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Professor David Shepherd

Professor (School of Religion)
      
Profile Photo

Professor David Shepherd

Professor (School of Religion)

 shepherd@tcd.ie

 


Following doctoral studies at New College (University of Edinburgh) and academic appointments in Canada, Belfast and England, Professor Shepherd was appointed at Trinity in 2013. His research interests and publications range widely across biblical studies from studies of the Hebrew Bible in its ancient literary context, to its ancient versions, to the reception of the Bible in the visual and performing arts in the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent projects have involved collaboration with experts in 20th century German theatre and experimental psychologists in neuroscience. Alongside teaching and supervising doctoral research in these areas, Professor Shepherd was the founding director of the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies at the University and has served as committee member and co-chair of programme units for both the Annual and International meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature (Books of Samuel, Bible and Visual Culture, Bible and Visual Art). He has served as Secretary of the Society for Old Testament Studies (UK and Ireland), vice-president for the Irish Biblical Association, and the International Organization for Targum Studies and is co-editor of the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament and DeGruyter's monograph series, Studies in the Bible and its Reception. He has served as external examiner of both undergraduate taught programmes (Sheffield and Durham universities) as well as doctoral theses and has also served on panels of accreditation for HE institutions in Europe (most recently Estonia). Professor Shepherd has fulfilled various roles within the University including Head of Discipline for Religious Studies, Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning, Acting Head of School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies. Beyond the School, he has sat on the Council and Board of the University and was appointed by the Provost as Dean of Undergraduate Studies/Senior Lecturer from 2021-2023.
  Ancient bible translation   Aramaic Studies   Bible and Popular Culture   Bible and the Moving Image   Critical theory and Theology   Deuteronomistic History   Early Israelite history and religion   Ezra-Nehemiah   Jewish studies   Judges   Wisdom Literature
Project Title
 Rediscovering Ancient Hebrew Imagery in Irish Stained Glass
From
April 1
To
January 31
Summary
The project's overall aims are to discover how the legacy of the ancient Jewish Scriptures (e.g.characters like Moses, David, Ruth etc) has been preserved in the stained glass of church buildings and to build capacity within local communities for nurturing an appreciation of their ancient Jewish/Hebrew heritage. Building on recently completed cataloguing, this project proposes to analyze the interpretation of ancient Hebrew traditions in the glass of various parishes and its local use within the united dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough (CoI), and to facilitate new knowledge transfer and capacity building by means of one-to-one training, seminars and public and published outputs.
Funding Agency
Irish Research Council
Programme
New Foundations
Person Months
9
Project Title
 The Silents of Jesus: Representations of the life and passion of the Christ in the early Cinema'
From
February 2014
To
February 2016
Summary
A collaborative project involving a symposium held in Vienna, Austria and culminating in a publication (The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema [1897-1927]) published by Routledge in 2016.
Funding Agency
Trinity College Dublin
Programme
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Benefactions Fund
Project Type
Collaborative Research

Details Date
Co-Editor, Studies of the Bible and its Reception (monograph series published by DeGruyter) 2023 -
Co-Editor, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (one of the two leading journals in my discipline) 2016 -
Reviewer of a Catalyst research project application relating to stained glass for United Kingdom Research and Innovation (AHRC) 2025
Member, Expert Accreditation Panel, Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary (on behalf of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education) 2024
President of the International Organization of Targum Studies 2024-2027
Committee Member, Bible and Visual Art program unit, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting 2023 -
Committee Member, Book of Samuel: Narrative, Theology and Interpretation Program Unit, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting 2023 -
External Member, Appointment Panel for an academic post in Hebrew Bible, University of Aarhus, Denmark Mar 2021
Member, Expert Accreditation Panel, Institute of Theology of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (on behalf of the Estonian Quality Agency for Education) Mar 2023
PhD Examiner, St Mary's University, Twickenham Jan 2023
PhD Examiner, University College London Jan 2023
PhD Examiner, Durham University Oct 2019
Vice-President, International Organization for Targum Studies 2018 -
Secretary, Society for Old Testament Study (UK and Ireland) 2015 - 2021
Co-Chair, Bible and Visual Culture program unit, Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting 2016 -
Vice-President, Irish Biblical Association 2015 - 2018
Committee Member, International Organisation for Targum Studies 2013 - 2018
Co-Chair, The Bible and the Moving Image programme unit, International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature 2011 - 2015
External Examiner, Durham University, PG programmes (biblical studies) 2016 - 2019
External Examiner, University of Sheffield, UG programme (biblical studies) 2011 - 2015
PhD Examiner, Manchester University 2015
PhD Examiner, University of Aberdeen 2014
Member, Editorial Board, Journal for the Study of Pseudepigrapha 2015 - 2019
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Basic Basic
German Basic Basic Basic
Hebrew Fluent Basic Basic
Details Date From Date To
Member, Society of Biblical Literature 1998 present
Member, Society for Old Testament Study 2000 present
Member, Irish Biblical Association 2005 present
Member, International Organization for Targum Studies 1998 present
David J. Shepherd and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer (eds.), Oxford Handbook of King David, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2025, Book, IN_PRESS
David J. Shepherd and Johannes Klein, Zwischen Fiktion und Fakten / Between Fiction and Facts Geschichte und Religion in den Samuelbüchern / History and Religion in the Books of Samuel, Stuttgart, Kohlhammer, 2024, 223pp, Book, PUBLISHED
The Reception of the Hebrew Bible in Literature, Theatre and Film in, editor(s)John Barton , Understanding the Hebrew Bible: Essays by members of the Society for Old Testament Study, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2024, [David J. Shepherd], Book Chapter, IN_PRESS
David J. Shepherd, How Targumic is the Aramaic Tell Fekheriyeh Inscription?, Congress of the International Organisation for Targumic Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, July 28 - August 1, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, 'Burning but flourishing': the reception of Moses and the Burning Bush in Anglican and Presbyterian stained glass in Ireland, Society of Biblical Literature, International Meeting, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, July 28 - August 1, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, Blood Brothers: Abimelech and the Curse of Kingship, Society for Old Testament Study, Mansfield College, Oxford University, Sept 2 - 5, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, Blood Brothers: Abimelech, Zebah, Zalmunna and the Curse of Kingship, Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, November 23-26, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, Picturing the Pastoral: Hubert McGoldrick's stained glass Good Shepherds (1928-1931), Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, November 23-26, 2024, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, "Deliver Me from 'Bloods'": The Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Samuel 11-12 and Psalm 51, Zwischen Fiktion und Fakten / Between Fiction and Facts Geschichte und Religion in den Samuelbüchern / History and Religion in the Books of Samuel, Stuttgart, edited by David J. Shepherd, Johannes Klein , Kohlhammer, 2024, pp165 - 180, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
David Shepherd, King David, Innocent Blood, and Bloodguilt, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2023, Book, PUBLISHED
  

