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Isaac W Oliver/de Oliveira
Professor of Religious Studies
Bradley Hall 283
(309) 677-2443
ioliver@bradley.edu
Education
Ph.D., Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan
M.A., Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan
M.A., Religion, Andrews University
B.A., Religion Andrews University
Biography
Isaac W. Oliver/de Oliveira is Brazilian-American Jewish (Reform) scholar and Associate Professor in Religious Studies at 91²Öæā. He earned his PhD in Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan and was a fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies in the Fall of 2012.
Oliver has authored numerous studies dealing with ancient Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His books include,Ā Torah Praxis after 70 CE: Reading Matthew and Luke-Acts as Jewish TextsĀ (Mohr Siebeck, 2013) as well asĀ Luke’s Jewish Eschatology: The National Restoration of Israel in Luke-ActsĀ (Oxford University Press, 2021). Currently, Oliver is working on a commentary on the Gospel of Luke for the Oxford Bible Commentary Series (Oxford University Press).
Oliver has studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as in France, Argentina, and Austria. He speaks English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Modern Hebrew. He is a citizen of the USA and Brazil, and is married to a French citizen. He also lived for six years in French Guiana.
At Bradley, Oliver has received several awards including the Bradley First Year Faculty Award (2014), the 91²Öæā 91²Öæā of Liberal Arts and Sciences Notable Publication Award (2016), and the Student Senate Outstanding Academic Advisor of the Year (2017).
In the fall of 2016, Oliver founded “Talmud for Everyone,” a bi-monthly event devoted to the study of the Talmud that is designed for non-Jews and Jews alike, which is held at the Bradley campus.
Teaching
- RLS 114 ā Introduction to Judaism
- RLS 300 ā Hebrew Bible
- RLS 302 ā New Testament
- RLS 332 ā Religions of the World II: Abrahamic Traditions
- RLS 313 ā Rabbinic Judaism: Introduction to the Talmud
- RLS 350 ā Topics in Religious Studies: Jewish and Christian Apocalypses
Scholarship
Books
- Torah Praxis after 70 CE: Reading Matthew and Luke-Acts as Jewish Texts. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/355. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, December 2013.
- Lukeās Jewish Eschatology: The National Restoration of Israel in Luke-Acts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
- The Gospel of Luke. The Oxford Bible Commentary Series. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Under Contract.
Edited Volumes
- The Early Reception of Paul the Second Temple Jew.Co-edited with Gabriele Boccaccini. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018.
- Wisdom Poured Out Like Waterā: Studies on Jewish and Christian Antiquity in Honor of Gabriele Boccacciniās 60th Birthday. Co-edited with J. Harold Ellens, Jason von Ehrenkrook, James Waddell, and Jason Zurawski. Berlin: De Gruyter: 2018.
- New Perspectives and Contexts in the Study of Islamic Origins. Co-edited with G. Dye, M. Bjerregaard, and T. Tesei. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ā Tension, Transmission, Transformation. Berlin: De Gruyter. Forthcoming.
Selected Articles
- Isaac W. Oliver and Veronika Bachmann. āThe Book of Jubilees: An Annotated Bibliography from the First German Translation of 1850 to the Enoch Seminar of 2007.āĀ HenochĀ 31.1 (2009): 123ā64.
- āSimon Peter Meets Simon the Tanner: The Ritual Insignificance of Tanning in Ancient Judaism.āĀ New Testament StudiesĀ 59.1 (2013): 50ā60.
- āForming Jewish Identity by Formulating Legislation for Gentiles.āĀ Journal of Ancient JudaismĀ 4.1 (2013): 105ā32.
- āJewish Followers of Jesus and the Bar Kokhba Revolt: Re-examining the Christian Sources.ā Pages 109ā27 inĀ The Psychological Dynamics of Revolution: Religious Revolts.Ā Vol. 1 ofĀ Winning Revolutions: The Psychology of Successful Revolts for Freedom, Fairness, and Rights.Ā Edited by J. Harold Ellens. Praeger, 2014.
- āThe āHistorical Paulā and the Paul of Acts: Which Is More Jewish?ā Pages 51ā71 inĀ Paul the Jew: A Conversation between Pauline and Second Temple Scholars. Edited by Carlos A. Segovia and Gabriele Boccaccini. Fortress, 2016.
- “Messianic Jews and the Early Jewish Followers of Jesus,āĀ Hebrew Studies JournalĀ 57 (2016): 201ā209.
- āMatthieu est-il plus juif que Luc?āĀ JudaĆÆsme ancien/Ancient JudaismĀ 5 (2017): 109ā145.
- “The Calling of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles,ā Pages 179ā91 inĀ The Early Reception of Paul the Second Temple Jew.Ā Edited by Isaac W. Oliver and Gabriele Boccaccini. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018.
- “Are Luke and Acts Anti-Marcionite?ā Pages 499ā525 inĀ Wisdom Poured Out Like Waterā: Studies on Jewish and Christian Antiquity in Honor of Gabriele Boccacciniās 60thĢżµž¾±°ł³Ł³ó»å²¹²ā. Co-edited with J. Harold Ellens, Jason von Ehrenkrook, Isaac W. Oliver, James Waddell, and Jason Zurawski. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2018.
- āWhen and How Did theĀ ·”°ģ°ģ±ōŧ²õ¾±²¹Ā Split from the Synagogue?ā InĀ The Jewish Roots of Christianity, ed. Gerald McDermott. Bellingham: Lexham, 2021.
- āStanding under the Mountain: Jewish and Christian Threads to a QurʾÄnic Construction.ā InĀ New Perspectives and Contexts in the Study of Islamic Origins. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ā Tension, Transmission, Transformation. Berlin: De Gruyter. Forthcoming.