New Testament scholarship all too often avoids the very straightforward observation that "The modern category of one 'original' text or 'Urtext'...never existed in antiquity." Hezser articulated this all the way back in *2001* ! (From C. Hezser, Jewish Literacy in Roman Palestine, 434; photo 424)

A fun write-up of our research in Rome! (Still ongoing) www.villanova.edu/vu/magazine/...

New podcast episode out from Religion to Reality! Thanks to Dave Plisky and Fr. John Gribowich for taking the time to talk about my research. religiontoreality.org/podcast/the-...

Eastern Christianity Villanova job link is live: jobs.villanova.edu/postings/35518

Happy Fourth of July! 🎆 I think my husband just reached enlightenment...

If you're interested in learning more about Women in the New Testament and Early Christianity, I'll be teaching an online course in July for @biblicalarchaeology.org. Details here: www.biblicalarchaeology.org/travel-study...

Big thanks to @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social for inviting me on her Substack, where we announced some big news today! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW03...

It's true! Villanova is hiring a tenure-track position in Eastern Christianity! Please share far and wide. aarsbl.org/job/tenure-t...

Current mood:

Looking forward to presenting at this conference tomorrow in Greenwich, CT! More details here: www.christchurchgreenwich.org/womens-confe...

Villanova's Theology and Religious Studies department is hiring a Director of Master's & Certificate Programs! jobs.villanova.edu/postings/34543

A nice Easter present: a hard copy of the Oxford Handbook of Mary Magdalene finally arrived in the mail!

Exciting news: the Nestle-Aland committee decided to take my recommendations on updating the NA29 apparatus in John 11 to better reflect the issues around Martha. I'll be talking about these updates to the apparatus at the Johannine Literature panel at SBL in Denver. Hope to see some of you there!

On April 18th I'll be presenting my research at Christ Church Greenwich's Annual Women's Conference. The keynote speaker is Kate Bowler. To register, follow this link: www.christchurchgreenwich.org/womens-confe... Hope to see some of you in CT!

I've got two presentations coming up in the coming weeks: a lecture in New York City in February, and a retreat in Asheville, North Carolina in March. Details below. Hope to see some of you there!

Ooooh a new "Maria" changed to "Martha"! This is from a 12th-century drama attributed to Hilarius, a student of Abelard. Perhaps just a mistake - or perhaps a bit of confusion about which sister confessed Jesus as the Christ? ;) Thanks to Prof. Carol Symes for calling this to my attention!

Stopped by the @nationalgalleryuk.bsky.social yesterday on our long layover in London. My husband and I had to say hi to the Marys and Jesus!

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Boston!

I've got a new publication about Mary and Martha in John 11 out today in the latest issue of TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism. Enjoy! scholarlypublishingcollective.org/sblpress/tc/...

Reading James Barker's new book from @ebyrbooks.bsky.social and realizing that in many respects we are saying the same thing: the gospels were influenced by literary multiformity in Greco-Roman and Second Temple Jewish circles (although his perspective is source-critical, and mine is text-critical).

Really lovely day today in Münster, Germany! I came here to present a boatload of new information to scholars at the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung, and gave a few recommendations for updates to the NA29 apparatus. 🤞🏻

We're looking forward to hosting Pete Enns from @theb4np.bsky.social Eastern U for the CBA's upcoming regional conference at Villanova in March! Want to join us? The call for papers is here: assets.noviams.com/novi-file-up...

Fascinating new piece by @allykateusz.bsky.social:"of the sixty-one surviving third and fourth-century pieces of art that securely depict one or more sisters at the Raising of Lazarus, fifty-nine depict one sister (96%) while only two depict two sisters (4%)" www.ancientjewreview.com/read/2025/9/...

What would Jesus do?

Every once in a while, researching ancient manuscripts can give you a chuckle.

The proposed elimination of U of O's Department of Religion is absolutely tragic. Oregon friends, please consider speaking up! aarweb.org/news/an-appe...

NT job opening: Trinity College Theological School in Melbourne, Australia, is seeking to appoint a Lecturer in Biblical Studies (New Testament) commencing February 2026. trinity.currentjobs.co/job/lecturer...

I am delighted to announce the IRCI has 2 job openings in early Christianity (specialisation open, research-focus, early career). Closing date 15 Aug. Contact me with any questions. We hope you'll consider joining our excellent group of scholars! candidate.aurion.cloud/acu/producti...

I just noticed that up until the fifth century, every single surviving Greek manuscript of Luke 11:11 preserves a distinct rendition of Jesus's question. Obviously this is due to harmonization with Matthew 7:9-10, but honestly, it's impossible to tell what Luke actually wrote here.

Assistant Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ. FT/TT. Deadline September 8.

This was so fun and wonderful today! I'm so grateful @libbiesp.bsky.social took the time to teach me and my students about textual variants of Rev 13:18 today. I learned a lot and very much enjoyed hearing Libbie teach. I love it, when you feel the passion people have for their research topics!

I will be giving a guest lecture tomorrow at @univie.ac.at about the fascinating variations and interpretations in Revelation 13:18. I've been enjoying digging deeper into this question - thank you so much @eve9445.bsky.social for the invitation to Vienna!

Come learn Coptic an affordable cost! You will learn the basics of how to read and learn the language via a corpus-based approach. Come for the Gospel of Thomas! Stay for the more open access philology! All learners welcome!

Absolutely ecstatic to announce that we here at Religion for Breakfast are offering an online Intro to Coptic class...using the Gospel of Thomas as the primary text! Taught by the amazing scholar of early Christianity Dr. Lydia Bremer-McCollum. Learn more here: www.religiondepartment.com/coptic

I'm in Rome for a research trip, and guess who else was here? One of the finest papyrologists alive, Fr. Juan Chapa! (He's the editor of P.Oxy. 5577 and MANY other fascinating Oxyrhynchus papyri) What a treat to get to chat with him

Funniest "Mary" changed to "Martha" I've seen recently (found in minuscule 742)

Dropped by the British Library today on a layover, and got to see Codex Sinaiticus. 😍 Amazing luck: the page was open to John 20, the scene with Jesus and Mary Magdalene!

Villanova's sports and papal accomplishments

Good news from the #SBLAAR2025 Annual Meeting! I'll also be on the panel discussion of Hugh Houghton's new "Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament" (an update of Bruce Metzger's classic). These will both be great sessions - looking forward to seeing all you Bible dorks in Boston in November.

Ok it's the end of the semester, and I am *really* proud of this game we're going to play in class today to help study for the final exam. Props to my husband for finding this awesome Jeopardy website template!

Many thanks to Eliza Griswold and @newyorker.com for this lovely new Easter feature on Mary Magdalene. (Scroll to the end to read about my research...and song lyrics 😆) www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

For those parents out there who have been looking for a decent Children's Bible - check out this wonderful new resource from the Bible for Normal People! (Featuring a contribution from yours truly) www.godsstoriesbook.com

Hooray! You can read my new Journal of Early Christian Studies article arguing that we might have a new possible fragment of the Gospel of Mary ;) muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...

Stating the EXTREMELY obvious: "Mars is currently in worse shape than any possible scenario for Earth short of an all-out nuclear war....It makes much more sense to spend money saving the Earth from climate change." 🙄https://religionnews.com/2025/03/10/no-elon-we-should-not-to-go-to-mars/

Just started grading paper #10 of the day. #springbreak 😩

Hi! Finally made the switch. Looking forward to chatting with folks here. I'll inaugurate my account with this new History Valley interview, where I talk with Jacob Berman about why we might have found a missing piece of the Gospel of Mary. 👀 Enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OXy...