Machiela Daniel, Associate Professor
Daniel Machiela
Associate Professor
Adjunct and Associate Members
Department of Religious Studies
Area(s) of Interest:
Biography
Research Interests
My research and teaching are focused on the history, literature, archeology, languages, and social milieus of ancient Judaism. Areas of special interest include the formation and reception of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Aramaic and Hebrew language, ancient forms of biblical interpretation, and the Jewish setting of the New Testament.
My published research has focused especially on the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Jewish interpretation of the Bible. I am currently working on several, coordinated projects concerned with the Dead Sea Scrolls written in Aramaic. In my graduate seminars, I tend to stress direct engagement with primary texts and relevant ancient languages.
**At this time, Daniel Machiela is not accepting new graduate students.**
Education
- Ph.D. University of Notre Dame, 2007
- M.A. Jerusalem University College, 2000
- B.B.A. Grand Valley State University, 1998
Teaching
Courses
Undergraduate
- Archaeology and the Bible (1AB3)
- From Creation to Exile: Exploring the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (2HB3)
- The Five Books of Moses (2DD3)
- The Bible as Literature (2VV3/Comp.Lit. 2GO3)
- Psalms and Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible (3MO3)
- The Jewish World at the Time of the New Testament (3DD3)
Graduate
- Readings in Aramaic Texts: Biblical Aramaic, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Other Aramaica (RS 739)
- The Dead Sea Scrolls: Texts and Topics (742)
- Topics in Rabbinic Judaism: Introduction to Early Rabbinic Hermeneutics (RS 744)
- Topics in Early Jewish Literature – The Origins and Early History of Biblical Commentary (RS 747)
- Translating and Interpreting Isaiah in (and beyond) the Second Temple Period (747/761)
Research
My research focuses on the ancient Jewish thought and literature, including the early history and reception of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament within Second Temple period Judaism. The following selection of publications gives an idea of the scope of my research.
Monographs
- The Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations, Volume 8: Genesis Apocryphon and Related Texts. Series Editor James H. Charlesworth. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck/Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2018.
- The Dead Sea Genesis Apocryphon: A New Text Edition and Translation with Introduction and Special Treatment of Columns 13-17. STDJ 79; Leiden: Brill, 2009.

Edited Volumes
- The Reconfiguration of Hebrew in the Hellenistic Period: Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira at Strasbourg University, June 2014. Edited with Jan Joosten and Jean-Sebastien Rey. STDJ 124; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2018.
- A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C. VanderKam, Volume Two. Edited with Kelley Coblentz Bautch and Angela Kim Harkins. JSJSup 153; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2011.
Journal Articles
- "Is the Testament of Qahat Part of the Visions of Amram? Material and Literary Considerations of 4Q542 and 4Q547," Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period.
- "Aramaic Writings of the Second Temple Period and the Growth of Apocalyptic Thought: Another Survey of the Texts," Judaïsme ancient/Ancient Judaism 2 (2014): 113–34.
- "Lord or God? Tobit and the Tetragrammaton," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 75 (2013): 463–72.
- "Tobit and the Genesis Apocrypon: Toward a Family Portrait," Journal of Biblical Literature 133 (2014): 111–32. (with Andrew B. Perrin)
- "The Qumran Pesharim as Biblical Commentaries: Historical Context and Lines of Development," Dead Sea Discoveries 19 (2012): 313–62.
- "That You May Know Everything from Him with Certainty: A New Reading of 4QEnGiantsb ar (4Q530) and a Literary Connection between the Book of Giants and Genesis Apocryphon," Revue de Qumran 97 (2011): 113–25. (with Andrew B. Perrin)
- "Some Egyptian Elements in the Genesis Apocryphon: Evidence of a Ptolemaic Social Location?" Aramaic Studies 8 (2010): 47–69.
- "Once More, with Feeling: Rewritten Scripture in Ancient Judaism - A Review of Recent Developments," Journal of Jewish Studies 61 (2010): 308–20.
- "A Brief History of the Second Temple Period Name 'Hyrcanus'," Journal of Jewish Studies 61 (2010): 117–38.
- "Each to Their Own Inheritance: Geography as an Evaluative Tool in the Genesis Apocryphon," Dead Sea Discoveries 15 (2008): 50–66.
