 2025, pp1-5 , [Benjamin Wold]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2025
  • Benjamin Wold, Trans. ZHOU Geshan, 'Mandarin Translation of 4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies)', Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2024, 1 - 221Translation, 2024, TARA - Full Text
  • Performing Glory: Liturgical Participation in John 17 and the Self-Glorification Hymn in, editor(s)Matthijs den Dulk and Seth A. Bledsoe , 1 Enoch and the New Testament: Radboud Prestige Lectures in New Testament 2024, Leiden, Brill (Biblical Interpretation Series), 2025, pp1-20 , [Benjamin Wold]Book Chapter, 2025
  • 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-ixppBook, 2005, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Loren Stuckenbruck, Stephen Barton (eds.), Memory in the Bible and Antiquity, WUNT, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007, 394 pgs., pls. i-vippBook, 2007, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Reconsidering an Aspect of the Title Kyrios in Light of Fragment 4Q416 2 iii, Zeitschrift fuer die Neuetestamentliche Wissenschaft, 95, (3/4), 2004, p149 - 160Journal Article, 2004, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Reconstructing and Reading 4Q416 2 ii 21: Comments on Menahem Kister's Proposal , Dead Sea Discoveries, 12, (2), 2005, p205 - 211Journal Article, 2005, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Metaphorical Poverty in Musar leMevin, Journal of Jewish Studies, 58, (1), 2007, p140 - 153Journal Article, 2007, DOI , URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Family Ethics in 4QInstruction and the New Testament, Novum Testamentum, 50, (3), 2008, p286 - 300Journal Article, 2008, DOI , URL
  • Memory 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]Book Chapter, 2007
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2009, DOI , URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2011, URL
  • 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]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2012, URL
  • 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]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2012, URL
  • 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, 16ppInvited Talk, 2010, TARA - Full Text
  • Benjamin Wold, Agency and Raising the Dead in 4Q521 2 ii and 4QPseudo-Ezekiel, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 103, (1), 2012, p1 - 19Journal Article, 2012, DOI , URL
  • 4Q174 (Florilegium) 4Q175 (Testimonia) in, editor(s)R. Herms, B. Embry, A. Wright , Early Jewish Literature: An Anthology, Eerdmans, 2018, pp1-10 , [Benjamin Wold]Book Chapter, 2018, URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2018, URL
  • 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]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2013, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, Jan Dochhorn, Susanne Rudnig-Zelt (eds.), Das Böse, Der Teufel, und Dämonen - Evil, the Devil, and Demons, Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2016, 1 - 297ppBook, 2016, URL
  • Revelation 16 and the Eschatological Use of Exodus Plagues 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]Book Chapter, 2011, URL
  • Benjamin Wold, The Universality of Creation in 4QInstruction, Revue de Qumran, 26, (2/102), 2013, p211 - 226Journal Article, 2013, DOI , URL
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2016
  • 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]Book Chapter, 2016, DOI , URL
  • Teacher of Righteousness, Eric Orlin, et al., Routledge Dictionary of Ancient Mediterranean Religions, 2016, pp1 , [Benjamin Wold]Item in dictionary or encyclopaedia, etc, 2016, URL

Research Expertise

History, Heritage and Archaeology, Philosophy, Ethics and Religion, Languages and literature, Other Humanities,

Recognition

  • National Endowment for the Humanities award December 2012
  • Alexander von Humboldt award 2006-2007
  • Senior Associate Fellow - Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (Jerusalem) 1 January 2017 to 31 August 2017
  • Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD) 2018
  • Honorary President, Theological Society (TCD) 2013-2014
  • Alexander von Humboldt (Forschungsaufenthalt) 2010
  • Lightfoot Scholarship, Durham University 2001-2002
  • Vice President, Irish Biblical Association 2014-15
  • Visiting Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong June-August 2014
  • M.A. Jure officii, Trinity College Dublin 2011
  • Award for Excellence in Supervision of Research Students 2024
  • European Association of Biblical Studies Present
  • Enoch Seminar Present
  • British New Testament Society Present
  • International Organization of Qumran Studies (IOQS) Present
  • Society of Biblical Studies (SBL) Present
  • Associate Editor, De Gruyter Open (Religious Studies) 2012-2016
  • External Examiner, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Department of Theology, Religious Studies, and Islamic Studies. 2008-2012
  • Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Sage Publishers, editorial board 2015-2018
  • Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Sage Publishers, editorial board 2015-2018
  • Associate Editor, De Gruyter Open (Religious Studies) 2012-2016
  • External Examiner, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Department of Theology, Religious Studies, and Islamic Studies. 2008-2012