Education
Grove City College, B.S.
Westminster Theological Seminary, MDiv
University of Cambridge, Ph.D.
About Dr. Ross
Dr. William A. Ross (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C. He joined the faculty in 2019 and teaches courses in Old Testament interpretation and ancient languages, including Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and others. He is also a teaching elder in the PCA.
Prior to coming to Charlotte, Ross completed his doctoral work at the University of Cambridge as a Cambridge Trust Scholar under Dr. James K. Aitken, specializing in the Septuagint, Greek language, and Old Testament textual history. Prior to that, Ross had earned an MDiv at Westminster Theological Seminary in his home town of Philadelphia.
Dr. Ross’s research interests focus mainly on the Septuagint but also numerous related topics, especially postclassical Greek, linguistics, Judaism, textual criticism, and the history of biblical philology. Currently, Ross is co-chair of the Septuagint Studies unit at ETS, the Linguistics and the Biblical Text research group at IBR, and the Biblical Lexicography program unit at SBL. Ross is also a member of the Biblia latina e historiografía eclesiástica: edición y estudio de textos research project (2021-2024) based at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid. He blogs regularly at Septuaginta&c.
Dr. Ross and his wife, Kelli, live in the Charlotte area and have four children.
Publications
BOOKS
- edited with Elizabeth Robar, Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures; Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, forthcoming.
- Postclassical Greek and Septuagint Lexicography. SBLSCS 75; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2022.
- edited with Steven E. Runge, Postclassical Greek Preposition and Conceptual Metaphor: Cognitive Semantic Analysis and Biblical Exegesis. FoSub 12. Berlin: DeGruyter, 2022.
- with Gregory R. Lanier, The Septuagint: What it is and Why it Matters. Wheaton: Crossway, 2021.
- edited with W. Edward Glenny) T&T Clark Handbook of Septuagint Research. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2021.
- with Gregory R. Lanier, A Book-by-Book Guide to Septuagint Vocabulary. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2019.
- edited with Gregory R. Lanier, Septuaginta: A Reader’s Edition. 2 vols.; Peabody: Hendrickson, 2018.
- with G. K. Beale and Daniel J. Brendsel, An Interpretive Lexicon of New Testament Greek: Analysis of Prepositions, Adverbs, Particles, Relative Pronouns, and Conjunctions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.
JOURNAL ARTICLES
- “Some Problems with Talking about ‘Septuagint Greek’.” Journal for the Study of Judaism, forthcoming.
- “Sidney Jellicoe and the Formation of the IOSCS (1967–1969).” Journal for Septuagint and Cognate Studies 55 (2022): 9–30.
- “The Past Decade in Septuagint Research (2012–2021).” Currents in Biblical Research 21 (2022): 269–337.
- “Questioning the ‘Opposition’ and Interpretatio Christiana in Marcus Aurelius (Med. 11.3).” Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 95 (2019): 667–687.
- “David’s Spiritual Walls and Conceptual Blending in Psalm 51.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43.4 (2019): 607–626.
- “Septuagint Lexicography and Language Change in Greek Judges,” in Tyndale Bulletin 70.1 (2019): 156–60.
- “Style and Familiarity in Judg 19,7 (Old Greek): Establishing Dependence in the Septuagint.” Biblica 98.1 (2017): 25-36.
- “Ὦ ἀνόητοι καὶ βραδεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ: Luke, Aesop, and Reading Scripture.” Novum Testamentum 58.4 (2016): 369-79.
- “Text-Critical Question Begging in Nahum 1,2-8: Re-evaluating the Evidence and Arguments.” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 127.3 (October 2015): 459-74.
EDITED VOLUME CONTRIBUTIONS
- “Donkey Words and Dating the Greek Pentateuch.” In XVIII Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies: Zurich, 2022. Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Edited by M. Dhont, A. Salvesen, J. Alfaro, and G. Kotzé. Atlanta: SBL Press, forthcoming.
- “Cognitive Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Languages.” In Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Edited by William A. Ross and Elizabeth Robar. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, forthcoming.
- “Bavinck and Philology.” In Herman Bavinck: Centenary Essays. Edited by Bruce R. Pass. Studies in Reformed Theology. Leiden: Brill, forthcoming.
- “Dictionaries in Religious History and Biblical Interpretation.” In The Cambridge Handbook of the Dictionary. Edited by Edward Finegan and Michael Adams. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming.
