Phone: 202-319-6702
Fax: 202-319-5704
Email: millerb@cua.edu

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Curriculum Vitae

Robert Miller II, Phd, SFO

Associate Professor of Old Testament

Specialization:

• The history and archaeology of ancient Israel/Palestine
• The Bible and theology
• Anthropological methods, especially dealing with orality, myth, culture
• The ancient Near Eastern influences that have shaped the development of the Old Testament
• The book of Judges

Biography

 Born in Ohio, Robert D. Miller II is a Secular Franciscan, married (wife Anne-Marie) with four boys. He earned a PhD in Hebrew Bible from the University of Michigan. His book, Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries BC, and related articles have made him a recognized authority on Early Israel. He is also greatly interested in Biblical Theology, having organized several conferences on the subject and recently edited the volume, Syriac and Antiochian Exegesis and Biblical Theology for the 3rd Millennium.He taught at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD -where he was also chair of the department of Sacred Scripture, and at the Summer Institute for Clergy of Seton Hall University. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the American Schools of Oriental Research. More recently, he has been a member of the Board of Control of the New American Bible for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Current Research Projects

Oral Tradition in the Old Testament

The volume is an attempt to address the definition of oral tradition in the ancient Near East. It shows the weakness of much current understanding of the notion in biblical scholarship and brings the most current understanding of orality and tradition to bear on ancient Israel. The book describes the oral and literate culture of pre-Exilic Israel and the nature of oral “pre-biblical” literature. It makes some forays into identifying orally-derived texts in the Old Testament. The monograph is currently being reviewed by a publisher.

Covenant and Grace in the Old Testament

This monograph, currently under revision for a publisher, examines Israel’s basic understanding of their relationship with God. It shows how Israel borrowed language from Neo-Assyrian royal propaganda as it was being received in the West Semitic world and used this language to describe their relationship with Yahweh. This description is not so much a covenant or agreement with God as it is a testimony to God’s gracious unmerited action on Israel’s behalf. The monograph explores the place of this testimony in the biblical tradition and its implications for theology.

Zion, the Dragon, and the Nations

A major research project on the trope of Mount Zion in the Psalms and its relationship to the incorporation of the Gentiles into the people of God, exploring the ways in which Canaanite (and earlier!) mythic material on which these Psalms are based reappears in both the Psalms and their literary “offspring” (Daniel, Revelation).

Suggested Areas of Research for Prospective Postgraduates

I would particularly welcome proposals for research in the following areas:

• The history of ancient Palestine.
• The debate on historical methodology within Biblical Studies (the minimalist-maximalist debate).
• Folklore/mythography and the Bible: this is an area that has not been researched very extensively in decades and offers considerable opportunities for new research students.
• The critical study of the Old Testament as the “soul of theology” – practical exploration of how historical-critical scholarship can produce material of use to academic theology.
• Anything dealing with the book of Judges