Mark McEntire

Biography

I have been teaching for over three decades now, in subjects as diverse as biology, physical education, and Biblical Hebrew. When I began studying the Old Testament and its language in graduate school I knew I had found the academic discipline that could energize me for the rest of my life. I have taught in many places, including Illinois, Zambia, Kentucky, Ethiopia, and North Carolina. When I came to Belmont University in the year 2000, I knew I had found a place where I could settle in for a long time and enjoy a productive career of teaching and scholarship. The best thing that Belmont and its students over the years have added to my work is an interest in the intersection of the arts and biblical studies. My teaching colleagues in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry are attuned to this intersection and many other areas of vitality in our field and they bring life to our work together. In this way, Belmont continues to be what I hoped and expected when I came. The field of biblical studies has followed an interesting path during my career. The historical framework that dominated much of my education gave way to a few decades of focus on literary approaches to the text. What I see happening now is a new convergence of methods that allows them to work together and complement each other. This convergence allows for new possibilities in biblical scholarship, like the project I am working on about how the Bible emerged from and addresses urban contexts. That academic work connects with my engagement with my own city through the organization called Nashville Organized for Action and Hope.

Books

Portraits of a Mature God: Choices in Old Testament Theology

The Old Testament Story, 9^th edition

Struggling with God: An Introduction to the Pentateuch

A Chorus of Prophetic Voices: An Introduction to the Prophetic Literature

An Apocryphal God: Beyond Divine Maturity

Raising Cain, Fleeing Egypt, and Fighting Philistines: The Old Testament in Popular Music

Dangerous Worlds: Living and Dying in Biblical Texts

The Blood of Abel: The Violent Plot in the Hebrew Bible

Upcoming Publications

Not Scattered or Confused: The Bible in an Urban World

The Internal Conversation of the Old Testament: Reading a Composite Text

The Old Testament Story, 10^th edition

Links

Website: https://belmont.academia.edu/MarkMcEntire

Blog: http://observingpointsofconvergence.wordpress.com/

Community Engagement: http://www.noahtn.org/