John H. Walton, Old Testament Editor
Ph.D. 1981 Hebrew and Cognate Studies, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, Ohio.
M.A. 1975 Biblical Studies: Old Testament; Wheaton Graduate School
A.B. 1974 Economics/Accounting, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA
Dr. John H. Walton is Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, where he has been a professor since 2001. Dr. Walton came to Wheaton after a 20-year career as a professor at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He has written extensively on the backgrounds of the Old Testament, and has traveled the world lecturing about this field of study.
His publications include Lost World of Adam and Eve (IVP: 2015); Lost World of Scripture (IVP: 2013) with Brent Sandy; Job, NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan: 2012); Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology (Eisenbrauns: 2011); The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament (General Editor, Zondervan, 2009); The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (IVP, 2009); Jonah (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Zondervan: 2008); Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Baker: 2006); and Old Testament Today (Zondervan: 2004).
Dr. Walton summarizes his chosen path of study in this way:
“It was in my college years that I encountered a book by Joseph Free, a former Wheaton professor, called Archaeology and Bible History. It was apologetic in focus but brought to my attention the tremendous impact that archaeology and cultural background studies could have on our understanding of the Old Testament. It was in the very year that I read that book that I made the decision to pursue Old Testament studies as a vocational discipline. Instead of training to be an archaeologist, I determined to focus my attention on studies comparing the culture and literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East.
“I have never lost my fascination with this subject. But comparative studies only provide one of the means by which I try to get people excited about the Old Testament. I am saddened by how little exposure to and understanding of the Old Testament many Christians have, but I am passionate in doing whatever I can do to remedy this spiritual and theological loss.”
Craig S. Keener, New Testament Editor
Ph.D., Duke University, 1991
M.A., M.Div., Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, 1985, 1987
B.A., Central Bible College / Evangel University, 1982
Dr. Craig S. Keener is the F.M. and Ada Thompson professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Seminary, Wilmore, KY. Before coming to Asbury in July 2011, Dr. Keener was professor of New Testament at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University, where he taught for 15 years; before that time he was professor at Hood Theological Seminary. Craig is a sought-after speaker, writer and lecturer on the subject of New Testament cultural backgrounds.
Craig has authored 17 books, five of which have won book awards in Christianity Today. His IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (1993), now in its 2nd revised edition (2014), has sold more than half a million copies (including editions in several languages, more than fifty thousand copies in Korean). His recent books include Acts: An Exegetical Commentary (4 vols., 4500 pages; Baker Academic, 2012–2015); Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (2 vols., Baker Academic, 2011); The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (Eerdmans, 2009); The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Eerdmans, 2009); Romans (Cascade, 2009); 1-2 Corinthians (Cambridge, 2005); The Gospel of John: A Commentary (2 vols., Hendrickson/Baker Academic, 2003).
Dr. Keener describes the origins of his interest in the cultures of the New Testament world:
“Not everyone is called to spend their professional career studying the cultural settings of the Bible, but some of us are called to bring this information in an accessible way to the body of Christ, as in this Bible. I’ve been studying the Bible’s cultural settings since the beginning of my undergraduate work. But the Lord was preparing me for this field of study even before my conversion. Even as an early teenager I was reading the works of Plato and Tacitus, the Roman historian, and spent time studying many different ancient sources.
“After my conversion I said to myself, ‘No, I don’t need to study any of these sources. I’m just going to read the Bible. The Bible is good enough on its own.’ But the more I read the Bible, often 40 chapters a day, the more I realized that the authors took for granted some information that their first readers knew—information that I didn’t have without studying background. Additionally, cross-cultural experiences in Africa, Asia and Latin America have helped me to think more cross-culturally. Both in preaching and teaching contexts, I have found that understanding the culture of the Bible helps my hearers understand the Biblical text more concretely and accurately.”