Jon D.
Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard Divinity School
, began teaching at Harvard in 1988, having previously taught at the University
of Chicago and at Wellesley College. His
work concentrates on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, including its
reinterpretations in the "rewritten Bible" of Second Temple Judaism
and rabbinic midrash. In addition, one of his courses deals with the use of
medieval Jewish commentaries for purposes of modern biblical exegesis, and
another focuses on central works of Jewish theology in the twentieth century.
Levenson
has a strong interest in the philosophical and theological issues involved in
biblical studies, especially the relationship of premodern modes of
interpretation to modern historical criticism. Much of his work centers on the
relationship of Judaism and Christianity, both in antiquity and in modernity,
and he has long been active in Jewish-Christian dialogue.
His
book Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory
of the God of Life (Yale University Press, 2006) won a National Jewish
Book Award and the Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the
category of Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible published in 2005 or
2006. Choice, a publication of the American Library Association,
listed Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam (Princeton University Press, 2012) as one of
the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013. His latest book is The Love
of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton
University Press, 2016). In all his
work, Levenson's emphasis falls on the close reading of texts for purposes of
literary and theological understanding.