Judaic Studies Program at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

James Watts

James W. Watts is an Associate Professor of Religion at Syracuse University, whose area of study includes literature and religion of the Hebrew Bible, especially narrative genres, sacrifice, law and the Pentateuch; Biblical Hebrew; ancient religious rhetoric; iconic books. Current courses taught include those on the Bible and Hebrew Bible, the idea of scripture and Second Temple Judaism. Dr. Watts is currently on leave completing a book on Leviticus.

Courses:

REL 114 The Bible

REL/JSP 215 The Hebrew Bible

REL 291 Comparative Themes/Issues: Death & Afterlife in the Bible & Ancient Near East

REL 301 Ancient Near Eastern Religions and Cultures

REL/JSP 302 Second Temple Judaism

REL/JSP 311 The Bible and Literature

REL/JSP 515 The Torah/Pentateuch

REL 607 Ancient Religious Rhetoric

REL 611 The Idea of Scripture

REL 622 Sacrifice

REL 220 Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

REL 242 Death and Afterlife.

REL 313 Religion in Ancient Israel.

REL 315 Women in Biblical Tradition.

REL 322 Archeology of Bethsaida in Israel

REL 334 Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies: the Pentateuch.

Teaching:

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 1999-present

Associate Professor of Religion, 1999-present (tenured, 2002)

Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska, 1993-1999

Associate Professor of Religion, 1998-1999

Assistant Professor of Religion, 1993-1998

* Hastings College Faculty Achievement Award (1993-94) “in recognition of unusually significant and meritorious achievement in teaching”

Stetson University, DeLand, Florida, 1990-1992

Adjunct Professor of Religion, 1991-1992

Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion, 1990-1991

Also Adjunct at Barry University School of Adult and Continuing Education and Valencia Community College, Orlando, FL, 1992-1993

Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, 1987-1990

Acting Instructor, 1989

Teaching Fellow, 1987-1990

Books:

Leviticus in the series, Historical Commentary on the Old Testament, under contract with Peeters in Louvain, Belgium (research in progress).

Reading Law: The Rhetorical Shaping of the Pentateuch, The Biblical Seminar 59, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.

Reviewed in: ZABR 5 (1999) 353-357; Int (July 2000) 318; RSR 26/2 (2000) 184; ZAW 112 (2000) 485; JSOT 89 (2000) 129; ExpTim 111/4 (January 2000) 131; RevExp 97 (2000) ; RBL [http://www.bookreviews.org/] (2000); Theological Book Review 12/3 (2000) 222; Themelios 26/2 (2000?) 62-63; OTA 23 (2000) 371, JBL 120 (2001) 350, CBQ 63 (2001) 131-32; De Stem Van Buek 12/3 (2001) 14.

Psalm and Story: Inset Hymns in Hebrew Narrative, JSOT Supplement Series

139, Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992.

Reviewed in: ETL 69/4 (1993) 409-10; ExpTim 104/9 (June, 1993) 278; WTJ 55(Fall 1993) 346-348; JBL 113/1 (1994) 126-28; JSS 39/2 (1994) 316-17; CBQ 56 (1994) 352-53; Int (Apr, 1994) 196-97; ZAW 107 (1995) 370; BQ 52 (1995) 747-49; BZ 41 (1997) 103-104; VT 48 (1998) 134-35; RSR 24 (1998) 64-65.

Edited Collections:

(Editor, with Corrine Patton and Steven Cook) The Whirlwind: Essays on Job, Hermeneutics and Theology in Memory of Jane Morse (JSOT Supplement Series 336; London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001).

(Editor) Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch (Symposium Series; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001).

Reviewed in: JBL 122 (2003) 555 = RBL [http://www.bookreviews.org/] (2003): “a must read for anyone interested in ... the origins of the Pentateuch”; CBQ 65 (2003) 660-61: “… makes a significant contribution …”; JR 83/2 (2003) 317; JSOT 25/5 (2003) 123-24.

(Editor, with Paul R. House) Forming Prophetic Literature: Essays on Isaiah and the Twelve in Honor of John D. W. Watts, JSOT Supplement Series 235, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996.

