J. Ross Wagner , Princeton Theological Seminary

I am currently at work on a programmatic, book-length study of the Old Greek version of Isaiah that seeks to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the origin and afterlife of the Septuagint as Jewish and, later, Christian Scripture. Adopting a multifaceted, diachronic approach to a key pericope, Isaiah 8 lxx, I seek to elucidate the translation technique and interpretive methods of the second-century bce Greek translator as well as to illuminate the diverse ways in which the Greek text was received as Scripture by interpreters from the Second Temple Period through the major patristic commentators of the fourth/fifth centuries ce. A principal concern of my investigation throughout is the question of the nature and function of the Greek translations as Scripture for their Jewish and Christian tradents. I am persuaded that attention to this theological dimension of the Septuagint promises to shed light on the complex issues involved in the church’s continuing “search for the Christian Bible” (B.S. Childs) as a constitutive aspect of her faithful interpretation of Holy Scripture.

J. Ross Wagner, Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, earned his Ph.D. from Duke University. His scholarship and teaching revolve around two foci, both of which are concerned with exploring the ways in which Holy Scripture functions in the context of the church’s life and mission. The first centers on the interpretation of Scripture in early Jewish and Christian communities and encompasses investigation of the Old Greek version of Isaiah and its history of effects as well as the use of Scripture in Paul’s writings, Hebrews and 1 Peter. The second focal point is the intersection of biblical interpretation and missional theology. His work in this area includes interdisciplinary dialogue, joint research and team-teaching with colleagues in the fields of Theology and Missiology. Wagner is the author of Heralds of the Good News: Paul and Isaiah “In Concert” in the Letter to the Romans and co-editor of two recent volumes: The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays (with C. Kavin Rowe and A. Katherine Grieb) and Römer 9–11 (with Florian Wilk). Currently co-chair of the Pauline Soteriology Group of the Society of Biblical Literature, he also serves on the editorial board of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. In 2006–07, he was a Humboldt Research Fellow at the University of Göttingen. During his residence at the Center of Theological Inquiry, he will work on a book on the reception of the Greek versions of Isaiah by early Christian interpreters.