Dr. Jonathan Greer is an archaeologist and biblical scholar with research interests in ancient Israelite religion, sacrifice, and feasting. He earned his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University where he focused on Hebrew Bible, ancient Near Eastern studies, and archaeology and was formerly Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Hesse Archaeological Laboratory at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the Associate Director of excavations at Tel Dan, Israel (www.teldanexcavations.com) and has published a number of works on the relationship of the Bible to the ancient world.

Classes taught: ANT 215 Origins of Civilization; ANT 315 Comparative Religions

Select Publications:

“A Pilgrimage to Iron Age II Tel Dan,” with D. Ilan, Advances in Ancient Biblical and Near Eastern Research. 1.3 (2021): 143–190. https://bildungsforschung.org/ojs/index.php/beabs/article/view/835/850.

“Feasting and Festivals,” pp. 299–320 in the T&T Clark Handbook to Food in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel. Eds J. Fu, C. Shafer-Elliott, and C. Meyers. T&T Clark, 2021. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/tt-clark-handbook-of-food-in-the-hebrew-bible-and-ancient-israel-9780567679802/.

“Drinking the Dregs of the Divine: Daniel 5 and the Motif of “King and Cup” in its Ancient Near Eastern Context.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 79.1 (2020): 99–112. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/707666?journalCode=jnes.

“‘The ‘Priestly Portion’ in the Hebrew Bible: Its Ancient Near Eastern Context and Its Implications for the Composition of P.” Journal of Biblical Literature 138 (2019): 263–84. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.15699/jbl.1382.2019.515572#metadata_info_tab_contents.

“The Zooarchaeology of Israelite Religion: Methods and Practice,” Religions 10.4, 254 (2019): 1–19. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/4/254.

Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, co-edited with John W. Hilber and John H. Walton. Baker Academic, 2018. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/behind-the-scenes-of-the-old-testament/376800.

Dinner at Dan: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sacred Feasts at Iron Age II Tel Dan and Their Significance. Brill, 2013. https://brill.com/view/title/20842.

“An Israelite Mizraq at Tel Dan?” Bulletin for the American Schools of Oriental Research 358 (2010): 27–45. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/BASOR25741805?journalCode=basor.