Meet our

faculty & Staff

Paul Overland

Paul Overland, Ph.D.

Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages
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Dr. Overland’s gentle spirit and incredible kindness are the first things one notices upon meeting him, and a certain depth marks his interactions with others. He has a love for the Hebrew Scriptures and his desire as a professor is to awaken that same appreciation in his students. Through his classes, students deepen their ability to hear God’s voice in His Word.

Both Dr. Overland and his wife Lorie spent a portion of their childhood years in Japan. Upon completion of a doctoral program, they returned for two wonderful years to join the Tokyo Biblical Seminary faculty. Due to their time overseas, the Overlands have a deep appreciation for the richness of Asian culture.

Outside of his position at ATS, Dr. Overland is drawn to adventure, filling his free time with cycling, backpacking, and woodworking.

Publications

Books

  • Learning Biblical Hebrew Interactively, 2 vols. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2014 (revised 2016, student and instructor editions, with instructional videos at http://www.learningbiblicalhebrewinteractively.com/).
  • Millim: Words for Conversation in the Biblical Hebrew Classroom. Lexington, Kentucky: GlossaHouse Publishers, 2016.
  • Proverbs, Apollos Old Testament Commentary Series (IVP-UK). Under contract and in progress.

Projects

  • Communicative Hebrew Learning and Teaching Project. Project director for three-year, eleven-member collaborative team, developing and testing Biblical Hebrew curriculum employing a Second Language Acquisition approach. This led to writing the introductory Hebrew textbook, Learning Biblical Hebrew Interactively.
    Hebrew Out Loud: Computer-Assisted Vocalization Acquisition (self-published tutorial CD resource for students, 2004).

Articles

  • “Abel,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2002), pp. 4-6.
  • “Caleb,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2002), pp. 110-11.
  • “Can Communicative Methods Enhance Ancient Language Acquisition?”, Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion 7:1 (January 2004), pp. 51-57.
  • “Can Communicative Principles Enhance Classical Language Acquisition?”, with Lee Fields and Jennifer Noonan, co-authors, Foreign Language Annals 44:3 (Fall 2011), pp. 583-93.
  • “Chiasm,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2008), pp. 54–57.
  • “Did the Sage Draw from the Shema? A Study of Proverbs 3:1-12,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly (July, 2000), pp. 424-40.
  • “Four Friends,” a sermon published in Ashland Theological Journal (2001), pp. 1-6.
  • “Hagar,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2002), pp. 376-79.
  • “The Instruction of Amenemope,” in The Library of Wisdom: An Encyclopedia of Ancient Sayings Collections. Walter Wilson, ed. SBL (forthcoming).
  • “Prov. 3:1-12: Instructions About Integrity and Piety,” Hayama Seminar Annual Report 31, “Heisei” (Tokyo, 1990), pp. 97-113.
  • “Rhetorical Criticism,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2008), pp. 655-63.
  • “Shoah in the World of the Sages,” Shofar 23 (Winter 2005), pp. 1-9.
  • “Structure in The Wisdom of Amenemope and Proverbs,” in “Go to the Land I Will Show You”: Studies in Honor of Dwight W. Young, ed. Joseph Coleson and Victor Matthews (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1996), pp. 279–95.
  • “Teaching Biblical Hebrew to Oral-Preference Learners,” in Hebrew Higher Education 19 (2017), co-authored with Jennifer Noonan, pp. 1–14.
  • “Then the King of Nineveh Spoke,” in Hador: The Hebrew Annual of America 7 (2016), pp. 184-87.
  • “Wisdom,” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2005), pp. 984-89.
  • “Wisdom Traditions of Ancient Israel,” Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts of Ancient Israel, ed. Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, and John H. Walton (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), pp. 499–505.
  • “A Word from God in Wisdom Literature,” Kodo 25, “The Living Word of God-Logos” (1989), pp. 14-18 (Japanese).

