The George Washington University, United States
Prof. Dr. Christopher A. Rollston
Professor of Biblical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Chair, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Official University Profile: The George Washington University – Christopher A. Rollston
Expertise: Hebrew Bible; Old Testament; Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures; Epigraphy; Paleography; Ancient Israel; Dead Sea Scrolls; Ancient Writing Systems; Scribal Culture; Textual Criticism; Ancient Near Eastern Religion.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Academic Profile
Prof. Dr. Christopher A. Rollston is Professor of Biblical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at The George Washington University, where he also serves as Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He is internationally recognized as one of the leading authorities on Northwest Semitic epigraphy, ancient Hebrew inscriptions, and the Hebrew Bible.
His research focuses on the languages, inscriptions, and cultures of the ancient Near East, particularly ancient Israel and its neighboring civilizations. Combining philology, archaeology, epigraphy, and paleography, he investigates literacy, scribal education, the origins of the alphabet, ancient writing practices, and the historical context of biblical literature.
Prof. Rollston has excavated archaeological sites in Israel and Syria, conducted research in museums and antiquities collections throughout the Middle East, Europe, and North America, and has served as an epigraphic consultant for numerous academic and public institutions.
QUALIFICATIONS
B.A., Great Lakes Christian College.
M.A. in Religion, Emmanuel School of Religion.
M.A. in Near Eastern Studies, The Johns Hopkins University.
Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies, The Johns Hopkins University.
ACADEMIC POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
Professor of Biblical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, The George Washington University.
Chair, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Director, Persian Program.
Former Director, Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Program.
Former Visiting Professor of Northwest Semitic Literature, Tel Aviv University.
Former National Endowment for the Humanities Research Scholar, Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem.
Former National Endowment for the Humanities Research Scholar, American Center of Oriental Research, Amman.
Former Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Emmanuel School of Religion.
Former Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins University.
RESEARCH
Prof. Rollston’s research investigates the Hebrew Bible within its ancient Near Eastern cultural and historical context. His scholarship focuses on Northwest Semitic inscriptions, literacy in the ancient world, scribal education, the development of alphabetic writing, ancient religion, and textual criticism.
He has made major contributions to the study of epigraphic Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, and related Northwest Semitic languages. His work also addresses ancient and modern inscriptional forgeries, Dead Sea Scrolls, prophecy, wisdom literature, and the transmission of biblical texts.
His interdisciplinary approach combines archaeology, philology, epigraphy, paleography, digital imaging, and historical linguistics.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Hebrew Bible
Old Testament
Northwest Semitic Languages
Epigraphy
Paleography
Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient Israel
Ancient Near Eastern Religion
Scribal Education
Literacy in Antiquity
Origins of the Alphabet
Ancient Writing Systems
Textual Criticism
Biblical Archaeology
Ancient Wisdom Literature
Prophecy in the Ancient Near East
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
Chair, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Former Co-editor, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR).
Former Editor, MAARAV.
Member of editorial and advisory boards of numerous international journals.
Member of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Member of the American Society of Overseas Research.
PRIZES AND AWARDS
Frank Moore Cross Award for Northwest Semitic Epigraphy.
Honey W. Nashman Faculty Member of the Year, The George Washington University (2023).
Research support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and other scholarly organizations.
PUBLICATIONS
Selected Publications
Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age. Society of Biblical Literature, 2010.
Enemies and Friends of the State: Ancient Prophecy in Context. Penn State University Press, 2018 (editor and contributor).
Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of P. Kyle McCarter. Society of Biblical Literature Press, 2020 (editor).
Numerous articles in Journal of Biblical Literature, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR), Levant, Near Eastern Archaeology, Israel Exploration Journal, Tel Aviv, MAARAV, and other leading scholarly journals.
Research on Northwest Semitic epigraphy, ancient literacy, Hebrew inscriptions, Dead Sea Scrolls, and biblical archaeology.