YONDER MOYNIHAN GILLIHAN
Department of Theology
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Stokes Hall 457
(617) 552-1614
gillihan@bc.edu
EMPLOYMENT
Associate Professor, Department of Theology, Boston College, 2007-present
Visiting Lecturer in New Testament, Religious Studies, Dartmouth College, 2005
Teaching Fellow, Yale Divinity School, 2000-2005
Greek Instructor, Yale Divinity School, 2003
Campus Chaplain for Presbyterian Students (PCUSA) at Yale, 2004-2005
EDUCATION
Ph.D. University of Chicago, New Testament and Early Christian Literature, 2007, with Honors
Dissertation: "Civic Ideology among the Covenanters of the Dead Sea Scrolls and
Greco-Roman Voluntary Associations"
Exchange Scholar, Yale University Department of Religious Studies 2000-2004
M.A.
Ball State University, History 1998, with Honors
Thesis: "Socratic Tradition in the Fourth Gospel: Appealing to Popular Notions of Piety
in the Hellenistic Age"
B.A.
Ball State University, History 1996, magna cum laude
PUBLICATIONS
"Women's Education, Initiation, and Authority in the Damascus Rule: A Comparative Approach,"
Review of Rabbinic Judaism, forthcoming
"Apocalyptic Themes in Hasmonean Propaganda: 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the
Struggle for Political Legitimacy." In Proceedings of the First Enoch Seminar, Nangeroni
Meeting: The Seleucid and Hasmonean Periods and the Apocalyptic Worldview. Milan,
Italy, June 24-28, 2012, ed. L. Grabbe. London: T&T Clark, forthcoming.
Civic Ideology, Organization, and Law in the Rule Scrolls: A Comparative Study of the
Covenanters' Sect and Contemporary Voluntary Associations in Political Context.
Studies in the Texts of the Desert of Judah 97. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
"The rg Who Wasn't There: Fictional Aliens in the Damascus Rule." Revue de Qumran 98
(2011): 257-305.
"Associations." In Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, edited by John J. Collins and Daniel
C. Harlow. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010: 398-400.
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 2
"Posture or Gesture? A Note on xw#l/x#l in the Qumran Penal Codes." Revue de Qumran 94
(2009): 291-96.
"Jewish Laws on Illicit Marriage, the Defilement of Offspring, and the Holiness of the Temple: A
New Halakic Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 7:14." Journal of Biblical Literature 121
(2002): 711-44.
"Rapture." In Encyclopedia of Fundamentalism. Edited by Brenda Brasher. New York:
Routledge, 2002: 404-7.
"Rapture." In Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements. Edited by Richard
Landes. New York: Routledge, 2000: 618-30.
UNDER CONTRACT
"Political Context, Guilds and Associations." In The T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea
Scrolls. Edited by C. Hempel and G. Brooke. London: T&T Clark, forthcoming.
"Havurah: Second Temple and Hellenistic Judaism." In The Encyclopedia of the Bible and its
Reception, ed. D. Allison et al. Berlin: De Gruyter, forthcoming.
