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John J. Collins

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This article is about the Irish-American biblical scholar. For the Jamaican Roman Catholic bishop, see John J. Collins (bishop). For other uses, see John Collins.

John J. Collins
Born
John Joseph Collins

(1946-02-02) February 2, 1946 (age 79)[9]
Ireland
NationalityIrish-American
OccupationBiblical scholar
TitleHolmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School
SpouseAdela Collins (nee Yarbro)
Academic background
Alma materUniversity College Dublin (BA 1967, MA 1969)[1], Harvard University (PhD 1972)[2]
Academic work
DisciplineHebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocalyptic literature
InstitutionsUniversity of Notre Dame[3], University of Chicago Divinity School[3], Yale Divinity School[4]
Notable works
  • Daniel (Hermeneia)[5]
  • The Apocalyptic Imagination[6]
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography[7]
  • What Are Biblical Values?[8]

John Joseph Collins (born 2 February 1946) is an Irish-born American scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism, Holmes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School.[10] His research centers on Jewish apocalyptic literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls.[11] He served as general editor of the Anchor Yale Bible Series from 2008 to 2025, then was succeeded by Candida R. Moss.[3][12] He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.[13]

Education

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Collins studied at Rockwell College in Cashel, County Tipperary, then entered the Spiritans, spending nine years in the order.[14] He earned a BA in 1967 and an MA in 1969 in Semitics and Classics at University College Dublin.[15] He completed the PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures at Harvard University in 1972.[3]

Career

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Collins began teaching at University College Dublin as an assistant lecturer in the early 1970s.[16] He was Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame from 1985 to 1991 and Professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Chicago Divinity School from 1991 to 2000.[3] He joined Yale Divinity School in 2000 as Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation.[17] Yale lists him as Holmes Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation.[18]

His research and teaching focus on apocalyptic literature, wisdom literature, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.[19] Editorial leadership includes Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Biblical Literature 1989–1994, Editor-in-Chief of Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 1994–2008, Editor-in-Chief of Dead Sea Discoveries 2003–2008, and General Editor of the Anchor Yale Bible Series beginning in 2008, with the series transition in 2025 to a new general editor.[3][20][21]

Professional service includes the presidency of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2002,[22] the presidency of the Catholic Biblical Association of America in 1996–1997,[23] and the presidency of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research in 1995–1996.[3] Honors include an honorary D.Litt. from University College Dublin in 2009 and an honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich in 2015, and the Gutenberg Research Award in 2018 awarded jointly with Adela Yarbro Collins.[24][25][26] He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.[27][28][3][29]

Collins is married to Adela Yarbro Collins, Buckingham Professor Emerita of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale, with whom he coauthored King and Messiah as Son of God.[30][31]

Publications

[edit]
Year Title Publisher Notes
1983 Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora Crossroad Original edition on Hellenistic Judaism.
1984 The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature Crossroad Original edition survey of Jewish apocalyptic texts and contexts.
1993 Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (Hermeneia) Fortress Press Standard English commentary on Book of Daniel.[32]
1995 The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature Doubleday Study of messianic expectations in ancient Judaism.
1998 The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature, 2nd ed. Wm. B. Eerdmans Revised edition survey of Jewish apocalyptic texts and contexts.
2000 Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora Wm. B. Eerdmans Revised Eerdmans edition of earlier Crossroad volume, on Hellenistic Judaism.[33]
2004 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible Fortress Press Widely used introductory textbook on the Hebrew Bible.
2005 Encounters with Biblical Theology Fortress Press Collection of essays on biblical theology.
2008 King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature (with Adela Yarbro Collins) Wm. B. Eerdmans Study of messianic titulature and royal ideology.[34]
2009 Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls Wm. B. Eerdmans Reassessment of the Qumran movement.[35]
2010 The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls (ed. with Timothy H. Lim) Oxford University Press State-of-the-field essays on the Dead Sea Scrolls.[36]
2010 The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (ed. with Daniel C. Harlow) Wm. B. Eerdmans Reference work on Second Temple Judaism.[37]
2010 The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature, 2nd ed. Doubleday Revised edition study of messianic expectations in ancient Judaism.
2012 The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography Princeton University Press Narrative of discovery and debates, in Lives of Great Religious Books.[38]
2013 Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview, 2nd revised ed. Wm. B. Eerdmans Comprehensive survey of Second Temple Judaism.
2016 The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature, 3rd ed. Wm. B. Eerdmans Survey of Jewish apocalyptic texts and contexts.[39]
2017 The Invention of Judaism: Torah and Jewish Identity from Deuteronomy to Paul University of California Press Taubman Lectures, on Torah and identity in antiquity.[40]
2018 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 3rd ed. Fortress Press Widely used introductory textbook on the Hebrew Bible.[41]
2019 What Are Biblical Values? What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues Yale University Press Analysis of biblical ethics across canonical corpora.[42]
2025 Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 4th ed. Fortress Press Latest edition of widely used introductory textbook on the Hebrew Bible.
2025 A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 4th ed. Fortress Press Condensed version of introductory textbook on the Hebrew Bible.

