Professor Leuchter received his PhD from the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto in 2003, focusing on the formation of law and prophetic texts in the Hebrew Bible and the history of ancient Israelite religion. After floating around Boston for several years as an adjunct professor, he took a position as Coordinator of Biblical Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia before coming to Temple and joining the faculty of the Department of Religion. He began directing the Jewish Studies program in September 2009, and has recently established an exchange program between Temple's Jewish Studies program that the Department of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish Studies at the University of Sydney. He currently serves as the series editor for Perspectives in Biblical Literature for Gorgias Press, is a member of the editorial board for the journal Biblical Theology Bulletin, is on the steering committee for the Society of Biblical Literature Literature of Exile/Forced Migration Consultation group, co-chairs both the Literature and History of the Persian Period group (with Anselm Hagedorn, Berlin) and the Priests and Levites in Social and Literary Context group (with Jeremy Hutton, Princeton Theological Seminary) for the annual SBL meetings, and is program unit coordinator for the Bible and Cinema section at the International SBL meetings. In his spare time, he designs electric guitars and electronic guitar effects, and is an avid cooking enthusiast.
CURRICULUM VITAE:
STATUS
Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Temple University
Director of Jewish Studies, Temple University
EDUCATION
2003 Ph.D., Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto
Dissertation: “Jeremiah: The First Jew”
Director: Brian Peckham
Readers: Gerald Sheppard, Glenn Taylor, Brian Schmidt
1996 M.A., Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto
1994 B.A., School of Literature, Arts and Sciences, University of Michigan
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Ancient Near Eastern History and Historiography
Prophecy and Priesthood in Ancient Israel
Origins of Sectarianism in Early Judaism
Inner Biblical Exegesis and Rabbinic Midrash
POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, Department of Religion, Temple University (2008-present)
Coordinator of Biblical Studies, University of Sydney (2007-2008)
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Bible, Hebrew College (2003-2007)
Visiting Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Northeastern University (2003-2006)
Visiting Professor of Old Testament, Andover Newton Theological School (2004)
Visiting Professor of Religious Studies, Wheaton College (2003)
Wolfe Fellow of Jewish Studies, University of Toronto (2002-2003)
Adjunct Lecturer in Religious Studies, Florida International University (2001-2002)
Teaching Assistant, University of Toronto (1998-2002)
PUBLICATIONS (Books)
1. Josiah’s Reform and Jeremiah’s Scroll: Historical Calamity and Prophetic Response (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2006)
2. From Babel To Babylon: Essays on Biblical History and Literature in Honor of
Brian Peckham (ed., with J. Rilett Wood and J. Harvey; T. & T. Clark, 2006)
3. The Polemics of Exile in Jeremiah 26-45 (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
4. Soundings in Kings: New Approaches in the Study of the Formation of the Book of Kings (ed., with K.P. Adam; Fortress Press, forthcoming)
PUBLICATIONS (Refereed Articles and Book Chapters)
1. “The Politics of Ritual Rhetoric: A Proposed Sociohistorical Background to the Redaction of Leviticus 1—16”, Vetus Testamentum, forthcoming.
2. "The Levites in Exile: A Response to L.S. Tiemeyer", Vetus Testamentum, forthcoming
3. "The Priesthood in Ancient Israel", Biblical Theology Bulletin Reader, forthcoming
4. "The Hermeneutics of Levinson: A Review Essay of Two Recent Publications on Biblical Law and Hermeneutics by Bernard M. Levinson", Hebraic Political Studies, forthcoming.
5. "Exegesis and Authority in Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles: A Test-Case in Method", forthcoming in a volume for Eisenbrauns edited by Ehud Ben Zvi and Diana Edelman.