- “Introduction.” Pages 1–10 in Postclassical Greek Preposition and Conceptual Metaphor: Cognitive Semantic Analysis and Biblical Interpretation. Edited by William A. Ross and Steven E. Runge. Fontes et Subsidia ad Bibliam pertinentes 12. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2022.
- “Construals of Faith in ἐν and ἐκ Prepositional Constructions.” Pages 123–152 in Postclassical Greek Preposition and Conceptual Metaphor: Cognitive Semantic Analysis and Biblical Interpretation. Edited by William A. Ross and Steven E. Runge. Fontes et Subsidia ad Bibliam pertinentes 12. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2022.
- “Modern Language Translations of the Septuagint.” Pages 329–344 in T&T Clark Handbook of Septuagint Research. Edited by William A. Ross and W. Edward Glenny. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2021.
- “Introduction.” Pages 1–5 in T&T Clark Handbook of Septuagint Research. Edited by William A. Ross and W. Edward Glenny. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2021.
- “The ‘Scissors and Paste’ Septuagint Concordance in the Bodleian Library (Auct. E 1.2,3).” Pages 882–98 in 7. Internationale Fachtagung von Septuaginta-Deutsch (July 2018). Edited by Martin Meiser et al. WUNT 444; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020.
- “Some Aspects of Παιδάριον and Νεανίσκος in Ptolemaic Egypt.” Pages 189–205 in The Legacy of Soisalon-Soininen: Towards a Syntax of Septuagint Greek. Edited by Tuukka Kauhanen and Hanna Vanonen; DSI 13; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020.
- “Reading the Septuagint Alongside the Hebrew Bible.” Pages 162–164 in Hebrew for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving Biblical Hebrew. Edited by Adam Howell; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.
- “The Septuagint as Catalyst for Language Change in the Koine: A Usage-Based Approach.” Pages 383–97 in Die Septuaginta — Geschichte. Wirkung. Relevanz: 6. Internationale Fachtagung von Septuaginta-Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 21.-24. Juli 2016. Edited by Martin Meiser, Michaela Geiger, Siegfried Kreuzer, and Marcs Sigismund. WUNT 405; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018.
- “Lexical Possibilities in Septuagint Research: Revision and Expansion.” Pages 341–59 in XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies: Munich, 2013. Edited by Wolfgang Kraus, Martin Meiser, and Michaël van der Meer. SBLSCS 64. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016.
DICTIONARIES & ENCYCLOPEDIAS
- Entries for “Body Parts” through “Bronze” (Hebrew). In The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words. Edited by Tremper Longman III and Mark Strauss; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023.
- “δεξιός,” in Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint. Volume 2; edited by Eberhard Bons. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming.
- “διώκω, ἐκδιώκω, καταδιώκω,” in Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint. Volume 2; edited by Eberhard Bons. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
- “εὐώνυμος.” In Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint. Volume 2; edited by Eberhard Bons. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming.
- “Lexicons of New Testament and Septuagint Greek, History of,” in Encyclopedia of Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics. Edited by Dana Harris, Christopher Land, Jonathan Watt, and Stanley Porter. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, forthcoming.
- “Septuagint as a Translation,” in Encyclopedia of Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics. Edited by Dana Harris, Christopher Land, Jonathan Watt, and Stanley Porter. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, forthcoming.
- “Muraoka, Takamitsu,” in Encyclopedia of Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics. Edited by Dana Harris, Christopher Land, Jonathan Watt, and Stanley Porter. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, forthcoming.
See this webpage for a list of book reviews.
ONLINE PUBLICATIONS & INTERVIEWS
- The Most Important Bible Translation You’ve Never Heard Of, Text & Canon Institute
- The Oldest Bible Translation, Bible Study Magazine
- Interview on “Greek and Septuagint Lexicography” on the Biblical Languages podcast (Season 4 Episode 2).
- Interview on the Guilt, Grace, Gratitude podcast (June 2021)
- “The Oldest Bible Translation,” Bible Study Magazine (March/April 2021)
- Interview on the Biblingual YouTube channel (March 2021)
- This Recent Dead Sea Scrolls Discovery May Impact Septuagint Studies, The Logos Blog
- “What is the Septuagint” on Digging for Truth (November 2020; WBPH Studios, Part I and Part II)
- Interview about Septuaginta: A Reader’s Edition on the New Books Network podcast (May 2019)
- Interview about Septuaginta: A Reader’s Edition on the Tool Talk podcast (November 2018)
- “Reading the Old Testament (in Greek),” Credo Magazine (September 2018)