Research Interests I am a scholar of early Judaism and early Christianity, with particular expertise in the Dead Sea Scrolls and related Second Temple Jewish literature. My research explores how ancient Jewish and Christian communities expressed belief, negotiated identity, and engaged with broader cultural and intellectual currents in the ancient world. I draw on literary analysis, historical methods, and archaeological evidence to examine these movements as part of the wider landscape of ancient Mediterranean society.
I have published several monographs and edited volumes on these themes.
My most recent book, Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament: Exploring Early Jewish and Christian Textual Cultures (Cambridge University Press, 2023), brings together studies on James, Matthew, and Paul, highlighting their engagement with Jewish wisdom traditions and shared cultural patterns of thought.
My current research focuses on prayer as a form of ethical reflection and moral formation in early Judaism and Christianity. This project examines how prayer shaped personal and communal life not only as speech directed to the divine, but as a mode of lived religion embedded in emotion, habit, and social responsibility. Drawing on sources ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls to early Christian texts, it speaks to contemporary questions about the social and ethical dimensions of religious life in antiquity.
I also maintain an active interest in archaeology and material culture, and have participated in several excavations, including two seasons at Qumran.
I welcome enquiries from prospective postgraduate students working at the intersection of New Testament studies and ancient Judaism, including topics related to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple Jewish literature, early Christianity, and Jewish"Christian relations in antiquity.
Biography I completed my Ph.D. at Durham University, 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 has been supported by fellowships at the American School of Overseas Research (Albright Institute) in Jerusalem, including a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship (2012"13) and a Senior Fellowship (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)
