Portier-Young, Anathea

Biography

Anathea Portier-Young’s scholarship combines literary and theological approaches to the Old Testament with an interest in hermeneutics, history of interpretation, and the relationship between the Old Testament and Christian theology. She has focused in particular on theological themes of God’s mercy and justice, the alleviation of suffering, and traditions of violent and non-violent action. Her forthcoming book, Theologies of Resistance: Jewish Responses to the Antiochian Persecution (Brill), examines Daniel, 1 and 2 Maccabees, portions of 1 Enoch, and the Testament of Moses to understand the variety of ways Jews resisted the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes. The book calls for a new appreciation of the dynamic interrelationship between ethics, theology, and the interpretation and writing of scripture in this pivotal period of Jewish history. Her second book, entitled The Theology of the Book of Daniel, will appear in the series Old Testament Theology (Cambridge University Press, 2009). Portier-Young has published articles on Tobit, Joseph and Aseneth, and 1 Corinthians. Her other research interests include Genesis, Job, and intersections of gender, ethnicity, and violence in the Old Testament.