Peter Joshua Atkins

Peter Joshua Atkins is a Research Fellow in Old Testament and Hebrew Bible at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Divinity. His roles include teaching biblical Hebrew, supervising research, and convening the Biblical Studies Research Seminar. He holds a BA and MA from the University of Sheffield, a PhD from the University of Chester, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) with an Edinburgh Teaching Award (EdTA).

His research focuses on Animals and Animality in the Bible, Ecological Approaches to the Hebrew Bible, and the History of Biblical Interpretation. A current project, Rewilding the Hebrew Bible in an Age of Biodiversity Crisis, examines ecological themes in Isaiah through contemporary rewilding theory. His earlier work analyzed Nebuchadnezzar’s animalizing affliction in Daniel 4, exploring human-animal boundaries in ancient texts.

Dr. Atkins has published a monograph with Bloomsbury T&T Clark (2023) and is preparing another with Routledge. He actively engages in knowledge exchange through podcasts (e.g., Biblical Time Machine, New Books Network) and blogs like WildCard. His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate modules such as Intermediate Biblical Hebrew and Ecological Approaches to the Hebrew Bible.