A member of the faculty of Biblical Studies at Ashland Theological Seminary since
1995, deSilva has specialized in the fields of Second Temple Judaism, the social and
cultural environment of the first-century Greco-Roman world, the Epistle to the Hebrews,
and the Revelation of John.
deSilva holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Princeton University; a master of
divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, specializing in New Testament
Studies; and a Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University, with emphases on New Testament
interpretation, Roman history, and sociology of religion.
Promoted to associate professor in 1999 and a full professor in 2002, deSilva has
published eleven academic books, including 4 Maccabees: Introduction and Commentary on
the Greek Text (Brill, 2006), An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods
& Ministry Formation (InterVarsity, 2004), Introducing the Apocrypha (Baker Academic,
2000), Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle “to the
Hebrews” (Eerdmans, 2000), and The Hope of Glory: Honor Discourse and New Testament
Interpretation (Liturgical Press, 1999). He has also published over sixty articles in
refereed journals, collections of essays, and reference works.
He has taken leadership roles in the Society of Biblical Literature as a member of
several steering committees and founding program chair of the Rhetoric of Religious
Antiquity seminar. In 2001, deSilva was elected to the Studiorum Novi Testamenti
Societas. He received an Alexander von Humboldt research fellowship to study in
Tuebingen, Germany, for the 2006-2007 academic year.
deSilva is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church,
and has served congregations as an organist and choir director since 1985. He has written
extensively for adult Christian education and spiritual formation resources.
In 2005, he was named the University’s sixth Trustees’ Professor, an academic honor
awarded by the Board of Trustees to a professor who is recognized as an outstanding
educator, researcher and campus leader.
Apostle Paul
Letter to the Hebrews
Revelation of John
Second Temple -- Judism
No subject area
