James R. Davila (born 19601960
/ref>) is an American biblical scholar. He is Professor of Early Jewish Studies and former Principal of

St Mary's College, St Andrews (In the Beginning was the Word) , established = , type = College , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , rector = , chancellor = , principal = Oliver D. Crisp , free_label = Teaching staff , free = 20 , ...

. A specialist in Second Temple

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and Old Testament

Pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...

, Davila is a Participant at the Enoch seminar and a member of the Advisory Board of the Journal Henoch.

Education

Davila received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1982, his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the same institution in 1983, and his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1988. All degrees were awarded

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. His doctoral

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was entitled "Unpublished Pentateuchal Manuscripts from Cave IV, Qumran: 4QGenExa, Genb-h, Genj-k". He was elevated to Professor of Early Jewish Studies at St Mary's College,

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in May 2008. Screen Credit Davila has one television and one movie credit to his name. Davila was credited as Jimmy Davila during his acting career. He appeared in one episode of The Walton's in 1973 called "The Fawn" where he portrayed Harold Beasley. He appeared in the 1975 movie "The Hindenburg" where his character "Flakus" was uncredited.

Publications

Davila has authored, contributed, or edited numerous books and articles.

Books

* * *

References

External links

PaleoJudaica.com: A weblog on ancient Judaism and its context
Davila's blog
Enoch Seminar website

Journal Henoch website
American biblical scholars Scottish scholars and academics Religion academics University of California, Los Angeles alumni Harvard University alumni Academics of the University of St Andrews Judaic studies 1960 births Living people {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub