Dr Dylan Johnson

Biography

Education and Qualifications

• 2018: PhD Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near Eastern Studies - New York University
• 2016: Master 2 History of Law, Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas
• 2012: M. T. S. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; Harvard Divinity School
• 2010: B. A. With Great Distinction History, University of Lethbridge

Honours and awards

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Research Grant (2019)
  • (Awarded, but declined)
• Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Founder’s Prize (2018)
• Henry M. MacCracken Fellow, New York University (2012-2017)
• Bourse d’excellence Eiffel (2015-2016)
• Global Research Initiative Fellow (Paris), New York University (2015-2016)
• American Schools of Oriental Research Heritage Fellowship (2012)
• Pfeiffer Grant; Harvard Semitic Museum (2011)
• Harvard University Associates in Canada Scholarship (2011)
• Harvard University Associates in Canada Scholarship (2010)

Professional memberships

• European Association of Biblical Studies
• Society of Biblical Literature
  • Steering committee for the Biblical Law section

Academic positions

• 2022 - Present:   Lecturer, Cardiff University
• 2020 - 2022:       Postdoctoral researcher, University of Zurich, Theological Faculty
• 2018 - 2020:       Sessional (adjunct) instructor, University of Lethbridge, Canada

Speaking engagements

2022

• “Miscarriages of Justice: Widowed, Wronged, and Wise Women in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Legal History.” Paper presented at the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament in Zurich, Switzerland August 9, 2022.
• “Establishing Justice in the Land: The Real and Aspirational Goals of Mesopotamian Lawgivers.” Paper presented at the international conference: How God Became a Lawgiver: The Place of the Torah in Ancient Near Eastern Legal History, International Conference held at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, June 15th – 17th, 2022.
• “Inheritance and Ancestor Traditions in the Bible and the Ancient Near East.” Paper presented virtually at the conference: Biblical Studies in Memory of Baruch A. Levine, organized by the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies (NYU), April 6, 2022.
• “Family Religion and Ancestor Traditions in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible.” Public lecture [job talk] delivered at the University of Washington’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, January 19, 2022.

2021

• “Light of the Land, Sun of the People: The Solarization of Ancient Near Eastern Lawgivers.” Paper Presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX November 21, 2021.
• Dylan Johnson, Anna Angelini, Lida Panov. “Before Science: Natural Phenomena in Ancient Religions.” Public lecture delivered at the University of Zurich’s 2021 Scientifica: Zürcher Wissenschaftstage, September 5, 2021.
• “The Torah and the King: Divine Sovereignty and Memories of Royal Judicial Power in Ancient Israel.” Paper presented at the symposium: Réligion et prééminence du droit dans le judaïsme antique. Organisé par l’Université d’Orléans et le Centre de Recherche Juridique Pothier. Jeudi 1er juillet 2021 Hôtel Dupanloup, Orléans. Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5zoS_QWZrU

2020

• “Divine Law or the Law of the King? The Emergence of the Mesopotamian Law Collection.” Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Virtual Annual Meeting, Online. December 3, 2020.

2019

• “The Allotment of Canaan in Joshua and Numbers.” Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting San, Diego, CA. November 25, 2019.
• “A Necessary Heir: The ben-mesheq of Gen 15:2.” Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting San, Diego, CA. November 24, 2019.

2018

• “Between Clan and King: The Episode of the Wise Woman of Tekoa Reconsidered (2 Sam 14:2–24).” Paper presented at the Society of biblical Literature Annual Meeting Denver, CO. November 19, 2018.

2017

• “The Biblical Rescript: The Convergence of Litigation and Legislation.” Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Conference Boston, MA. November 20, 2017.

2016

• “The Prophetic Lawsuit of Jeremiah 2-3: Text, Law, and Education in Biblical Prophecy.” Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Conference San Antonio, TX. November 21, 2016.

2013

• “The Rûaḥ-Yahweh as Melammu?: The Warrior Tradition in the Book of Judges and its Mesopotamian Parallels.” Paper presented at the Internationales Doktorandenkolloquium Altes Testament: Alttestamentliche Anthropologie. Universität Bern, Institut für Bibelwissenschaft. June 14, 2013.

Publications

We are currently unable to retrieve the list of publications. Visit our institutional repository.

Teaching

Module Convenor:

• Introduction to a Scriptural Language (RT0107/0108)
  • Biblical Hebrew

Seminar Instructor

• Origins and Legacies of Religion in the Modern World (RT0101)
• World Full of Gods (HS0001)
• The Near East, Greece, and Rome, 1000-323 BCE (HS3108)
• Investigating the Ancient World: Skills and Evidence (HS3103)
• Ancient Objects, Then and Now (HS3107)

I am an historian of the ancient Near East and a biblical scholar, with a specialization in the legal cultures of these regions and time periods. My research and teaching straddles the academic fields of Assyriology and Hebrew Bible, with numerous publications that integrate the diverse sources of Mesopotamia, ancient Syria, and the Hebrew Bible to answer historical questions.

My current research explores the phenomenon of lawgiving in the ancient Near East, examining Mesopotmian and biblical depictions of both human and divine lawgivers, and exploring the conceptual basis of this practice. I am part of an on-going ERC-funded research project based at the University of Zurich, entitled "How God Became a Lawgiver," which brings together specialists in Near Eastern, Biblical, and Greek legal cultures in a cross-cultural comparative project on ancient law.

Supervision

• Hebrew Bible
• Assyriology
• Akkadian Language
• Northwest Semitic Epigraphy
• Ancient Israel and Judah
• Ancient Near Eastern Legal History
• Comparative Legal History
• Lawgiving in the Ancient World
• Religions of the Ancient Near East
• Early Judaism
• Dead Sea Scrolls