Biographical Information:
Christopher Hays joined the Fuller faculty in 2008 as D. Wilson Moore Assistant Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies. He came to Fuller from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as an instructor and teaching fellow from 2003 to 2008. He has also held teaching and research positions at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, and has participated in archaeological research at Tell Halif, Israel.
Hays is the author of
Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah, which was published in Mohr Siebeck's Forschungen zum Alten Testament series. His next book,
Hidden Riches: A Textbook for the Comparative Study of the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East is forthcoming with Westminster John Knox. He translated the book of Isaiah for the new Common English Bible and wrote the entry on Isaiah for the forthcoming
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible.
Hays has published articles on diverse topics in journals such as the
Journal of Biblical Literature,
Vetus Testamentum,
Biblica,
Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft,
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament,
Hebrew Studies,
Ugarit-Forschungen,
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, and
Journal of Theological Interpretation. He has also contributed essays to various edited volumes.
Hays teaches courses in Old Testament and directs the master’s program in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature in the School of Theology. His languages include Hebrew, Akkadian, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin.
Hays is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Courses Taught:
OT854/554 Israelite Religion in its Ancient Near Eastern Context
OT883/583 History and Historiography of Ancient Israel
OT506 OT Exegesis: Isaiah 1-39
OT506 OT Exegesis: Isaiah 40-66
LG533-4 Ugaritic I and II
LG535-6 Akkadian I and II
Areas of Expertise, Research, Writing, and Teaching:
The Old Testament in its ancient Near Eastern context; ancient Near Eastern languages, history, and religion; new critical perspectives such as literary theory and postcolonialism; ways in which comparative and theological approaches to Scripture are compatible and mutually informing.