Jason M. H. Gaines

EDUCATION

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
•  PhD, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, 2013
.     Hebrew Bible (primary field)
.     Northwest Semitics; Akkadian (secondary fields)
.     Dissertation: Poetic Features in Priestly Narrative Texts
•  MA, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, 2007

Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
•  BA, Liberal Arts, 2005

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
•  Rothberg International School, 2003–2004

TEACHING POSITIONS

• Visiting Assistant Professor, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 2018–present
• Adjunct Professor, Loyola University New Orleans, LA, 2018–present
• Lecturer in Religion, Smith College, Northampton, MA, 2017–2018
• Visiting Lecturer in Jewish Studies, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, 2017
• Adjunct Professor, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT, 2014–present
• Visiting Lecturer, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, 2013–2016
• Adjunct Instructor of Bible, Rabbinical School, Hebrew College, Newton, MA, 2011–2012
• Lecturer in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 2011
• Lecturer in Education, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 2009

PUBLICATIONS

Book

• Jason M. H. Gaines, The Poetic Priestly Source (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015), xix + 530.
  • Reviews: Review of Biblical Literature (2017); Catholic Biblical Quarterly 78 (2016): 378–41; Biblical Interpretation 26 (2018): 413–15; AJS Review 41 (2017): 459–60; and Bible Today 54 (2016): 286–87.
  • Citations: Bernard M. Levinson, “A Post-Priestly Harmonization in the Flood Narrative,” The Post-Priestly Pentateuch: New Perspectives on its Redactional Development and Theological Profiles, ed. Federico Giuntoli and Konrad Schmid (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015), 121 n.15; Paavo N. Tucker, The Holiness Composition in the Book of Exodus, FAT II 98 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017), 16–17, 73; Jeff Lindsay, “Janus Parallelism in the Book of Job: A Review of Scott B. Noegel’s Work,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 27 (2017): 214 n.5; Edward L. Greenstein, “Signs of Poetry Past: Literariness in Pre-Biblical Hebrew Literature,” Strength to Strength: Essays in Honor of Shaye J. D. Cohen, ed. Michael L. Satlow, Brown Judaic Studies (Providence: Brown University Press, 2018), 20 n.73, 21 n.76; Michael Emmendörffer, Gottesnähe: Zur Rede von der Präsenz JHWHs in der Priesterschrift und verwandten Texten, WMANT 155 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018), 35 n.2, 42 n.22, 77 n.10, 103 n.3, 128 n.2, 130 n.9; Joshua Joel Spoelstra, “Apotropaic Accessories: The People’s Tassels and the High Priest’s Rosette,” Dress and Clothing in the Hebrew Bible: “For All Her Household Are Clothed in Crimson, ed. Antonios Finitsis (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 66 n.16.

Journal Articles (Peer-Reviewed)

• “Parallelism and Other Poetic Constructions in the Holiness Legislation (Leviticus 17–26),” Revue Biblique 125 (2018): 481–503.

Short Articles (Peer-Reviewed)

• “But Queen Vashti Refused: Consent and Agency in the Book of Esther,” Project TABS (Torah and Biblical Scholarship), TheTorah.com, March 2019.
• “Korah’s Poetic Rebellion and God’s Flowery Response,” TheTorah.com, June 2017.
• “Poetic Laws in Parashat Kedoshim (Leviticus 19–20),” TheTorah.com, April 2017.
• “Argob of Bashan,” “Gebal,” “Golan,” “Lod,” and “Shalem” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry, Lazarus Went, et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

Book Reviews

• Review of Rhiannon Graybill, Are We Not Men? Unstable Masculinity in the Hebrew Prophets (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016) in AJS Review 42.1 (2018): 196–97.
• Review of Susan Niditch, The Responsive Self: Personal Religion in Biblical Literature of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015) in Biblical Interpretation 26 (2018): 116-118.
• Review of James S. Anderson, Monotheism and Yahweh’s Appropriation of Baal, LHBOTS 617 (New York: Bloomsbury, 2015) in Biblical Interpretation 25.2 (2017): 253–55.
• Review of The Call of Abraham: Essays on the Election of Israel in Honor of Jon D. Levenson, ed. Gary A. Anderson and Joel S. Kaminsky (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2013) in Biblical Interpretation 24.1 (2016): 115–17.
• Review of James L. Crenshaw, Qoheleth: The Ironic Wink (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2013) in Biblical Interpretation 23.2 (2015): 279–81.

Articles in Preparation

• “Circumcising a Second Time: The Composition of Joshua 5:2-9 Reconsidered”
• “The Origin of Moses’s Stutter in Priestly Literature”

INVITED TALKS (selected)

Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT

• “The Hidden Poetry of the Five Books of Moses,” Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Jewish Studies, 2016
• “The Messiah in Judaism and the Hebrew Bible,” 2015

Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

• “The Big Idea: A Hidden Poem in the Torah,” 2015

University of Hartford, Hartford, CT

• “Who Were the Priests of Ancient Israel, and Why Do They Matter?” 2013

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

• “Witchcraft: From the Ancient World to Early Modern Europe,” 2013

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

• “Are Psalms 6 and 117 Poetry?,” 2012

The Rabbinical School at Hebrew College, Newton, MA

• “The Covenant Code, Exodus 20–23,” 2012
• “Festival of Matzah or Feast of Passover?,” 2012
• “The Exodus Plagues,” 2011

