Bruce D. Chilton (born September 27, 1949 Roslyn, NY) is an American scholar of

early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...

and

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 t ...

. He is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

, former Rector of the Church of St John the Evangelist and formerly Lillian Claus Professor of

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He holds a PhD in New Testament from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

( St. John's College). He has previously held academic positions at the Universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster. He wrote the first critical commentary on the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

version of

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

(''The Isaiah

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

'', 1987), as well as academic studies that analyze Jesus in his Judaic context (''A Galilean Rabbi and His Bible'', 1984; ''The Temple of Jesus'', 1992; ''Pure Kingdom'', 1996), and explain the Bible critically (''Redeeming Time: The Wisdom of Ancient Jewish and Christian Festal Calendars'', 2002; ''The Cambridge Companion to the Bible'', 2007). He founded two academic periodicals,

Journal for the Study of the New Testament The ''Journal for the Study of the New Testament'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers five times a year in the field of Biblical studies. It is founded by Bruce Chilton. The current journal's editor is Louise Lawrence (Unive ...

and The Bulletin for Biblical Research. He has also been active in the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and is

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in

Barrytown, New York Barrytown is a hamlet (and census-designated place) within the town of Red Hook in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is within the Hudson River Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and contains four notable Hudson River V ...

. Chilton was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree ''honoris causa'' by

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

in 2011.General Theological Seminary, "Honorary Degrees" October 10, 2011.
/ref> His popular books have been widely reviewed. ''Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography'' showed Jesus' development through the environments that proved formative influences on him. Those environments, illuminated by archaeology and by historical sources, include: (1) rural Jewish Galilee, (2) the movement of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, (3) the towns Jesus encountered as a rabbi, (4) the political strategy of Herod Antipas, and (5) deep controversy concerning the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...

. Bruce and his wife, Odile, live in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. They are the parents of two sons.

Works

Popular books

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Academic books

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Edited by

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Chapters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, Bruce 1949 births Academic journal editors Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge American biblical scholars Bard College faculty Critics of the Christ myth theory Living people New Testament scholars Yale University faculty Members of the Jesus Seminar