About
Julia Rhyder is an Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, specializing in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israelite religion. She holds academic affiliations with Harvard Divinity School and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her research focuses on ritual texts, the history of Israelite cult, and comparative ancient Near Eastern studies.
Education: PhD in Hebrew Bible from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), Bachelor of Theology (Honors) from Whitley College (Australia), and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne (Australia).
Research Interests: Ritual practices in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple traditions, ancient Syro-Palestinian history, Priestly traditions in the Pentateuch, and the intersection of biblical law with warfare and memory. Current projects include a monograph on calendrical festivals and war commemoration in the Hebrew Bible, funded by a Beaufort Fellowship at St John's College, Cambridge.
Notable Awards: 2021 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award, 2021 David Noel Freedman Award, and Beaufort Visiting Fellowship (2023).
Publications include Centralizing the Cult: The Holiness Legislation in Leviticus 17–26 (2019) and co-edited volumes such as Text and Ritual in the Pentateuch (2021). She is also writing a commentary on Leviticus for the Hermeneia series.