CONFERENCE ACTIVITY

Papers Presented

Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting

• “But Queen Vashti Refused: Consent in the Book of Esther,” Megillot section, 2018 (Denver)
• “Consent, Rape, and Hierarchies of Power in the Hebrew Bible,” Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible section, 2017 (Boston)
• “The Origin of Moses’s Stutter in Priestly Literature,” Healthcare and Disability in the Ancient World section, 2016 (San Antonio)
• “Circumcising a Second Time: The Composition of Joshua 5:2-9 Reconsidered,” Joshua-Judges section, 2016 (San Antonio)
• “Epic Law? Parallelism and Other Poetic Constructions in the Holiness Legislation (Leviticus 17–26),” Joshua-Judges section, 2015 (Atlanta)
• “The Poem of the Covenant? Poetic and Prosaic Strata in Genesis 17,” Pentateuch section, 2013 (Baltimore)

New England Regional Society of Biblical Literature, Newton, MA

• “A New Method to Differentiate Biblical Poetry from Prose,” 2012
• “Public and Private Ritualized Action in the Book of Genesis,” 2008

Presiding

New England Regional Society of Biblical Literature, Newton, MA

• Hebrew Bible I Section, 2015

 

COURSES TAUGHT

(NOTE: Syllabi are from past semesters and are not for current students.)

• Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
• Introduction to Judaism
• Exploring Religion: Peoples of the Book, Sacred Texts, and Their Communities
• Social Justice and the Hebrew Bible (spring 2018)
• The Patriarchal Narratives
• The Book of Genesis: Ancient Context and Modern Criticism
• Biblical Hebrew Grammar and Texts
• Crime in Biblical Literature
• How to Teach Biblical Hebrew
• Introduction to the Qur’an (Teaching Fellow)
• Islam: Civilizations and Institutions (Teaching Fellow)

HONORS and FELLOWSHIPS

Brandeis University, Waltham, MA

• Nahum and Anne Glatzer Endowed Prize in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (for outstanding dissertation), 2013
• Andrew W. Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowship, 2012–2013
• Anna R. Lown Memorial Endowed Fellowship, 2010–2012
• Ruth Ann and Nathan Perlmutter Endowed Fellowship, 2007–2012
• Research Fellow to Prof. David P. Wright in Biblical and Mesopotamian Law, 2008
• Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award, 2007
• Research Assistant to Prof. Marc Zvi Brettler in the Book of Psalms, 2007

Prozdor at Hebrew College, Newton, MA

• Honorary Diploma, recognizing “outstanding leadership in the creation and implementation of new and innovative Bible curricula,” 2013

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Boston, MA

• Scholar Teaching Award, 2010

Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY

• Senior Achievement Award; Leadership Award, 2005
• Elizabeth Welt Trahan Scholar of the Year, 2003–2004

Hillels of Westchester, White Plains, NY

• Service Award, 2005

LANGUAGES

Akkadian *   |   Aramaic *   |   French +   |   German +   |   Biblical Hebrew *   |   Modern Hebrew *   |   Hittite °   |   Moabite *   |   Phoenician *   |   Syriac *   |   Ugaritic *

(* indicates proficiency; + indicates research ability; ° indicates introductory experience)

COMMUNITY LECTURES

Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, New Haven, CT

• “The Evolution of Social Justice in the Torah,” 2017

Congregation Rodeph Sholom, Bridgeport, CT

• “Yom Kippur in Ancient Israelite Religion,” 2016

Temple Beth Tikvah, Madison, CT

• “Cain and Abel: On the Origins of Religious Violence,” 2016
• Scholar-in-Residence, 2015–2016
  .     “Uncovering Poetry in the Torah”
  .     “Israel’s Existential Threats, Internal and External”
• “Genesis 3: Is Humanity Blessed or Cursed?”
• “The Rise of Islamic Extremism, From the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century,” 2015
• “Day of Decontamination: Yom Kippur in Ancient Israelite Tradition (Leviticus 16),” 2014

Temple Beth Shalom, Peabody, MA

• “Sacred Trees in the Hebrew Bible,” 2013

Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston, Newton, MA

• “Blood on the Lintels, Leavening on the Table: Biblical Festival Traditions,” 2013
• “Biblical Adultery: The Ritual of the ‘Wayward Woman’ (Numbers 5),” 2012
• “Ancient Israelite Blood Rituals: The Purgation Sacrifice (Leviticus 4),” 2012
• “The Origins of Witchcraft: Female Demons in Ancient Judaism,” 2012
• “Did Isaac Survive?  Historical Readings of the Binding of Isaac,” 2012
• “Moses the Egyptian,” 2011
• “The Book of Samuel” (3 lectures), 2010
• “The Book of Judges” (5 lectures), 2010

Genesis Forum at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston, MA

• Series Director, Brilliant Minds, Changing Times: Jewish Encounters with Modernity (13 lectures), 2012
• Series Director, Poets, Warriors, and Mystics: Jewish Leaders of the Middle Ages (13 lectures), 2011–2012
• “Abraham ibn Ezra,” 2012
• Series Coordinator, Lives and Lessons of the Sages: Entry into the World of Rabbinic Literature (14 lectures), 2010–2011

NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham, MA

• “‘Appoint for Us a King’: The Saga of Saul, David, and Solomon” (7 lectures), 2010

SERVICE EXPERIENCE

• Manuscript Reviewer, The Brill Reference Library of Judaism, 2016
• Article Reviewer, Biblical Interpretation, 2016
• Biblical Studies Curriculum Author, Prozdor: The High School of Hebrew College, 2011–2013
• Adult Learning Events Coordinator, Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston, MA, 2010–2012
• Executive Council, Prism at the New Center for Arts and Culture, Boston, MA, 2010–2011
• Graduate Student Representative for PhD Students, Brandeis University, 2008–2009
• Board of Directors, Hillels of Westchester, NY, 2004–2005

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• The American Schools of Oriental Research, 2015–present
• Association for Jewish Studies, 2011–present
• Society of Biblical Literature, 2007–present

Please e-mail me for references, writing samples, teacher evaluations, graduate transcripts, additional syllabi, etc.