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Mr Hans Decker

BA, MDiv, ThM

Hans Decker received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at the University of Dallas in 2009, where he began to develop his interests in literary analysis and interpretation.

His passion for literature merged with biblical studies during his work at seminary, earning his Master of Divinity. After seminary, he pursued a research-oriented Master of Theology degree at Harvard University, where he worked under the supervision of Peter Machinist, doing research on the book of Qohelet. His thesis was entitled, Meaning Everything Under the Sun: Metaphor as an Expression of Paradox in Koheleth.

His research at Harvard has helped to inform his current doctoral research at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Hindy Najman, where he is studying the effect of anthologizing meshalim and the way it shapes interpretive practices in the wisdom tradition.

Research Interests

Proverbial literature, interpretive practices, literary structure, narrative, metaphor, ethical reading, ancient education, Judaism in the Hellenistic world

Selected Publications

“Anthology as Intertext: Ambiguity and Generative Interpretation in Qohelet.” In Intertextuality and Hebrew Bible: Whence and Whither. Society of Biblical Literature. Forthcoming, 2018.