Dr. William A. Ross

Education

Grove City College, B.S.
Westminster Theological Seminary, MDiv
University of Cambridge, Ph.D.

About Dr. Ross

Dr. William A. Ross is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at RTS Charlotte. His research focuses on biblical languages, the Septuagint, and Old Testament textual studies. Passionate about equipping students with a deep understanding of Scripture, Dr. Ross helps future ministry leaders engage the biblical text with clarity and precision.

Read Full Bio

704-688-4214 wross@rts.edu https://williamaross.com/

Charlotte

Dr. Will Ross

1 min read

God's Rare Gift

Dr. Will Ross preaches a sermon on 1 Kings 4:1-20 in chapel at RTS Charlotte, entitled “God's Rare Gift."

Read

Charlotte

Dr. Will Ross

1 min read

Facing Warfare and Dealing With the Yips

Read

Charlotte

Dr. Will Ross

2 min read

Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text

Read

Charlotte

Dr. Will Ross

1 min read

Postclassical Greek Prepositions and Conceptual Metaphor

Read

Featured Publications

Postclassical Greek Prepositions and Conceptual Metaphor

An Interpretive Lexicon of New Testament Greek

This volume is the result of the 2021 session of the Linguistics and the Biblical Text research group of the Institute for Biblical Research, which addresses the history, relevance, and prospects of broad theoretical linguistic frameworks in the field of biblical studies. Cognitive Linguistics, Functional Grammar, generative linguistics, historical linguistics, complexity theory, and computational analysis are each allotted a chapter, outlining the key theoretical commitments of each approach, their major concepts and/or methods, and their important contributions to contemporary study of the biblical text. As academic disciplines and academic publishing proliferate and become more complex in a digital and global context, synthesising...

Traditional semantic description of Ancient Greek prepositions has struggled to synthesize the varied and seemingly arbitrary uses into something other than a disparate, sometimes overlapping list of senses. The Cognitive Linguistic approach of prototype theory holds that the meanings of a preposition are better explained as a semantic network of related senses that radially extend from a primary, spatial sense. These radial extensions arise from contextual factors that affect the metaphorical representation of the spatial scene that is profiled. Building upon the Cognitive Linguistic descriptions of Bortone (2009) and Luraghi (2009), linguists, biblical scholars, and Greek lexicographers apply these developments to offer more in-depth...

This Interpretive Lexicon has two primary functions aimed at facilitating the exegetical and translational task, namely as a lexicon and also as an interpretive handbook. First, this book lists the vast majority of Greek prepositions, adverbs, particles, relative pronouns, conjunctions, and other connecting words that are notorious for being some of the most difficult words to translate. For each word included, page references are given for several major lexical resources where the user can quickly go to examine the nuances and parameters of the word for translation options. This book will save considerable time for students of the Greek New Testament text. For example, for the Greek preposition en (occurs 2,750 times in the New Testament)...

About Dr. Ross

Dr. William A. Ross is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., where he teaches courses in biblical interpretation and ancient languages, including Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Ross completed his doctoral research at the University of Cambridge as a Cambridge Trust Scholar under James K. Aitken (1968-2023), specializing in the Septuagint, Greek lexicography, and the textual history of the Bible.

Ross’s research interests focus primarily on the Septuagint but also several related fields, especially Second Temple Judaism, post-Classical (“koine”) Greek, linguistics, and the history of biblical philology. He is a member-at-large of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, and serves on steering committees for the Society for Biblical Literature, including the Biblical Lexicography and Cognitive Linguistics in Biblical Interpretation program units. Read Dr. Ross's blog at Septuaginta&c.

Publications

BOOKS

Ruth: A Handbook on the Greek Text. Baylor Handbook on the Septuagint. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2026.
edited with Gregory R. Lanier. Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament: A Critical Synopsis. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2026.
edited with Marieke Dhont and Christopher J. Fresch. Language and Identity in Hellenistic Judaism: Studies in Memory of James K. Aitken. London: T&T Clark, 2026.
edited with Gregory R. Lanier, The Authority of the Septuagint: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Approaches. Grand Rapids: IVP Academic, 2026.
edited with Gregory R. Lanier. Septuaginta: An Abridged Reader’s Edition. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2025.
edited with Elizabeth Robar, Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures; Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2023. [Open Access]
Postclassical Greek and Septuagint Lexicography. SBLSCS 75; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2022.
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: 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

“Donkey Words and Dating the Greek Pentateuch.” Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies 56 (2024): 131–149.
“Some Problems with Talking about ‘Septuagint Greek’.” Journal for the Study of Judaism 54.4–5 (2023): 451–493.
“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.

VOLUME CONTRIBUTIONS

“Horn Vocabulary and the Revision of Old Greek Judges.” Pages 172–193 in Language and Identity in Hellenistic Judaism: Studies in Memory of James K. Aitken. Edited by William A. Ross, Marieke Dhont, and Christopher J. Fresch. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2026.
“Light from East Anglia: Tracing the Influences of the Cambridge School(s) of Septuagint Scholarship.” Pages 231–240 in Language and Identity in Hellenistic Judaism: Studies and Memory of James K. Aitken. Edited by William A. Ross, Marieke Dhont, and Christopher J. Fresch. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2026.
“Flouted Conventions in Septuagint Translation.” Pages 471–84 in Das Erbe der Göttinger Septuaginta. Festschrift aus Anlass des 100. Geburstages von Robert Hanhart (1925–2025). Edited by Felix Albrecht and Reinhard Kratz. De Septuaginta Investigationes 20. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2025.
“Jewish-Greek Translation.” Pages 101–121 in T&T Clark Handbook to Hellenistic Jewish Literature in Greek. Edited by Marieke Dhont and Sean Adams. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2025.
“The Syntax of Year Expressions in Hellenistic Greek Papyri and Ancient Jewish Translation.” Pages 629–642 in Actes du XXXe Congrès international de papyrologie. Paris, 2-30 juillet 2022. Edited by Jean-Luc Fournet. Studia Papyrologica et Aegyptiaca Parisina 7; Paris: Collège de France, 2025.
“Reevaluating Parataxis in the Septuagint.” Pages 111–131 in Subordination and Insubordination in Post-Classical Greek: From Syntax to Context. Edited by Klaas Bentein, Eleonora Cattafi, and Ezra La Roi. Trends in Classics – Greek and Latin Linguistics 6. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2025.
“Ancient Greek Dictionaries.” Pages 4–15 in Conversations on Dictionaries: The Universe in a Book. Edited by Ilan Stavans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025.
“The Question of the Old Testament Text.” Pages 39–64 in The Authority of the Septuagint: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Approaches. Edited by Gregoy R. Lanier and William A. Ross. Grand Rapids: IVP Academic, 2025.
“Bavinck and Philology.” Pages 124–152 in Herman Bavinck: Centenary Essays. Edited by Bruce R. Pass. Studies in Reformed Theology 49. Leiden: Brill, 2024.
“Dictionaries in Religious History and Biblical Interpretation.” Pages 361–384 The Cambridge Handbook of the Dictionary. Edited by Edward Finegan and Michael Adams. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024.
“Cognitive Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Languages.” Pages 111-171 in Linguistic Theory and the Biblical Text. Edited by William A. Ross and Elizabeth Robar. Cambridge Semitic Languages and Cultures. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2023. [Open Access]
“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.
“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.
“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.

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

with Leonard J. Greenspoon, “Septuagint.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies. Edited by Christopher R. Matthews. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
“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.
“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.
“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.

DICTIONARIES & ENCYCLOPEDIAS

“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.
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.