IN PREPARATION FOR PEER-REVIEW
Ancient Civil Society, Voluntary Associations, and the Emergence of Early Jewish and Christian
Communities: Perspectives from Political Theory (book ms. in preparation)
"dxyh tc(, Hellenistic-Roman Political Discourse, and Scripture: The Coinage of a Key
Sectarian Terminus Technicus," for Journal of Biblical Literature
"Rabbinic hrwbx and the rbx tyb/l)r#y rwbx of the Damascus Rule: A New
Comparative Study," for Revue de Qumran
"Pure Status, Pure Goods, and Holy Comestibles: Another Look at hrh+ and hq#m in the Dead
Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic Literature," for Review of Rabbinic Judaism
"'Compehensive Coverage' in the Dead Sea Scrolls Sect: the Ideology of Caring for the
Vulnerable in the Damascus Rule and the Rule for the Congregation," for Biblical
Interpretation
"Astral Knowledge and the Authority of the General in Greco-Roman Military Manuals:
Analogies to the Role of the Maskil in the Dead Sea Scrolls," for Journal for the Study of
Judaism
"The Sociological Context of 'Qumran Monasticism': Military and Cultic Influences on the Dead
Sea Scrolls Yaúad," for Dead Sea Discoveries
"Re-examining Priestly Authority in the Qumran Rule Scrolls," for Dead Sea Discoveries or
Revue de Qumran
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 3
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED LECTURES
"Sects and the Cities: Effects of Political Context on the Formation of the Dead Sea Scrolls
'Covenanters' and Other Hellenistic-Roman Voluntary Associations," Yale University
Judaic Studies Lecture Series, October 18, 2012
"Apocalyptic Themes in Hasmonean Propaganda: 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the
Struggle for Political Legitimacy." First Enoch Seminar, Nangeroni Meeting: The
Seleucid and Hasmonean Periods and the Apocalyptic Worldview. Milan, Italy, June 2428, 2012
"dxyh tc(, Hellenistic-Roman Political Discourse, and Scripture: The Coinage of a Key
Sectarian Terminus Technicus." Invited lecture, University of Haifa, March 11, 2012
"Women's Education, Initiation, and Authority in the Damascus Rule: A Comparative Approach,"
Qumran Section, Annual SBL Congress, San Francisco, CA, November 22, 2011
"The Risk of Civil Society: Voluntary Associations and Political Stability in Ancient and Modern
Political Thought," The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston
College, April 14, 2011
"Purity and Holiness in Paul." Invited public lecture, Harvard Divinity School, April 17, 2009
"Subalterity, Domination, and Legitimation: Rethinking 'Influence' in Markan and Roman Family
Values," Response to Mary Rose D'Angelo, "Roman Imperial Family Values," Women in
the Religious and Intellectual Activity of the Ancient Mediterranean World: An
Interdisciplinary and International Conference in Honor of Adela Yarbro Collins,
Methodist School of Theology in Ohio, March 17, 2009
"Revisiting the 'Monasticism'of the Community Rule: Sociological and Scriptural Models for the
Common Life of the Yahad," Biblical Law Section, National SBL, Boston, MA,
November 24, 2008
"Associations, Sects, and Civil Society: A New Examination of the Dead Sea Scrolls Sect in Its
Sociological Context," Regional SBL Meeting, Andover-Newton Theological Seminary,
April 18, 2008
"'Comprehensive Coverage' in the Dead Sea Scrolls Sect: the Ideology of Care in the Damascus
Rule and the Rule for the Congregation," Qumran Session, Disability Studies and
Healthcare in the Bible and Near East Unit, Annual AAR/SBL Congress, San Diego, CA,
November 2007
"From the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Da Vinci Code, and Back Again," BC Alumni Association
Faculty Lecture Series, Discovery Center, Charlotte, NC, March 9, 2006
"Reconstructing the Organizational History of the Yahad in Light of the Community Rule
Manuscripts," Yale Semitics Seminar Symposium on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Yale Divinity
School, January 23, 2005
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 4
"Civic Ideology in Paul's Churches, the Dead Sea Scrolls Yahad, and Greco-Roman
Associations," New Testament Search Lecture, Harvard Divinity School, February 9,
