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Professor Benjamin Wold

Professor In Early Judaism (School of Religion)
      
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Professor Benjamin Wold

Professor In Early Judaism (School of Religion)

 woldb@tcd.ie

 


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, 2022), 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)

Ph.D. Students
• Krueger Tumiwa (2nd year Ph.D.)
• Maicol Cortes (3rd year Ph.D.)
• Irene Barbotti (4th year Ph.D.)
• Simon Brummer (4th year Ph.D.)
• Jadesmon Saragih (4th year Ph.D.)
• Jesse Sykes (final year Ph.D.)
  Apocalypticism   Historical Jesus Studies   Jewish studies   New Testament   Qumran Studies   Second temple Judaism
Details Date
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
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Basic Basic Basic
German Fluent Medium Medium
Greek Fluent Medium Basic
Hebrew Fluent Medium Medium
Spanish Basic Basic Basic
Details Date From Date To
Society of Biblical Studies (SBL) 2000 Present
European Association of Biblical Studies 2004 Present
Enoch Seminar 2004 Present
British New Testament Society 2000 Present
International Organization of Qumran Studies (IOQS) 2004 Present
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, 1-300pp, Book, SUBMITTED
Glorification and Community: Sacred Speech 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, ACCEPTED
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, ACCEPTED
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, ACCEPTED
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, ACCEPTED
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, IN_PRESS
Benjamin Wold, Trans. ZHOU Geshan, 'Mandarin Translation of 4QInstruction: Divisions and Hierarchies)', Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2024, 1 - 221, Translation, INPROGRESS  TARA - Full Text
Benjamin Wold, Qumran Wisdom and the New Testament: Exploring Early Jewish and Christian Textual Cultures, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2023, 1 - 236pp, Book, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
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, PUBLISHED  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], Notes: [WUNT 490], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  DOI  URL
  

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Award Date
Excellence in Supervision of Research Students 2024
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD) 2018
Senior Associate Fellow - Albright Institute for Archaeological Research (Jerusalem) 1 January 2017 to 31 August 2017
Visiting Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong June-August 2014
Vice President, Irish Biblical Association 2014-15
Honorary President, Theological Society (TCD) 2013-2014
National Endowment for the Humanities Award December 2012
M.A. Jure officii, Trinity College Dublin 2011
Alexander von Humboldt (Rückkehrstipendium) 2010
Alexander von Humboldt Award 2006-2007
Lightfoot Scholarship, Durham University 2001-2002