Ronald Alan Simkins, MA, PhD

Professor

photo placeholder for Simkins, Ronald Alan

Contact

rsmkns@creighton.edu
College of Arts and Sciences
Theology
DHHC - Dowling Hall/Humanities Center - 130

Ronald Alan Simkins, MA, PhD

Professor

Ronald Simkins has taught at Creighton since 1990. He a professor in Theology and Classical & Near Eastern Studies. He also directs the Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society. He completed his graduate studies at Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, with specialties in the history, literature, and religion of ancient Israel, Hebrew, and epigraphy. He regularly teach courses on the Hebrew Bible, archaeology, and history.
Professor Simkins is the founding and general editor of the Journal of Religion & Society, an academic, peer-review e-journal published by the Kripke Center (http://www.creighton.edu/jrs). His academic interests include creation myths, gender studies, religion and the environment, the political economy of ancient Israel, and the social and cultural world of ancient Israel. He has published broadly on all of these topics. 
Professor Simkins has also produced the digital archaeology project, The Virtual World Project (http://www.virtualworldproject.org), which enables scholars and students to take virtual tours of archaeological sites in Israel and Jordan. He, along with other colleagues, continue to contribute to the project.
A more complete listing of scholarship, teaching, and research interests can be found on my Curriculum Vitae.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Focus

Hebrew Bible/Old Testament; Creation Myths; Gender Studies; Religion and Ecology; Political Economy of Ancient Israel; Social and Cultural World of Ancient Israel; Archaeology of Israel and Jordan

Department

Theology

Position

Professor

Books

  • The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and Ecology
    etal Attitudes to Nature in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East [Book Chapter] 2022
  • Patronage in Ancient Palestine and in the Hebrew Bible
    Simkins Ronald A, Patronage and the political economy of ancient Israel [Book Chapter] 2022
  • Simkins Ronald, Creation and ecology 2020
  • Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures I
    Simkins Ronald A, K. L. Noll, Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: An Introduction [Book Chapter] 2019
  • Routledge Handbook of Environmental Anthropology
    Simkins Ronald A., THE BIBLE, RELIGION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT [Book Chapter] 2017
  • The Prophets
    Simkins Ronald A., etal Joel [Book Chapter] 2016
  • Greenspoon Leonard J., etal Love--ideal and real--in the Jewish tradition from the Hebrew Bible to modern times 2008
  • Religion and the Family
    Simkins Ronald A., etal Competing Portraits of the Israelite Family. [Book Chapter] 2008
  • Greenspoon Leonard J, etal American Judaism in popular culture 2006
  • Zvi Ehud Ben, etal Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures I 2006
  • Greenspoon Leonard J, etal Food and Judaism 2005
  • Simkins Ronald, etal Religion and the family 2005
  • Greenspoon Leonard J, etal Women and Judaism 2003
  • Simkins Ronald, Volume 1, Readings from the Perspective of the Earth; Volume 2, The Earth Story in Genesis 2001
  • Greenspoon Leonard J., etal 'A land flowing with milk and honey': visions of Israel from biblical to modern times 2001
  • Greenspoon Leonard J, etal 'A land flowing with milk and honey' 2001
  • Practical Theology
    Simkins Ronald A, Gender and the body in ancient Israel [Book Chapter] 2000
  • Roddy Nicolae G., The theology of the prophetic books: the death and resurrection of Israel 1999
  • Simkins Ronald, etal The social world of the Hebrew Bible 1999
  • Genesis; the Feminist Companion to the Bible
    Simkins Ronald A, Gender construction in the Yahwist creation myth [Book Chapter] 1998
  • Simkins Ronald A., Book Review: William Robertson Smith: Essays in Reassessment 1996
  • Simkins Ronald, Book reviews -- Creation Accounts in the Ancient Near East and in the Bible by Richard J. Clifford 1996
  • Simkins Ronald A., Josiah's Passover: Sociology and the Liberating Bible (The Bible and Liberation) 1995
  • Simkins R, Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer (eds.), 'A Walk in the Garden' (Book Review) 1994
  • Simkins Ronald, Collected essays -- Elijah and Elisha in Socioliterary Perspective edited by Robert B. Coote 1994
  • Simkins Ronald A., Book Reviews: Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer, Editors, A Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series, 136. Sheffield, UK: JSOT Press, 1992. Pp. 327. Cloth, $70.00 1994
  • Simkins Ronald, Creator and creation 1994
  • Simkins Ronald, Book reviews -- Tithe as Gift: The Institution in the Pentateuch and in Light of Mauss's Prestation Theory (Distinguished Dissertation Series) by Menahem Herman 1993
  • Simkins Ronald A., Writings from Ancient Israel: A Handbook of Historical and Religious Documents . Klaas A. D. Smelik and trans. by G. I. Davies 1993
  • Simkins Ronald, Yahweh's activity in the history and nature in the Book of Joel 1991

