Kristian S. Heal

Kristian Heal received a bachelor's degree in Jewish history and Hebrew from University College, London, and a Master of Studies in Syriac studies from Oxford University. He took his Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Birmingham. His thesis is on the figure of the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph in early Syriac literature.

Kristian joined the staff of the Maxwell Institute as a research scholar in 2000. Since 2004 he has served the Director of the Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts. He also serves as a co-editor of the Library of the Christian East, published by BYU Press.

Kristian was born and raised in Suffolk, England. He is married to Vicki-Bronwen, and they live in Provo with their five children.

Research Interests

Biblical figures in early Syriac tradition
Dramatic Dialogue Poetry
Narsai and other early Syriac homilists

Publications

Works-in-Progress

• Translation (with Bas Ter Haar Romeny) of Peshitta Genesis for the New English Annotated Translation of the Syriac Bible (To be submitted to Brill 2011)
• Translation of the Syriac History of Joseph for More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha volume (edited by Richard Bauckham and James R. Davila)
• Editing (with Robert Kitchen) a collection of essays on the Syriac Book of Steps (to be submitted to Catholic University of America Press, 2010)

Articles and Chapters

• 'Reworking the Biblical Text in the Dramatic Dialogue Poems on the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph'. Pages 87-98 in The Peshitta: Its use in Literature and Liturgy, edited by Bas Ter Haar Romeny. Brill, 2007.
• 'Joseph as a Type of Christ in the Syriac Tradition'. BYU Studies 41,1 (2002): 29-49.

On-line and Electronic Research Tools

• Kristian S. Heal and Carl W. Griffin eds., Syriac Manuscripts from the Vatican Library, Volume 1. DVD-Rom. Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana; Brigham Young University, 2005.
• (Associate Producer), The Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library: Revised Edition, 2006. Brill, 2006.
• (With David G.K. Taylor and Carl Griffin), The Syriac Studies Reference Library. Harold B. Lee Library, 2006 (Online collection: http://www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/cua/)