Reviewed in: RSR 23/4 (1997) 392; ExpTim 108/10 (1997) 312; RevExp 94 (1997) 610; Scripture Bulletin (July, 1997) 83-84; CBQ 60 (1998) 406- 7; JBL 119 (2000) 170; Old Testament Chronicle (February, 2001) 81;

Chapters in Books:

“Poetry,” in the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005, pp. 798-802.

“Biblical Psalms Outside the Psalter,” in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception, ed. Peter W. Flint and Patrick D. Miller, Vetus Testamentum Supplement Series 99, Leiden: Brill, 2004, pp. 288-309.

“Story, List, Sanction: A Cross-Cultural Strategy of Ancient Persuasion,” in Rhetoric Before and Beyond the Greeks, ed. Carol Lipson and Roberta Binkley, Albany: SUNY Press, 2004. 197-212.

“The Rhetoric of Ritual Instruction in Leviticus 1-7,” in The Book of Leviticus: Composition and Reception, ed. Rolf Rendtorff and Robert Kugler, Vetus Testamentum Supplement Series 93, Leiden: Brill, 2003, pp. 78-100.

“The Unreliable Narrator of Job,” in The Whirlwind (2001; see “edited collections” above), pp. 168-80. (Translator) “Persian Imperial Authorization: A Summary” by Peter Frei, Persia and Torah (2001; see “edited collections” above), pp. 5-40.

“Psalmody in Prophecy: Habakkuk 3 in Context,” Forming Prophetic Literature (1996; see “edited collections” above), pp. 209-223.

“Leviticus,” Mercer Commentary on the Bible, ed. Watson E. Mills et al, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1994, pp. 157-74.

“‘This Song’: Conspicuous Poetry in Hebrew Prose,” Verse in Ancient Near Eastern Prose, ed. Johannes C. de Moor and Wilfred G. E. Watson, AOAT 42, Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1993, pp. 345-58.

Articles in Refereed Journals:

“ ‘Olah: The Rhetoric of Burnt Offerings,” Vetus Testamentum, 66/1 (2006), 125-137.

“Ritual Legitimacy and Scriptural Authority,” Journal of Biblical Literature 124/3 (2005), 401-417.

“Ten Commandments Monuments and the Rivalry of Iconic Texts,” Journal of Religion & Society 6 (2004), online at http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2004/2004-13.html

“Reader Identification and Alienation in the Legal Rhetoric of the Pentateuch,” Biblical Interpretation 7/1 (1999) 101-12.

“The Legal Characterization of Moses in the Rhetoric of the Pentateuch,” Journal of Biblical Literature 117 (1998) 415-26.

“The Legal Characterization of God in the Pentateuch,” Hebrew Union College Annual 67 (1996) 1-14.

“Public Readings and Pentateuchal Law,” Vetus Testamentum 45/4 (1995) 540-57.

“Rhetorical Strategy in the Composition of the Pentateuch,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 68 (1995) 3-22.

“Song and the Ancient Reader,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 22/2 (1995) 135-47.

“Text and Redaction in Jeremiah’s Oracles Against the Nations,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 54 (1992) 432-47.

“Psalm 2 in the Context of Biblical Theology,” Horizons in Biblical Theology 12/1 (1990) 73-91.

“HNT: An Ugaritic Formula of Intercession,” Ugarit-Forschungen 21 (1989) 443-49.

“The Remnant Theme: A Survey of New Testament Research, 1921-1987,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 15/2 (1988) 109-129.

Non-refereed Articles and Op-Eds:

“Scripture and Law: Where Ten Commandments will stand is in Supreme Court's hands.” Op-ed, Detroit Free Press, February 21, 2005.

“Narrative Time in Luke's Gospel,” Paradigms 1/2 (1985) 65-80.