2004
"From a Man of Belial to the Lion of Wrath: Hasmoneans in the Dead Sea Scrolls," Regional
SBL Meeting, Andover-Newton Theological Seminary, May 2, 2003
"Astral Knowledge and the Authority of the General in Greco-Roman Military Manuals:
Analogies to the Role of the Maskil in the Dead Sea Scrolls," Wisdom and
Apocalypticism Group, Annual AAR/SBL Congress, Toronto, November 24, 2002
"Visions of the Cosmos in Pauline and Post-Pauline Eschatology," Regional SBL Meeting,
Brandeis University, April 12, 2002
"The Pythagorean Way of Life in the Lives of Pythagoras: Idle Idealism or Social Experiment?,"
Graduate Seminar on Ancient Lives, Prof. Adela Yarbro Collins, Yale University, April
3, 2002
"Ancient Voluntary Associations and the Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls," Graduate Seminar
on the Rule Scrolls of Qumran, Profs. John J. Collins and Stephen Fraade, Yale
University, March 5, 2002
"The New Jerusalem in Revelation," English Exegesis of Revelation, Prof. Adela Yarbro Collins,
Yale Divinity School, March 22, 2001
CURRENT TEACHING, BOSTON COLLEGE
Biblical Heritage I and II
Visions of Divine Justice in the Bible
The Gospel of Matthew (includes Greek reading section for graduate students)
Early Christianity in Its Jewish Context
Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls
Graduate Seminar: Hebrew and Aramaic Exegesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls
PLANNED COURSES
It's the End of the World as We Know It: Early Jewish and Christian Apocalypses
Early Jewish and Christian Liturgy, from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Didache
Sects and the Cities: the Urban Environment of Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman Societies
Scribal Practices and Interpretive Authority in Early Judaism and Christianity (Graduate)
Pharisaic Christianity: the Legacy of Pharisaic Thought in Paul and Matthew (Graduate)
Greek and Hebrew, all levels
MENTORSHIP OF GRADUATE STUDENTS AND ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
PH.D. DISSERTATION COMMITTEES
Reader for John Falcone (BC IREPM), dissertation on modern pastoral interpretation of Scripture
in view of ancient practices. In preparation.
Reader for Scott Haile, dissertation on the "Messianic Feast" motif in the Bible, early Judaism,
and early Christianity. In preparation.
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 5
Reader for Lucia Kim, "The Chronicler’s Description of the Temple Administration and the
Incorporation of Non-Priestly Cultic Personnel among the Levities." Defended April
2011.
Reader for Elizabeth Keck, "The Glory of Yahweh, Name Theology, and Ezekiel’s
Understanding of Divine Presence." Defended March 2011.
Reader for Melissa Tubbs Loya, "I will utterly sweep everything away from the Fare of the
Earth': Decreation in Israel’s Prophetic Literature." Defended May 2010.
Reader for Catherine Muldoon, "Jonah, Nineveh, and the Problem of Divine Justice." Defended
May 2010.
PH.D. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS COMMITTEES
Kim Bauser, Bible. In preparation for Spring 2013.
Tom Fraatz, Bible. In preparation for Spring 2013.
Joel Kemp, Bible. In preparation for Spring 2013.
Brian Rhea, Bible. In preparation for Spring 2013.
John Falcone, School of Theology and Ministry. Spring 2012.
Jason Houck, Bible. May 2011.
John Barker, Bible. April 2011.
Scott Haile, Bible. May 2009.
Demetrios Tonias, Comparative Theology. February 2009.
Elizabeth Keck, Bible. November 2007.
Catherine Muldoon, Bible. May 2006.
MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES (M.T.S.) THESIS COMMITTEE
Reader for Tom Fraatz, "Keep Watch: The Narrative Function of the Parable of the Doorkeeper
and Jesus' Prayer at Gethsemane." Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Defended May 2009.
UNDERGRADUATE SENIOR THESIS COMMITTEES
Reader for Cathleen Chopra-McGowan, Theology, "hdlwyk: Like a Woman in Travail—An
Examination of the Simile in Prophetic Literature." Submitted May 2010.
Director for Eileen Puzo, Honors College and Theology, "The Joseph Narrative and Its Popular
Re-Narrations: A Study of the Modern Understanding of the Story of Joseph." Submitted
April 2008.
