Our sixth year PhD Candidate in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament writes from Israel, "I am a 2019-2020 Resident Doctoral Fellow at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. Tantur’s graduate student fellowship program, which is administered by the University of Notre Dame, supports dissertation research with potential relevance for ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. Tantur’s facility provides housing and meals onsite, as well as a library office space for dissertation writing. My dissertation project, provisionally titled “David’s Death Deferred,” examines the relationship between death and literary closure in 2 Samuel 21—24 and evaluates these chapters’ contribution to the development of Davidic traditions in early Judaism and Christianity. As a Tantur doctoral fellow, I have the opportunity to discuss my project in colloquia with my cohort, conduct research at area libraries (e.g., the École Biblique et Archéologique and the National Library of Israel), attend various academic events and lectures at Tantur, and visit sites of historical and religious significance in the area. The attached pictures show my recent exploration of Ein Gedi, an oasis near the Dead Sea associated with the story of David’s escape from Saul in 1 Samuel 24."
Graduate Program in Religion