Michael Lyons joined the School of Divinity in 2018. He received his doctorate in Hebrew and Semitic Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2005.

DI1004 Introduction to the Hebrew Language

DI2001 Old Testament 2: Wisdom, Psalms, Apocalyptic and Apocryphal Literature

DI4726 Hebrew Readings

DI5105 Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament

DI5231 Prophetic Literature

The main focus of my research is how and why ancient Israelite and Second Temple-period authors used earlier texts. This project includes the definition of “quotation” and “allusion,” the consideration of text-referencing from the standpoints of production vs. reception, the development of criteria for identifying the direction of dependence, the creation of a typology of techniques of and motives for text-referencing, the identification of the function of text-referencing (rhetorical, structural, aesthetic, etc.) in specific texts, the identification of constraints on technique or function, and investigation into social factors associated with text-referencing (e.g., audience literacy; attitudes toward text; scribal culture; identity formation). My research aims to provide insight into the use, nature, production, and function of scripture in the Second Temple period and early Judaism and Christianity.

• the form and function of text-referencing techniques (quotation and allusion) in the literature of ancient Israel, Second Temple Judaism, and early Christianity
• compositional and rhetorical strategies in Israelite prophetic literature (especially Ezekiel)
• the poetics of Hebrew narrative and verse
• the history of scriptural interpretation (Jewish and Christian)