Reviews of various books in biblical studies appeared in the Journal of Biblical Literature 120 (2001) 348, 118 (1999) 128-28, 116 (1997) 541-43, Jewish Quarterly Review 91/3-4 (2001) 526-29, Review of Biblical Literature (2003, 2000, 1999) online, Theology Today 55 (1999) 586-88, Horizons in Biblical Theology 24 (2002) 129-31, Hebrew Studies 37 (1996) 166-68, 39 (1998) 236-38, Religious Studies Review 23 (1997) 388, 24 (1998) 59, 283-284, 405, 25 (1999) 71, Perspectives in Religious Studies 23 (1996) 75-86, 22 (1995) 87-91, and Paradigms 1 (1985) 50-52, 118-20, 2 (1986) 136-37, 5 (1989) 68-69, 156-57.

Academic Papers:

“The Rhetoric of Sin, Guilt and Sacrifice in Leviticus 4-5,” presented to the Biblical Law Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, November 22, 2005.

“The Iconography of Ritual Tablets and Scrolls in Antiquity,” presented to the Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion, Montreal, Quebec, May 7, 2005.

“Iconic Bibles: The Power of the Image of the Text,” and “A Book in the Hand is Worth Two in Heaven,” Staley endowed invited lectures at Lees-McRae College (NC), Sept. 20-21, 2004.

“The ‘Olah in Rhetoric and Ritual,” presented to the International Society of Biblical Literature Meeting in Gröningen, The Netherlands, July 28, 2004.

“Ritual Legitimacy and Scriptural Authority,” presented to a joint session of the Ritual Studies Section of the American Academy of Religion and the Pentateuch Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, November 24, 2003.

“Ritual Text and Ritual Interpretation” presented to the International Society of Biblical Literature Meeting in Cambridge, England, July 21, 2003.

“Sacrifice, Ritual and Rhetoric” presented to the Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion in Erie, Pennsylvania, March 21, 2003.

“Biblical Psalms Outside the Psalter,” invited paper for panel of the Hebrew Poetry Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, Toronto, November 23, 2002.

“Story-List-Sanction: A Strategy of Ancient and Modern Persuasion," presented to the Indian Society of Philosophy and Religion, Calcutta, India, July 30, 2002.

“The Iconic Book,” presented to the Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion in Ottowa, Canada, April 26, 2002.

“Milgrom Among Theorists of Ritual,” invited paper for panel of the Pentateuch Section of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Denver, November 19, 2001.

“Rhetoric of Ritual Instruction in Leviticus 1-7,” International Society of Biblical Literature Meeting in Rome, Italy, July 9-11, 2001.

“The Unreliable Narrator of Job”, Wisdom and Cognate Literature Section of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Nashville, November 18, 2000.

“The Pentateuch’s Rhetoric of Hierarchy in Historical Context”, invited paper for panel on Current Research in the Pentateuch, Society of Biblical Literature Southeastern Regional Meeting in Chapel Hill, March 13, 1999.

“Trouble Reading Scripture,” Invited Faculty Lecture at Hastings College, October 2, 1998.

“Reader Identification and Alienation in the Legal Rhetoric of the Pentateuch,” Society of Biblical Literature Rocky Mountains/Great Plains Regional Meeting in Omaha, NE, March 21, 1998.

“The Legal Characterization of Moses in the Rhetoric of the Pentateuch,” Society of Biblical Literature Central States Regional Meeting in Kansas City, April 7, 1997.

“The Legal Characterization of God in the Pentateuch,” Pentateuch Section of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in New Orleans, November 25, 1996.

“Psalmody in Prophecy: Habakkuk 3 in Context,” Society of Biblical Literature Rocky Mountains/Great Plains Regional Meeting in Denver, April 26, 1996.

“Rhetorical Strategy in the Composition of the Pentateuch,” Society of Biblical Literature Rocky Mountains/Great Plains Regional Meeting in Denver, April 28, 1995.

“‘This Song’: Conspicuous Poetry in Hebrew Prose,” invited paper for symposium on “Verse in Prose” in Kampen, The Netherlands, June 1-3, 1993.

“The Sequential Reading of Pentateuchal Law Codes,” Society of Biblical Literature Southeastern Regional Meeting in Atlanta, March 13, 1992.

“Song and the Ancient Reader: Generic Conventions Governing Psalms in Narrative Contexts,” Biblical Criticism and Literary Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Kansas City, November 26, 1991; ninth Conrad-Shelby invited Lecture at Brewton-Parker College, May 5, 1992.