6. “Israelite Religion” in The Cambridge Dictionary of Jewish Religion, History and
Culture (forthcoming)
7. “Temple/Temple Cult” in The Cambridge Dictionary of Jewish Religion, History
and Culture (forthcoming)
8. “Coming to Terms with Ezra’s Many Identities in Ezra-Nehemiah”, (forthcoming in an LHBOTS volume edited by L.C. Jonker, Continuum)
9. “The ‘Prophets’ and the ‘Levites’ in Josiah’s Covenant Ceremony”, Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 121 (2009) 31-47
10. “The Manumission Laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy: The Jeremiah Connection”, Journal of Biblical Literature 127 (2008) 635-653
11. “The Cult at Kiriath Yearim: Implications from the Biblical Record”, Vetus Testamentum 58 (2008) 526-543
12. “Cult of Personality: The Construction of the Prophetic Personality in the Book of Jeremiah (forthcoming in a volume edited by M. Nissinen and L.L. Grabbe; SBL Symposium Series)
13. “Ezra’s Mission and the Levites of Casiphia”, Community Identity in Judean Historiography (ed. G.N. Knoppers and K.A. Ristau; Eisenbrauns, 2009) 173-195
14. “Introduction”, forthcoming in Soundings in Kings
15. "The Source Citations in Kings: Sociolinguistic and Rhetorical Implications", forthcoming in Soundings in Kings
16. “The Reference to Shiloh in Psalm 78” Hebrew Union College Annual 77 (2006) 1-31
17. “The Levite In Your Gates – The Deuteronomic Redefinition of Levitical Authority”, Journal of Biblical Literature 126 (2007) 417-436
18. “Deuteronomists, Zadokites and the Exilic Struggle for Scribal Authority” Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 7 (2007) Article 10
19. “Now There Was A Certain Man: Compositional Chronology in Judges and 1 Samuel” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 69 (2007) 429-439
20. “Why is The Song of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy?” Vetus Testamentum 57 (2007) 295-317
21. “Tyre’s 70 Years in Isaiah 23,15-18”, Biblica 87 (2006) 412-417
22. “Jeroboam the Ephratite”, Journal of Biblical Literature 125 (2006) 51-72
23. “Samuel, Saul and the Deuteronomistic Categories of History”, From Babel to Babylon (T. & T. Clark, 2006) 101-110
24. “A King Like All The Nations: The Composition of I Sam 8,11-18” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 118 (2005) 543-558
25. “The Temple Sermon and the Term Maqom in the Jeremianic Corpus”, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 30.1 (2005) 93-109
26. “The Literary Strata and Narrative Sources of Psalm xcix”, Vetus Testamentum 55 (2005) 20-38
27. “Jeremiah’s 70-Year Prophecy and the ssk/lb qmy Atbash Codes”, Biblica 85 (2004) 503-522
28. “Something Old, Something Older: Reconsidering 1 Sam. 2:27-36”, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 4 (2003) 6.1.1-6.3.1
WORK IN PROGRESS (Books and Articles)
1. Royal Court and Rural Hinterland: The Tension between the Kings and the Clans in Monarchic Israel
2. "Revisiting the Blasphemer: Sources and Redaction in Leviticus 24:10-23"
PAPERS PRESENTED/CONFERENCE ACTIVITY
1. “From Levite to Maskil in Daniel: A Statement on Sectarianism in the Making”, scheduled for the Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (New Orleans, LA) 2010
2. “The Exilic Roots of the Succession Tradition in Avot 1.1”, scheduled for the Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (New Orlenas, LA) 2009
3. “"Location, Location, Location: Alternatives to Jerusalemite Sacred Space in the Literature of the Persian Period Diaspora", scheduled for theAnnual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (New Orlenas, LA) 2009
4. “The Chronicler’s Hermeneutical Principles as Challenges to Sacerdotal Authority”, European Association of Biblical Studies/Society of Old Testament Studies Meeting (University of Lincoln, UK) 2009
5. “The Midianites in Genesis 37: A Half-Assed Approach”, Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Baltimore, MD) 2009
6. “The Nehemiah Memoir and the Redaction of Leviticus”, Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Boston, MA) 2008
7. “The Occasions of Redaction in Deuteronomy”, Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Boston, MA) 2008
8. Session Chair, Literature of Exile/Forced Migrations, scheduled for the Annual Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Boston, MA) 2008