References

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  1. ^ "Honorary Conferring, citation for John Joseph Collins" (PDF). University College Dublin. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Curriculum Vitae, John J. Collins" (PDF). Yale University, Department of Religious Studies. 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Curriculum Vitae, John J. Collins" (PDF). Yale University, Department of Religious Studies. 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  4. ^ "John Collins". Yale University, Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Study Guide for A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible" (PDF). Fortress Press. 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  6. ^ "The Apocalyptic Imagination". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  7. ^ Collins, John J. (2013). The "Dead Sea Scrolls": A Biography. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14367-5. JSTOR j.ctt1r2fb3. Retrieved 29 September 2025. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "What Are Biblical Values?". Yale University Press. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Collins, John Joseph (1946-....)". Bibliothèque nationale de France. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Divinity School 2024–2025 Bulletin" (PDF). Yale University. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  11. ^ "John Collins". Yale University, Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Professor Candida Moss appointed as General Editor of the Anchor Yale Bible Series". University of Birmingham. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  13. ^ "John J. Collins". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Persons of Note". Rockwell College Union. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Honorary Conferring, citation for John Joseph Collins" (PDF). University College Dublin. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Honorary Conferring, citation for John Joseph Collins" (PDF). University College Dublin. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  17. ^ "John Collins named Holmes Professor". Yale University News Archive. 2000. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Divinity School 2024–2025 Bulletin" (PDF). Yale University. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  19. ^ "John Collins". Yale University, Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  20. ^ "The Anchor Yale Bible Series". Yale University Press. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Professor Candida Moss appointed as General Editor of the Anchor Yale Bible Series". University of Birmingham. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Presidential Addresses". Society of Biblical Literature. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  23. ^ "CBA Presidents". Catholic Biblical Association of America. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Honorary Degrees". University College Dublin. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Ehrenpromotion 2015 der Theologischen Fakultät". Universität Zürich (in German). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Adela Yarbro Collins and John J. Collins receive Gutenberg Research Awards". Henry Koerner Center for Emeritus Faculty, Yale University. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  27. ^ "John J. Collins". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  28. ^ "Divinity School 2024–2025 Bulletin" (PDF). Yale University. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  29. ^ "Professor Candida Moss appointed as General Editor of the Anchor Yale Bible Series". University of Birmingham. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  30. ^ "Adela Yarbro Collins and John J. Collins receive Gutenberg Research Awards". Henry Koerner Center for Emeritus Faculty, Yale University. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  31. ^ "King and Messiah as Son of God". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  32. ^ "Study Guide for A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible" (PDF). Fortress Press. 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  33. ^ "Between Athens and Jerusalem". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2 November 1999. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  34. ^ "King and Messiah as Son of God". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  35. ^ "Beyond the Qumran Community". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  36. ^ "The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls". Oxford Academic. Oxford University Press. 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  37. ^ "The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  38. ^ Collins, John J. (2013). The "Dead Sea Scrolls": A Biography. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-14367-5. JSTOR j.ctt1r2fb3. Retrieved 29 September 2025. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  39. ^ "The Apocalyptic Imagination". Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  40. ^ "The Invention of Judaism". University of California Press. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  41. ^ "Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Third Edition". JSTOR. Fortress Press. 2018. JSTOR j.ctt1w6tbzp. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  42. ^ "What Are Biblical Values?". Yale University Press. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
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