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Lecturer in Jewish Studies
Peter Lanfer specializes in the history of biblical interpretation, with particular interest in the literature of the Second Temple Period (Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha, and Jewish Pseudepigrapha). His love of ancient manuscripts began while an undergraduate religion major at Dartmouth (B.A. 1998), where he wrote a thesis on biblical interpretation in apocalyptic Judaism and early Christianity with Professors Susan Ackerman and Ehud Benor. He completed his graduate studies at Yale (M.A.R. 2004) and UCLA (Ph.D. 2010).
Peter has written articles on the motifs of the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha, the use of biblical texts in Jewish magic bowls and amulets, and the social role of language choice in Judaism of the Second Temple Period. His recent book, Remembering Eden: The Reception History of Genesis 3: 22-24 (Oxford University Press, USA, 2012) is on the expulsion from the Garden of Eden in early Jewish and Christian literature, and is currently working on a book exploring the interpretations of Noah in the literature of the Second temple Period.
