University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Dr. Nathaniel E. Greene
Lecturer in Hebrew Bible
School of Divinity, History, Philosophy and Art History
Official University Profile: University of Aberdeen – Dr Nathaniel Greene
Expertise: Hebrew Bible / Old Testament; Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures; Biblical Hebrew; Northwest Semitic Epigraphy; Paleography; Ancient Israel and State Formation; Scribal Culture and Literary Production; Deuteronomistic History; Ancient Near Eastern Studies.
Member of Editorial Board of European Hebrew Journal
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CURRICULUM VITAE
Academic Profile
Dr. Nathaniel E. Greene is a Lecturer in Hebrew Bible at the University of Aberdeen. His academic work focuses on the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, Northwest Semitic languages and literatures, Northwest Semitic epigraphy, paleography, scribal culture, the formation of ancient Israel, and the literary history of the Deuteronomistic History.
His research explores the relationship between scribes, states, and literary production in the ancient southern Levant. By combining philology, epigraphy, and advanced imaging technologies such as Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), he investigates ancient inscriptions and the development of writing, literacy, and textual culture in Iron Age Israel.
His work also examines conceptual metaphor theory, Northwest Semitic literature, and Palmyrene Aramaic epigraphy, contributing to a broader understanding of the historical and linguistic background of the Hebrew Bible.
QUALIFICATIONS
2018
Ph.D. in Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
2013
M.A. in Hebrew and Semitic Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
2010
Master of Divinity (Old Testament), Emmanuel School of Religion.
2007
B.A. in Biblical Studies, Milligan College.
RESEARCH SPECIALISMS
Biblical Studies
Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Ancient Hebrew Language
Aramaic Language
Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures
Northwest Semitic Epigraphy
Paleography
Ancient Israel and State Formation
Scribal Culture and Literary Production
Deuteronomistic History
Ancient Near Eastern Studies
MEMBERSHIPS
Society of Biblical Literature
American Society of Overseas Research
Colloquium for Biblical and Near Eastern Studies
RESEARCH
Dr. Greene’s research investigates the relationship between scribes, political institutions, and literary production in the ancient southern Levant. His work combines epigraphy, philology, archaeology, and digital imaging techniques to study the development of writing and textual transmission in the ancient Near East.
A major focus of his scholarship is the literary history of the Deuteronomistic History, the emergence of the Israelite state, and the role of scribes in shaping biblical literature. He also conducts research on Palmyrene Aramaic inscriptions and Northwest Semitic languages.
TEACHING
Hebrew Language 1
Hebrew Language 2
Literature and Society in Ancient Israel
Aramaic, Postgraduate Reading Group
Prophets and Prophecy in the Bible and Beyond
Contemporary Issues in the Study of the Hebrew Bible
PRIZES AND AWARDS
British Academy Talent Development Award, 2023–2024
Digitising Pre-Modern Material Culture: Foundations and Innovations
PUBLICATIONS
Selected Publications
The Family of Barˁā Son of Zabdˁatē and the Meaning and Etymology of Aramaic tšbb (Gk. Θοσαβεβ) in PAT 0059 and 0318. Aramaic Studies, 2026.
A Reedition of PAT 1766 (University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, PA). Semitica, 2025.
The Rise of “National” Scripts in the Iron II: A Proposal. Maarav, 2025.
A Hieratic Brit-Bowl from Tell el-Ḥesi. Tel Aviv, accepted for publication.
The Rhetorical Force of the Divine Feminine: An Assessment of the Feminine Imagery of Yhwh in Deutero-Isaiah. Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2023.
Socio-political Gleanings from Northwest Semitic Paleography: The Inscriptions from Tel Reḥov, as a Test Case. In The Ancient Israelite World. Routledge, 2022.
A Re-edition of PAT 0922: The Funerary Monument of Yedīʿbēl, a Palmyrene Priest. Semitica et Classica, 2021.
Epigraphic Notes on Two Bilingual Inscriptions in the National Museum of Banat. Analele Banatului, 2019.
The Harvard Semitic Museum Palmyrene Collection. Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research, 2018.
A New Reading of PAT 0670 (= CIS 4313). Kleine Untersuchungen zur Sprache des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt, 2018.
The Qubur al-Walaydah Bowl: New Images and Old Readings. Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research, 2017.
Creation, Destruction, and a Psalmist’s Plea: Rethinking the Poetic Structure of Psalm 74. Journal of Biblical Literature, 2017.