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David J. Shepherd, Portraying the Pastoral: Good Shepherds in the Gospels and the early 20th century Irish stained glass of Hubert McGoldrick and An Túr Gloine, Trinity College, University of Oxford (Centre for the Reception of the Bible), Jan 27, 2025, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, Gideon, Abimelech, David and the Curse of Kingship, University of Helsinki, Nov 15, 2024, 2024, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, The Curse of Kingship: Reflections on Gideon, Abimelech and David, Harvard University, Nov 18, 2024, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, Naboth, Elijah and the Problem of Innocent Blood, Boston College, Nov 20, 2024, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, How modern vendettas compare with blood vengeance in the age of King David, The Conversation, Feb 19, 2024, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
David J. Shepherd, Now you see him, now you don't: Moses and the Burning Bush in the stained glass of the Church of Ireland and Presbyterian Church in Ireland, New Illuminations: Stained Glass in Ireland and Beyond, Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies (School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies), Sept 21-23, 2023, 2023, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David J. Shepherd, `The Devil's in the Detail: William Burges' Job Window in St Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork, The Book of Job and its Afterlives, St. Patrick's Maynooth, February 19, 2022, 2022, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David Shepherd, Bones of Contention: David, Rizpah and the Problem of Bloodguilt in 2 Sam 21:1-14, Seminar, Örebro Teologiska Högskola - Sweden, Feb 11, 2022, 2022, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
David Shepherd, Deliver me from `bloodguilt': For what might the superscription's David be hoping in Psalm 51?, HOPE FOR THE WORLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, Tyndale Fellowship (Symposium held online), June 29, 2021, 2021, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
David Shepherd, Put him to death for the life of his brother: the peculiar death of Absalom and the problem of bloodguilt, Faculty of Divinity Research Seminar, University of Glasgow, October 10, 2019, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Invited Talk, PRESENTED

  


Page 1 of 6
Award Date
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin 2018
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) 2012
My research is focused in three distinct streams within biblical studies: Ancient Translation My recent and current work on the Jewish translation of the Bible in antiquity builds on my first monograph in which I argue that the Aramaic version of Job found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls is quite distinct from other ancient Jewish translations. Recent articles, the doctoral work I supervise, and a collection of essays I've recently edited seek to extend my analysis to earlier Aramaic translations and Greek versions in preparation for a larger research project exploring the genesis and development of Bible translation in antiquity. Leadership, Violence and Antiquity Prompted by the perennial importance of leadership in society, my recent work on the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context focused on the representation of leadership in the post-exilic figures of Ezra and Nehemiah (see 'PR Publications' for articles and book). The interface of ethics and leadership visible in this work appears in a more fully-fledged form in my book, King David, Innocent Blood, and Bloodguilt (forthcoming April 2023, OUP) which will be followed by a wider project (2024-25) considering the dynamics of kingship and violence in antiquity more generally. Visualizing and Performing the Bible in the 19th and 20th c. This work began with my monograph (CUP, 2013) and edited collection (Routledge, 2016) on the Bible and silent film, was extended to include the Bible and theatre (play and book [Bloomsbury, 2020]) and is now being extended further to include the Bible and stained glass (AHSSBF grant, IRC New Foundations grant and most recently Templeton grant). I have now been invited to apply for following on grant funding from Templeton (up to $1,000,000) to continue this work, paving the way for an ERC Advanced grant focusing on 'The Bible and Artistic Modernism'.