Dr. James Mead Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
Education:
Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
M.A., M.Div., Reformed Theological Seminary
B.A., Georgetown University
712-707-7028
jmead@nwciowa.edu
VPH 115E
Now ordained in the Reformed Church in America, Dr. Mead served as a Presbyterian pastor for 11 years prior to entering Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned a doctorate in biblical studies. His research interests include Old Testament prophets as well as the theology of the Old Testament’s historical books. In 2007 Westminster John Knox Press published a textbook by Dr. Mead titled Biblical Theology: Issues, Methods, and Themes. Dr. Mead received the Northwestern Teaching Excellence Award in 2023.
HEB101 - Elementary Biblical Hebrew and Culture
(4 credits, alternate years, consult department) This course will focus on learning the basics of biblical Hebrew (vocabulary and grammar) and the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the Old Testament. Readings from the different types of literature in the Hebrew Bible will be incorporated into the course work. The Old Testament writings will be studied against the historical and social backgrounds of the ancient Near East.
For the past five years, Dr. Mead's major area of scholarly work has been in biblical theology. His introductory textbook for that field was published by Westminster John Knox in 2007. During a sabbatical in 2009-10, he studied Jewish biblical theology, particularly as the theological methods and themes of the primary sources (e.g. Mishnah and Talmudim) suggest points of contact for Christian biblical theology. He is currently working on issues concerning the relationship of faith and history in biblical scholarship.
Pastoral Interim, Old Tennent Presbyterian Church, Tennent, New Jersey
Teaching Fellow, Princeton Theological Seminary
Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Magnolia, Arkansas
Pastor, Vidalia Presbyterian Church, Vidalia, Louisiana
Society of Biblical Literature
Institute for Biblical Research
Ordained minister: Presbyterian Church (USA) 1984-2014; Reformed Church in America (2015-)
Northwestern Endowed Research Fellowship, 2009
Teaching Excellence Award, Northwestern College, 2004
Howard Clark Kee Presentation Award, for best student paper at the Mid-Atlantic Regional of the Society of Biblical Literature, 1998
