Joseph Lam

Joseph Lam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (2012) and specializes in ancient Near Eastern languages and literatures, particularly Hebrew Bible studies, Ugaritic texts, and Semitic linguistics. His research focuses on religious thought, metaphor theory, and ritual practices in ancient Syria-Palestine and Anatolia. Lam teaches courses on Classical Hebrew, ancient Near Eastern history, and religious metaphors, and has authored influential works like Patterns of Sin in the Hebrew Bible (2016). He has received awards including the Schwab Academic Excellence Award (2017) and Lydie T. Shufro Research Fellowship (2017). His current projects explore sacrificial traditions and their connections to sin concepts in ancient Israel. Lam also contributes to public scholarship through courses on Wondrium and academic council roles.

Education: Ph.D., University of Chicago (2012); M.A. (2005), M.Div. (2003), and B.A.Sc. (1999) from other institutions.

Research interests include Hebrew Bible context, ritual analysis, Semitic languages, and metaphor in religious discourse. Key publications address sin metaphors, Ugaritic literature, and linguistic studies of ancient texts. He maintains affiliations with the Society of Biblical Literature Council and has developed innovative courses on ancient Near Eastern mythologies and religious practices.