Brent Landau

Brent Landau is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He specializes in ancient Christian apocryphal literature, particularly traditions about Jesus’ birth and childhood, early Christian papyri, and biblical studies pedagogies. He earned his Th.D. and M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School and a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Iowa.

• Current affiliations: University of Texas at Austin (since 2013)
• Prior roles: Assistant Professor at University of Oklahoma, visiting positions at Boston University and Harvard Divinity School

Research interests focus on noncanonical Christian texts, including critical editions and translations of ancient manuscripts. His work bridges academic biblical scholarship with accessible pedagogy for general audiences.

Courses taught include topics on the New Testament, Christmas history, Jesus in tradition, and religious interpretation. His 2010 book, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem, provides the first English translation of a Syriac manuscript about the Magi, with a critical edition in progress. He also co-edited New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures (Eerdmans, 2016).