General

  • Greenspoon Leonard, etal The Jews of Eastern Europe 2007

Publications

  • Smith Zachary, etal Religion and the New Politics (JRS Supplement 23) 2021
  • Smith Zachary, etal Religion and Justice (JRS Supplement 21) 2020
  • Smith Zachary, etal Religion and Reform (JRS Supplement 18) 2019
  • Smith Zachary, etal Religion and Globalization (JRS Supplement 16) 2018
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    O'Keefe John J., Church and State at the End of Nature: An Augustinian Reflection on a Climate Change and Late Modernity
    14, p. - 2017
  • Smith Zachary, etal Religion and Politics (JRS Supplement 14) 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Smith Zachary B., Monks and Empire: Asceticism and Political Disengagement in Late Antiquity
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Miller Richard W., Catholic Universities and Social Action in the Context of the Transgressing of Planetary Boundaries
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Simkins Ronald A., Care for the Poor and Needy: The Bible’s Contribution to an Economic and Social Safety Net
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Carney James Jay, Faithful Citizenship in the USA and Uganda: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Catholic Pastoral Letters on Politics
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Salzman Todd A., etal Religious Liberty and Gender and Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Legislation: A Critical Analysis of the Catholic Perspective
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Kelly Thomas M., A House Divided: Catholic Libertarian Economics and Catholic Social Thought
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Fleming Julia A., Roman Catholic Teaching and the Death Penalty: Actual Use versus Hypothetical Use
    14, p. - 2017
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    McPherson David L., The Claims of Religious Identities in Secular Societies
    13 2016
  • Journal of Religion and Society
    Simkins Ronald A., Gender and Identity in Biblical Israel, p. 22 - 34 2016
  • Journal of Religion and Society
    Simkins Ronald A., Identity and the Processes of Identification: An Introduction, p. 1 - 4 2016
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Hamm M. Dennis, S.J., The Importance of Being Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke
    13 2016
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Duda Gintaras K., Big Questions in Cosmology: Intersections between Science and Religion
    11, p. 93 - 109 2015
  • Dialectical Anthropology
    Simkins Ronald A., The Bible and anthropocentrism: putting humans in their place
    38:4, p. 397 - 413 2014
  • Biblical Theology Bulletin
    Simkins Ronald A., The Embodied World: Creation Metaphors in the Ancient Near East
    44:1, p. 40 - 53 2014
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    O'Keefe John J., Pope Benedict's Anthropocentrism: Is it a Deal Breaker?
    9, p. 85 - 93 2013
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Hamm M. Dennis, S.J., Whence the Urgency of Benedict's Green Streak? Scripture? Philosophy? Or the Crisis Itself?
    9, p. 46 - 55 2013
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Hall H. Ashley, Protestant Responses to Roman Catholic Environmental Thought
    9, p. 94 - 106 2013
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Greenspoon Leonard J., Back to Our Environmental Roots: How the Bible Serves to Ground Faith and Action in Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism
    9, p. 30 - 45 2013
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Simkins Ronald A., etal Anthropocentrism and the Place of Humans in the Biblical Tradition.
    Supplement 9:2013, p. 16 - 29 2013
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    O'Keefe John J., God through the camera frame: backpack journalism and the Catholic imagination
    8, p. 154 - 166 2012
  • Simkins Ronald A., Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society? 2012
  • Catholic Biblical Quarterly
    Simkins Ronald A., Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible [book review]
    73:1, p. 142 - 144 2011
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Simkins Ronald A., Gender, the environment, and sin in Genesis
    S5, p. 45 - 61 2009
  • Bible Today
    Simkins Ronald A., Work and Creation
    47:4, p. 225 - 231 2009