Professional Papers

  • “‘As was the Custom in Those Days’: Teaching Language through Culture,” paper co presented at National Association of Professors of Hebrew / SBL Meeting (Atlanta, GA), November 2015.
  • “Assets of Communicative Language Teaching for an Oral-Based Culture: a Field Report,” paper co-presented with Jennifer Noonan at National Association of Professors of Hebrew International Meeting (Memphis, TN), June 2015.
  • “Can Second Language Acquisition Theory Enhance Ancient Language Acquisition?” paper presented to Biblical Languages Pedagogy Section: Hebrew, Society of Biblical Literature (Philadelphia), November 2005.
  • “Communicative Language Learning for Biblical Hebrew,” collaborative report of three year grant-funded pedagogy exploration, presented to National Association of Professors of Hebrew meeting at Society of Biblical Literature (Boston), November 2008.
  • “Communicative Language Teaching: Second Language Methods for Ancient Language Acquisition,” paper presented to National Association of Professors of Hebrew meeting at Society of Biblical Literature (Philadelphia), November 2005.
  • “Communicative Language Teaching in a ‘Flipped’ Classroom,” paper presented to National Association of Professors of Hebrew, Society of Biblical Literature (Baltimore), November 2013.
  • “Communicative Method for Teaching Biblical Hebrew,” a session sponsored by National Association of Professors of Hebrew devoted to reviewing textbook authored by Overland: Learning Biblical Hebrew Interactively, vols. 1-2, Sheffield, revised 2016), in conjunction with Society of Biblical Literature (Boston), November 2017.
  • “Humility and Moderation in the Prayers of Agur (Proverbs 30) and Jesus,” paper presented at Society of Biblical Literature (Denver), November 2001.
  • “Leaps in Language Pedagogy: The Journey from ‘Display Sentences’ to ‘Meaningful Communication,’” paper presented to Applied Linguistics and Biblical Languages section, Evangelical Theological Society (San Diego), November. 2019.
  • “One Model for Content-Based Instruction through L2 Exegetical Discussion of a Hebrew Text,” paper presented to Applied Linguistics for Biblical Languages section, Society of Biblical Literature (Baltimore), November 2013.
  • “Poetry in the Service of Persuasion: The Book of Proverbs,” paper presented at Society of Biblical Literature (Denver), November 2001.
  • “Revisiting Paleographic Dating of the Earliest Amenemope Fragment,” paper presented at Society of Biblical Literature (Chicago), November 2012.
  • “The Rhetoric of Attention-Getting Devices as Segment Markers in Proverbs,” paper presented at Society of Biblical Literature (San Diego), November 2007.
  • “Use of a Graduated Immersion Format to Teach Language Through Culture,” paper presented at Evangelical Theological Society (Providence, RI), November 2017.

Reviews

  • Brueggemann, Walter. Isaiah (Westminster Bible Companion Commentary Series). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
  • Clifford, Richard J. Proverbs (Old Testament Library Series). Louisville, KY: Westminster, 1999. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2000).
    ______. The Wisdom Literature (Interpreting Biblical Texts Series). Nashville: Abingdon, 1998. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
    Fontaine, Carole. Smooth Words: Women, Proverbs and Performance in Biblical Wisdom, JSOT Supp 356. London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002. Reviewed for Themelios 29:2 (Spring 2004).
  • Fox, Michael V. Proverbs 1-9 (Anchor Bible Series). New York: Doubleday, 2000. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
    Gowan, Donald E. Theology of the Prophetic Books: The Death and Resurrection of Israel. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2000).
  • “Hebrew Speaktionary” CDROM by Living Israeli Hebrew. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
  • Longman, Tremper. Song of Songs (NICOT). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2003).
  • Mitchel, Larry A. A Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017. Reviewed for Review of Biblical Literature (2018).
  • Murphy, Roland E., and Elizabeth Huwiler. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (New International Bible Commentary Series). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2003).
  • Pleins, J. David. Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary by Conceptual Categories: A Student’s Guide to Nouns in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017. Reviewed for Review of Biblical Literature (2018).
  • Renkema, Johan. Lamentations (Historical Commentary on the Old Testament Series). Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 1998. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
    Seekins, Frank T. Hebrew Word Pictures. Phoenix, AZ: Living Word Pictures Inc., 1994. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal, (2003).
  • Walsh, Carey Ellen. Exquisite Desire: Religion, the Erotic, and the Song of Songs. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2003).
  • Wells, David F. Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2000).
  • Wharton, James A. Job (Westminster Bible Companion Series). Louisville, KY: Westminster, 1999. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2001).
  • Whybray, Roger N. The Book of Proverbs: A Survey of Modern Study. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995. Reviewed for Ashland Theological Journal (2003).
  • Zeraatpishe, Mitra; Faravani, Akram; Reza Kargozari, Hamid; Azarnoosh, Maryam, eds. Issues in Applying SLA Theories toward Reflective and Effective Teaching.Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, Inc., 2018. Reviewed for online journal of Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, December 10, 2019 (https://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/resources/book-reviews/).