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 6
ACADEMIC SERVICE, LEARNED SOCIETIES AND JOURNALS
Executive Committee, Society of Biblical Literature New England/Eastern Canada Region, 2011–
present
Editorial Consultant, Classical Philology, peer-reviewed journal, University of Chicago, 2011–
present
Editorial Board, ABC/CLIO Enduring Questions: Religion, online peer-reviewed resource for
colleges, 2010–present
ACADEMIC SERVICE, BOSTON COLLEGE
Organizer, "National Uprising or Apocalyptic Conflict? The First Jewish War against Rome (6670 CE) in Sectarian Perspective," public lecture by Mireille Hadas-Lebel, Professor of
Ancient Judaism, the Sorbonne, Paris, Feb. 25, 2009
Organizer, "The Septuagint Translation of the Bible: Between Jews and Christians," public
lecture by Tessa Rajak, Horace W. Goldsmith Visiting Professor in Classics and Judaic
Studies, Yale University, Nov. 26, 2007
Committees:
Planning Committee and lecturer, Tree of Life: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire
Exhibition, MacMullen Museum, 2007- 2008
Theology Department Graduate Educational Policy Committee, 2007-2009; 2012-present
Theology Department Executive Committee, 2008-2010; 2012-present
Bible Area Hebrew Bible Search Committtee, 2008-2009
Faculty Mentor, Intersections Project Halftime 42 Retreat, August 27-29, 2008
ACADEMIC GRANTS AND HONORS
Boston College Research Incentive Grant, Summer 2008. For work on Civic Ideology,
Organization, and Law in the Rule Scrolls: A Comparative Study of the Covenanters' Sect
and Contemporary Voluntary Associations in Political Context.
Boston College Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Fall 2008. For undergraduate editorial work
on Civic Ideology, Organization, and Law in the Rule Scrolls: A Comparative Study of
the Covenanters' Sect and Contemporary Voluntary Associations in Political Context.
Lilly Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Valparaiso University, 2005 (declined)
Cutter-Noyes Greek Translation Prize, University of Chicago, 2003
For "A New Halakic Interpretation of 1 Cor 7:14"
Jerald Brauer Seminar fellowship, University of Chicago Divinity School, 2000, for research in
Sociology and Biblical Interpretation interdisciplinary seminar
Jerald Brauer Seminar fellowship, University of Chicago Divinity School, 1999, for research in
New Testament and Theological Ethics interdisciplinary seminar
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 7
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship for Doctoral Studies, 1998-1999
LANGUAGES
Ancient: Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic
Modern: French, German
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND TEACHING
Instructor, Old Testament Survey, for Deacons in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachussetts,
Spring 2013
"A Most Uncanny Story: The Dead Sea Scrolls, the History of Israel, and Crisis in the Middle
East." Community lecture series, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, MA, December 1,
2011
"Baptism in Ancient Judaism and Christianity: Rites of Purification, Repentance, and Initiation,"
lecture for Adult Faith Formation Program, Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Sharon,
MA, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 10, 2010
"The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Window onto Culture, Community, and Conflict in Early Judaism," 2day public lecture and workshop, Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, August 28-29,
2009
"The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Common Heritage," with Deborah Green, for Rockefeller Memorial
Chapel and Newberger Hillel Center, University of Chicago, delivered at the Field
Museum, Chicago, May 28, 2000
"The Chicago Controversy Over the Dead Sea Scrolls," Ruth Horowitz Memorial Lecture, West
Suburban Temple Har Zion, delivered at the Field Museum, Chicago, April 9, 2000
Instructor, Center for Faith and Life, First Presbyterian Church (USA), New Haven, CT, 20012005. Designed and taught several courses, including:
"J. S. Bach, with Preludes and Postludes": organ and choral performances by Yale artists
centering on Bach's church music, with discussions of his theology and biblical
interpretation
"The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament": introduction to the DSS and their
contribution to our understanding of Christian origins
"Modern Questions and Ancient Answers: The Problem of Scriptural Authority":
exploration of hermeneutical approaches to Scripture from antiquity to the
present, with close analysis of the historical treatment of Scripture in the
Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
"The Body in Faith and Art": Survey of ideological representations of the human body in
religious art, from antiquity to the present.
Presbyterian Chaplain, Yale College, 2004-2005
Yonder Moynihan Gillihan, curriculum vitae / 8
Candidate for Ordination to Ministry of Word and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (USA), 20032010