Current Ph.D. Students at the Trinity Centre for Biblical Studies

Irene Barbotti

Ph.D. Student
My project is titled: Beatitudes and Woes in the Synoptic Tradition: a Catalogue of the Q-Source? I graduated in Philosophy (BA, MA) at Università degli Studi (Milan) and I am now a Ph.D. Researcher in the field of the New Testament (Religious Studies), with a particular focus in the range of historical-critical studies and two-sources hypothesis criticism. The goal of this research is threefold: 1. it aims to deepen the complementary value of the sets of beatitudes and woes attested by Matthew and Luke; 2. it attempts to reconstruct the hypothetical Q-catalogue that may originated these sets of sayings; 3. it investigates their peculiar use in the narratological structures of these two gospels.

Email: barbotti@tcd.ie

Supervisor: Ben Wold

Simon Brummer

Stephen Huws

My thesis looks at the reception of biblical stories featuring the Virgin Mary which are found in the Lucan corpus, that is, the Gospel of Luke and book of Acts of the Apostles. The approach is one of iconography and of reception, looking at how these windows relate to the art history of their respective subjects and how they related to the biblical text, and later textual tradition. The case study covers the period from 1850, when stained glass begins to appear in greater numbers in Ireland up until 1931 and the death of Harry Clarke, one of Ireland’s highest regarded artists. Mary is both a fruitful and highly revealing subject matter for the purpose of this study, given both the prolific depictions of her in Christian art and the diverse choices made in portraying her, which allow us insight into understandings of the Bible and faith of artists, patrons and congregations.

Email: huwss@tcd.ie

Supervisor: David Shepherd

Leszek Lech

Ph.D. Student
My Ph.D. thesis investigates aspects of religious experience in early Christian apocalyptic writings, especially in the Ascension of Isaiah which originates with a Jewish text. This composition is particularly important because it is widely considered to be important for the study of early Jewish and Christian apocalyptic. I am analyzing fragments of the writing that may be expressions of ancient Christians and how they expressed their encounters with the divine. This research is based on the observation that these texts often have as their raison d’être in some religious experience of author and/or of community.

Email: lechl@tcd.ie.

Supervisor: Ben Wold

Jadesmon Saragih

Ph.D. Student
My research is an investigation into the reception of destruction of Jerusalem in Luke’s special material. It is driven first by an interest in the reception and place of Luke in light of the second century Marcionite controversy. The debate on the relationship between Luke and Marcion’s Gospel suggests that more adequate attention to the sources of Luke and assessment of its integrity and redaction are required. We not only recognize the impact of Marcion but also consider the background of such a movement to move away from Jewish roots. This study attempts to clarify the interpretation of the event as an identity formation of the early church through the use of destruction and punishment material.

Email: saragihj@tcd.ie.

Supervisor: Ben Wold

Rachel Wilkowski

Ph.D. Student
My project is on The Poor in Spirit in the Gospel of Matthew: Poverty and Formations of the Self in Second Temple Texts. I am focused on the meaning of Matthew’s phrase “poor in spirit.” By modifying a Greek term typically reserved as a reference to material poverty with the phrase in spirit, Matthew has drawn upon a deep exegetical stream not only within Second Temple Jewish texts but also within ancient Greek texts that develops various models of subjectivity to explore the human condition (sometimes by commoditizing the self). My research explores Matthew within the context of these diverse Second Temple Jewish models of self (with special focus on 4QInstruction and the Hodayot).

Email: sykesj@tcd.ie

Supervisor: Ben Wold

Hairuo Wang

Ph.D. Student
My research aims to shed light on the Syrophoenician woman, a marginal biblical character who appears in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, and in other early Christian writings, such as the pseudo-Clementine literature. In my research, I apply the model of intersectionality as an analytical framework to examine the Syrophoenician woman’s complex social identities, and to visualize how different literary representations of the woman have epitomized changes in her social locations as perceived by the authors. Prior to my beginning as a Ph.D. student, I read for the M.A. in New Testament at Yale Divinity School and the M.Sc. in Biblical Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Supervisor: Professor Daniele Pevarello

Kyle Young

Ph.D. Student
My research focuses on analysing whether isomorphism uniquely characterises Aquila and Targum Onqelos’ translation techniques in the context of other ancient translations and translation characteristics. I hope to shed further light on the historical association between Aquila and Targum Onqelos and to consider whether the καίγε tradition is an exclusively Greek or perhaps multilingual phenomenon.

Email: youngky@tcd.ie 

Ivan Petrovski:

Ph.D. Student
My research will examine the role and character of God as revealed in the book of Samuel by focusing on two themes present in this book: hearing (God’s voice) and (divine) silence. The primary attention will be given to the eight divine/prophetic oracles in which God either directly, or indirectly (through a prophet), addresses individuals (Eli, Saul and David) and the nation of Israel. The fact that the role of God and His character in the book of Samuel have not been fully explored from the perspective of God’s voice/silence suggests that this thesis fulfils an obvious need from the perspective of the academic study of the book of Samuel.

Email: petrovsi@tcd.ie

Supervisor: Prof. David Shepherd

Maicol Cortes:

Ph.D. Students
My project examines the eschatological war motif in Revelation, the War Scroll (1QM), Daniel, and other Second Temple literature describing wars (e.g., 1 Maccabees). I am especially interested in liturgical patterns in the portrayal of battle and conflict. To date, there is no sustained study focused on John’s Apocalypse and the War Scroll. Directly before coming to Ireland to take up Ph.D. studies in ancient Judaism and early Christianity I studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (MA) and the University of Lorraine, France (MA).

Email: cortesm@tcd.ie

Supervisor: Prof. Ben Wold