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Simkins Ronald A., An Introduction: The Legacy of Lynn White, Jr.
    Supplement 3, p. 1 - 4 2008
  • Supplement Series for the Journal of Religion & Society
    Simkins Ronald A., The End of Nature: Humans and the Natural World in the History of Creation
    Supplement Series:3, p. 47 - 65 2008
  • Journal of religion & society
    Simkins Ronald, Introduction
    Supplement:2, p. 1 - 3 2007
  • Catholic Biblical Quarterly
    Simkins Ronald A., God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation
    69:1, p. 115 - 116 2007
  • Catholic Biblical Quarterly
    Simkins Ronald A., When the great abyss opened: Classic and contemporary readings of Noah's flood
    67:4, p. 698 - 699 2005
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Calef Susan A., Identity and experience in the New Testament
    7 2005
  • Bible & Critical Theory
    Simkins Ronald A., Family in the political economy of monarchic Judah
    1:1 2004
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Bucher Gregory S., Following Gandalf. Epic battles and moral victory in The Lord of the Rings
    6 2004
  • Journal of Hebrew scriptures
    Simkins Ronald A., Review of K. L. Noll, Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: An Introduction
    4 2003
  • Greenspoon Leonard J., etal Spiritual dimensions of Judaism 2003
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Kelly Thomas M., A Christian theology of marriage and family
    5 2003
  • Simkins Ronald A., Genesis as dialogue: a literary, historical, and theological commentary 2002
  • Greenspoon Leonard J, etal Millennialism from the Hebrew Bible to the present 2002
  • Simkins Ronald A., Canaan and Israel in antiquity: an introduction 2002
  • Simkins Ronald A., The earth story in Genesis; [REVIEW] 2001
  • Simkins Ronald A., Taboo or not taboo: sexuality and family in the Hebrew Bible[Book Review] 2001
  • Catholic Biblical Quarterly
    Simkins Ronald A., Readings from the perspective of Earth; [REVIEW]
    63:3, p. 573 - 575 2001
  • Simkins Ronald A., Genesis 2001
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Selk Eugene E., The sacred depths of nature
    3 2001
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    O'Keefe John J., Critical Musings on Dixon's Augustine: The Psyche of Augustine
    2 2000
  • Journal of religion & society
    Simkins Ronald A, Teaching the Bible through the internet: in the classroom and at a distance
    2, p. 1 - 11 2000
  • Simkins Ronald, The Formation of the Book of the Twelve: A Study in Text and Canon 1999
  • Semeia
    Simkins Ronald, Patronage and the political economy of monarchic Israel, p. 123 - 144 1999
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    O'Keefe John J., Religion in Roman Egypt: assimilation and resistance
    1 1999
  • Semeia
    Cook Stephen, etal Introduction: Case studies from the second wave of reseach in the social world of the Hebrew Bible, p. 1 1999
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Salzman Todd A., Bosnia: a short history
    1 1999
  • Journal of Religion & Society
    Habash Martha, The sacred and the feminine in ancient Greece
    1 1999
  • Simkins Ronald, Cultural Anthropology and the Old Testament 1998
  • Simkins Ronald, Joel and the Spirit: The Cry of a Prophetic Hermeneutic 1996
  • Simkins Ronald A., Creation Accounts in the Ancient near East and in the Bible 1996
  • Semeia
    Simkins Ronald, 'Return to Yahweh': Honor and Shame in Joel
    68, p. 41 1996
  • Simkins Ronald A., Divination in Ancient Israel and Its Near Eastern Environment: Socio-Historical Investigation (JSOTSup 142) 1996
  • Simkins Ronald, Book reviews -- Josiah's Passover: Sociology and the Liberating Bible by Shigeyuki Nakanose 1995
  • Simkins Ronald, J. Andrew Dearman, 'Religion and Culture in Ancient Israel' (Book Review) 1995
  • Simkins Ronald A., Elijah and Elisha in Socioliterary Perspective (SBL Semeia Studies) 1994
  • Simkins Ronald A., Genesis, Creation, and Creationism. By BaileyLloyd R.. New York: Paulist, 1993. $14.95 (paper) 1994
  • The Catholic Biblical quarterly
    Simkins Ronald, God, history, and the natural world in the Book of Joel
    55:3, p. 435 - 452 1993
  • Simkins Ronald A., Tithe as Gift: The Institution in the Pentateuch and in Light of Mauss's Prestation Theory 1993
  • Simkins Ronald A., Book Reviews: Robert B. Coote, Early Israel: A New Horizon. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990. Pp. x + 197. Paper, $12.95 1993