- "Who is the Aramean in Deut 26:5 and what is He Doing? Evidence of a Minority View from Qumran Cave 1 (1QapGen 19.8)," Revue de Qumran 91 (2008): 395–403.
Essays
- "The Hebrew of the Book of Jubilees at Qumran," in New Aspects of the Texts and Language of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira (ed. Steven Fassberg and Moshe Bar-Asher; STDJ; Leiden: Brill, forthcoming).
- "The Compositional Setting and Implied Audience of Some Aramaic Texts from Qumran: A Working Hypothesis,” in Vision, Narrative, and Wisdom in the Aramaic Texts from Qumran: Essays from the Copenhagen Symposium, 14-15 August, 2017 (ed. M. Bundvad and K. Siegismund; STDJ 131; 2020), 168-202
- "The Hebrew of Tobit in 4Q200: A Contextual Reassessment," in The Reconfiguration of Hebrew in the Hellenistic Period: Proceedings of the Seventh International Symposium on the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Ben Sira at Strasbourg University, June 2014. Edited by Daniel Machiela, Jan Joosten, and Jean-Sebastien Rey. STDJ 124; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2018.
- "Situating the Aramaic Texts from Qumran: Reconsidering Their Language and Socio-Historical Settings," in Apocalyptic Thinking in Early Judaism: Engaging with John Collins’ The Apocalyptic Imagination (ed. Sidnie White Crawford and Cecilia Wassen; JSJSup; Leiden: Brill, 2018).
- "The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls: Hellenistic Period Witnesses to Jewish Apocalyptic Thought," in The Seleucid and Hasmonean Periods and the Apocalyptic Worldview (ed. Lester L. Grabbe et al.; LSTS 88; London: Bloomsbury, 2016), 147–56.
- "The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls: Coherence and Context of the Qumran Library," in The Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran and the Concept of a Library (Ed. Sidnie White Crawford and Cecilia Wassen; STDJ 116; Leiden: Brill, 2015), 243–58.
- "Luke 13:10–13: 'Woman, You Have Been Set Free from Your Ailment' - Illness, Demon Possession, and Laying on Hands in Light of Second Temple Period Jewish Literature," in The Gospels in First Century Judaea (ed. R. Steven Notley and Jeffrey Paul Garcia; JCPS 29; Leiden: Brill, 2015), 122–35.
- "1Q20 (1QapGen ar)," in Dead Sea Scrolls Handbook (ed. Devorah Dimant and Donald W. Parry; Leiden: Brill, 2015), 11–28.
- "Hebrew, Aramaic, and the Differing Phenomena of Targum and Translation in the Second Temple Period and Post-Second Temple Period," in The Language Environment of First Century Judaea: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels – Volume 2 (ed. R. Buth and R. S. Notley; JCPS 26; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2014), 209–46.
- "On the Importance of Being Abram: Genesis Apocryphon 18, Jubilees 10:1-13:4, and Further Thoughts on a Possible Literary Relationship," in A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C. VanderKam (2 vols; Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement 153; Leiden/Boston: Brill; 2011), 715–36.
- "Prayer in the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls: A Catalogue and Overview," in Prayer and Poetry in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature: Essays in Honor of Eileen Schuller on the Occasion of Her 65th Birthday (ed. Jeremy Penner, Ken M. Penner, and Cecilia Wassen; STDJ 98; Leiden: Brill, 2011), 273–93.
- "Genesis Revealed: The Apocalyptic Apocryphon from Qumran Cave 1," in Qumran Cave 1 Revisited: Texts from Cave 1 Sixty Years after Their Discovery. Proceedings of the Sixth Meeting of the IOQS in Ljubljana (ed. Daniel K. Falk et al.; STDJ 91; Leiden: Brill, 2010), 205–21.
- "Some Jewish Noah Traditions in Syriac Christian Sources," in Noah and His Book(s) (ed. Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel; EJIL 28: Atlanta: SBL Press, 2010), 237–52.
- "Traditions of the Birth of Noah," in Noah and His Book(s) (ed. Michael E. Stone, Aryeh Amihay, and Vered Hillel; EJIL 28: Atlanta: SBL Press, 2010), 53–69. (with Aryeh Amihay)