Jan Dietrich

Prof. Dr. Jan Dietrich is a leading scholar in Old Testament studies, holding the Chair for Literary and Religious History of the Old Testament at the University of Bonn since 2020. Previously, he served as Professor of Old Testament at Aarhus University (2018–2022) and held academic roles there since 2012. He earned his doctorate (2009) and habilitation (2016) from Leipzig University, with earlier studies at Tübingen and Cambridge.

Education

• 1996–2002: Studied Protestant theology, history, philosophy, and education at Universities of Tübingen and Cambridge.
• 2002–2004: First state examination in theology, history, and pedagogy at University of Tübingen.
• 2009: Doctorate in theology (supervised by Angelika Berlejung).
• 2016: Habilitation in Old Testament studies.

Research Interests

Dietrich focuses on Old Testament intellectual history, anthropology, legal traditions, and cultural interactions between Israel and neighboring civilizations. His work integrates comparative religious studies, ancient Near Eastern epistemology, and social theories to explore themes like monotheism, resilience in Leviticus, and ancient concepts of friendship with God.

Awards

• 2011 Preis für Antike Rechtsgeschichte (University of Innsbruck).
• 2011 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise (Heidelberg/Templeton).

Grants and Projects

Dietrich secured major grants including the Danish-funded 'Measuring Value and Accommodating the Gods' (2018) and 'Origins of Second-Order Thinking' (2017). He directed Aarhus University's theology department research program (2016–2020) and doctoral studies (2014–2015).

Labs/Teams

He co-leads editorial boards for journals like Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte and series such as Handbuch Alttestamentliche Anthropologie. His academic supervision includes notable students like Søren Lorenzen (PhD 2022) and Line Søgaard Christensen (PhD 2016).