I am honored to be part of the Honors College at LeTourneau University. It is truly a special place. Our students are remarkable and the chance continually to dive deeper into reflection on our Christian calling, to grow in wisdom, and to seek the good of the communities we find ourselves in is a unique opportunity.

I joined LeTourneau University in 2018 as the Director of the Honors College. Originally from Washington State, I am joining LeTourneau after nine years of living in the United Kingdom. For the six years prior to joining the Honors College I was a Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religious studies at Oxford University and taught at Wycliffe Hall, an evangelical Anglican college that is a constituent part of Oxford University.  At Wycliffe I was the Director of the Bachelor of Theology Program. I did my doctoral research at Durham University on the Greek translation of the David and Goliath story. I have always had a fascination with the character David and turn to his story time and time again. While in Oxford I did additional training in Education and graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. My major areas of research are around how biblical narrative works and how we might engage with it. This interest drives from my conviction that the biblical story has the power to transform our lives and we ought to return to it continually that our stories might be shaped in light of the Bible’s story.

Education

PG.Dip., University of Oxford

Ph.D. University of Durham

Th.M. Western Seminary

M.A. Multnomah University

B.A. Trinity Western University

Classes Taught

• BIBL1033: Biblical Literature
• HNRS1043: Biblical Theology for Christian Life
• BIBL3103: The Pentateuch
• BIBL3203: THe Historical Books
• HNRS3309: Special Topics: Life of David
• HNRS3331: Honors Seminar: Life Together
• HNRS3611: Honors Seminar: Biblical Narrative and Christian Character

View Academic Website

Research Interests

• Biblical Narrative
• Literary Approaches to Scripture
• Biblical Characters (especially the character of David)
• Biblical Theology
• Septuagint
• NT use of OT

Publications

Books

• 2021. David: A Man after God's Own Heart (Cascade Companions; Cascade: Eugene, OR).
• 2015. Reading David and Goliath in Greek and Hebrew: A Literary Approach (Forschungen zum Alten Testament II/82. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck).

Edited Books

• Forthcoming. Characters and Characterization in the Book of Judges (LHBOTS; edited with Keith Bodner; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark).
• 2020. Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel (LHBOTS 669; edited with Keith Bodner; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark).
• 2020. Characters and Characterization in the Book of Kings (LHBOTS 670; edited with Keith Bodner; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark).

Journal Articles and Chapters

• 2022. "Humor in the Midst of Tragedy: The Comic Vision of 1 Samuel 46." Journal of Biblical Literature 141.1: 65–82.
• 2021. “Israel at the Time of the United Monarchy: David and Solomon,” in The Biblical World (Revised Edition; edited by Katharine Dell; Oxford: Routledge), 498–518.
• 2021. "An Unapologetic Apology: The David Story as a Complex Response to Monarchy," in The Book of Samuel and Its Response to Monarchy (ed. Sara Kipfer and Jeremy Hutton; BWANT; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer), 225-42.
• 2020. "Making a First Impression: The Characterization of David and His Opening Words in 1 Samuel 17:25-31." Tyndale Bulletin 71.1: 75-93.
• 2020. "Character as Interpretive Crux in the Book of Samuel," in Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel (LHBOTS 669; edited by K. Bodner & B.J.M. Johnson; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark), 1–13.
• 2020. With Keith Bodner, "David: Kaleidoscope of a King," in Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel (LHBOTS 669; edited by K. Bodner & B.J.M. Johnson; London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark), 122-39.
• 2019. “Characterizing Chiastic Contradiction: Literary Structure, Divine Repentance, and Dialogical Biblical Theology in 1 Samuel 15:10-35,” in Theology of the Hebrew Bible: Jewish and Christian Readings (ed. Marvin Sweeney; SBL Resources for Biblical Study Monograph Series; Atlanta: SBL), 185-211.
• 2016. "Reading the Septuagint: The Hermeneutical Problem of a Translated Text," in Authoritative Texts and Reception History: Aspects and Approaches (ed. Dan Batovici and Kristin De Troyer; BIS; Leiden: Brill), 20-40.
• 2015. "Narrative Sensitivity and the Variation of Verb Tense in 1 Reigns 17:34-37," Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies 48: 54-71.
  • Winner of the 2013 John William Wevers Prize in Septuagint Studies awarded by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies.
• 2015. "A Nazorean and a Nazirite: Jesus and Samson in Matthew 1-2," Expository Times 126.12: 586-92.
• 2013. "David Then and Now: Double-Voiced Discourse in 1 Samuel 16:14-23," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 38.2: 201-15.
• 2013. "Did David Bring a Gun to a Knife Fight? Literary and Historical Considerations in Interpreting David's Victory over Goliath," Expository Times 124.11: 530-37.
• 2012. "Reconsidering 4QSam^a and the Textual Support for the Long and Short Versions of the David and Goliath Story," Vetus Testamentum 62.4: 534-49.
• 2012. "The Heart of YHWH's Chosen One in 1 Samuel," Journal of Biblical Literature 131.3: 455-66.
• 2011. "'Whoever Gives Me Thorns and Thistles': Rhetorical Ambiguity and the Use of מי יתן in Isaiah 27:2-6," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 36.1: 105-26.
• 2010. "What Type of Son is Samson? Reading Judges 13 as a Biblical Type-Scene," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 53.2: 269-86.

Current & Forthcoming Research/Writing

• Who is the Son of Jesse? A Literary Exploration of the Heart of David (academic monograph on the character of David).