About
Broadly speaking, my work focuses on the literary reception of the Hebrew Bible in classical Jewish literature, from the Dead Sea Scrolls through the Cairo Geniza. I am particularly interested in the afterlives of biblical motifs, the post-70 CE Israelite-Jewish priesthood, and the place of medieval manuscripts in the study of ancient Judaism. Education
PhD, Harvard University, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
MA, Harvard University, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
BA, Yeshiva University, Judaic Studies Mastodon Feed
I switched instances a few days ago, so I suppose it's time for a new #introduction! I work on the Hebrew Bible as it was read and interpreted in antiquity and beyond –– by Jews, Christians, and others. Or, to be a bit polemical, you could say that I study the Hebrew Bible in its *known* contexts. I'm particularly interested in the post-Second Temple afterlife of the Israelite priesthood. I also have pretty wide-ranging interests in the study of #Judaism in the pre-modern period, and especially how the study of Judaism in antiquity is shaped largely by medieval manuscripts. I also love espresso, all things aviation, and making cringey puns. Oh, and pugs (we have two!). (2022-11-13 ↗)
Publications
Monographs
Rewriting Priestly Authority in Late Antiquity, manuscript in progress.
A Perpetual Priest: Phinehas in Biblical and Ancient Jewish Literature, ca. 100,000 words; in preparation for Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism (Brill).
Edited Volumes
Co-Editor, with Jacqeuline Vayntrub:
The Motif in Biblical Literature: Contours, Critiques, and New Horizons (10 international contributors; proposal under review with T&T Clark’s Library of Hebrew Bible and Old Testament Studies).
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“Violence and the Israelite Priesthood: Between Sacrifice and Bloodshed,”
Harvard Theological Review (forthcoming).
“Phinehas’ Priestly Zeal and the Violence of Contested Identities,”
Jewish Studies Quarterly 26:2 (2019): 117-145.
“Sabbath-Temple-Eden: Purity Rituals at the Intersection of Sacred Time and Space,”
Journal of Ancient Judaism 9:1 (2018): 46-74
Book Chapters
“Hidden Talents: Examining Tales of Israelite Priestly Corruption,” in preparation for
Chronicling Jews and Crime, Studies in Jewish Civilization 34, ed. Leonard Greenspoon (Purdue University Press, 2023).
“Tractate Yoma – Introduction, Translation, and Commentary,” in
The Oxford Annotated Mishnah, ed. Shaye J.D. Cohen, Robert Goldenberg, and Hayim Lapin.
Esther Chazon and Yonatan Miller, “At the Crossroads: Anti-Samaritan Polemic in a Qumran Text about Joseph,” in
The “Other” in Second Temple Judaism: Essays in Honor of John J. Collins, ed. D. Harlow et al. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), 381-387.
Encyclopedia Entries
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception
1) Moses: Rabbinic Judaism, vol. 19, 2021
2) Phinehas: Judaism (under contract, to be submitted by the end of 2022)
3) Priests, Priesthood: Rabbinic Judaism (under contract, to be submitted by the end of 2022)
MastodonUpcoming Talks and Conferences
“Reading Pseudo-Philo as a Medieval Work,” presented at The Medieval Afterlife of Hellenistic Judaism in Western Europe, SNSF / University of Bern Lege Josephum Project, Bern, Switzerland, March 2023.
“Hidden Talents: Examining Tales of Israelite Priestly Corruption,” presented at the Annual Symposium on Jewish Civilization, Omaha, NE, October 24, 2022.
“Gory, Glory, Hallelujah: Rethinking Biblical Sacrifice,” presented at the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY, February 8, 2022. Memberships
Society of Biblical Literature
Association for Jewish Studies
North American Association for the Study of Religion