9. “The Identity of the Blasphemer in Leviticus 24: Echoes of an Anti-Solomon Polemic?”, Annual Meeting for the Association of Jewish Studies (Washington, D.C.) 2008
10. “Ezra’s Mission and the Levites of Casiphia”, International Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Auckland, NZ) 2008
11. Session Chair, Ancient Near East, International Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Auckland, NZ) 2008
12. “Through A Lens Darkly: The Cinematic Exegesis of Ingmar Bergman”, International Meeting for the Society of Biblical Literature (Auckland, NZ) 2008
13. “The Slave Manumission Laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy: The Jeremiah Connection”, Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (San Diego, CA) 2007
14. “‘The Prophets’ and ‘The Levites’ in Josiah’s Covenant Ceremony”, New England Regional Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (Newton, MA) 2007
15. “Genesis 38 as a test case for the development of a ‘Yahwistic’ (J) Source”, International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (Vienna, Aus.) 2007
16. Session Chair, Prophetic Literature, International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Vienna, Aus.) 2007
17. Chair, Special Session: Reconsidering the Redaction History of the Book of Kings, European Association of Biblical Studies Meeting (Vienna, Aus.) 2007
18. “Deuteronomists, Zadokites and the Exilic Struggle for Scribal Authority”, Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies (San Diego, CA) 2006
19. Session Chair, Biblical Texts and Rituals, Annual Meeting of the Association of Jewish Studies (San Diego, CA) 2006
20. “The Pen of Scribes: Jeremiah 26—45 and the Polemics of Exile”, International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Edinburgh, UK) 2006
21. “The Cult at Kiriath Yearim: Implications from the Biblical Record”, International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Edinburgh, UK) 2006
22. Session Chair, Prophetic Literature, International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Edinburgh, UK) 2006
23. “The Levite in Your Gates: The Deuteronomic Redefinition of Levitical Authority”, Annual Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Philadelphia, PA) 2005
24. “The Identity of the Blasphemer in Leviticus 24”, New England Regional Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Newton, MA) 2005
25. “The Historical Setting for Deuteronomy 32”, Annual Meeting, Association for Jewish Studies (Chicago, IL) 2004
26. “Samuel, Saul and the Deuteronomistic Categories of History”, Annual Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (San Antonio, TX) 2004
27. “The function of Mic 3:12 in Jeremiah 26”, International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Groningen, NL) 2004
28. “Jeroboam The Ephratite”, New England Regional Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Cambridge, MA) 2004
29. “Words of Falsehood: Jeremiah’s Critique of Judean Religion in the late 7th Century BCE”, Annual Meeting, Association for Jewish Studies (Boston, MA) 2003
30. "Samuel, Moses and Psalm 99:6 – dating the composition of Exod. 19:16-19 and 1 Sam. 7", International Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Cambridge, UK) 2003
31. "Who Were the Sophim? – an investigation into Israelite prophecy", New England Regional Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Newton, MA) 2003
32. "A King Like All The Nations: the origin and purpose of 1 Sam. 8:11-18", Midwest Regional Meeting, Society of Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI) 2003
GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
1. Canadian Association for Graduate Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award
(nomination) – Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto 2004
2. Ray D. Wolfe Fellowship in Jewish Studies, Jewish Studies Program, University
of Toronto 2002-2003
3. Ontario Graduate Scholarship 2002-2003
4. Molly Spitzer Scholarship in Jewish Studies, Centre for the Study of Religion,
University of Toronto 2001-2002
5. Ontario Graduate Scholarship 2001-2002
6. Departmental Doctoral Fellowship, Centre for the Study of Religion, University
of Toronto 2000-2001
7. Departmental Doctoral Fellowship, Centre for the Study of Religion, University
of Toronto 1999-2000
8. Departmental Doctoral Fellowship, Centre for the Study of Religion, University
of Toronto 1998-1999