Christopher Seitz

Christopher R. Seitz (born 22 May 1954 in Blowing Rock, NC, US) is an American Old Testament scholar and theologian known for his work in biblical interpretation and theological hermeneutics. He is the senior research professor of biblical interpretation at Toronto School of Theology, Wycliffe College. He is also an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, and served as canon theologian in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas (2008–2015).

Education and career

Seitz received an AB from the University of North Carolina, in 1976, an MTS from Virginia Theological Seminary, in 1979. He studied at LMU Munich from 1979 until 1980, and received several degrees from Yale University: STM 1981; MA 1982; MPhil 1983; PhD 1986.

He began his teaching career as Assistant Professor of Old Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (1984–87), before becoming Associate Professor of Old Testament at Yale in 1987. He is presently Senior Research Professor of Biblical interpretation at Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto. He is a co-founder of the Wycliffe Center for Scripture and Theology. and translated into Korean, Japanese and Italian. Other major works include Word Without End, Figured Out, Isaiah 40—66 (New Interpreter’s Bible), Prophecy and Hermeneutics, The Goodly Fellowship of the Prophets, and The Character of Christian Scripture. Recently, he has written a commentary on Colossians for the Brazos Theological Commentary series (2014), in which the place of the book in a wider Letter Collection is evaluated. A commentary on Joel for the new International Theological Commentary series appeared in 2016. Additionally, he has contributed more than sixty articles to journals and publications, including Journal of Biblical Literature, Vetus Testamentum, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Scottish Journal of Theology, Interpretation, Theology Today, Biblische Zeitschrift, Anglican Theological Review, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, The Christian Century, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, First Things, and Pro Ecclesia. He is the Editor of Studies in Theological Interpretation, and has served on the editorial boards of Interpretation, Hermeneia, Journal of Theological Interpretation, Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, and Pro Ecclesia. and was canon theologian in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas until 2015. He and his wife Elizabeth lived in Courances, France from 2015 to 2020, during which time he was Visiting Professor at Centre Sevres in Paris from 2019 to 2021. He runs her French language, culture, and travel business, French Affaires LLC, after her death in 2021 (www.frenchaffaires.com).

Contribution

Seitz has been influenced by his former teacher and then colleague Brevard Childs at Yale University, a key figure advocating for the significance of canon in biblical interpretation, and for the appropriate use of the Old Testament in Christian theology. A recent book discusses the historical legacy of canonical reading, kindred developments at Vatican II, and important convergences in the work of the late French scholar, Paul Beauchamp. In 2021, he was presented with a Festschrift honoring his life and work. He continues to write and has been researching the life of Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances under Louis XIV.

Authored works

Books edited

Festschrift