FEATURED AUTHOR

Melissa Ramos

Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies
Portland Seminary of George Fox University

Ramos’s work focuses on ritual and anthropological approaches to the study of the Old Testament. Ritual in Deuteronomy explores the symbolic world of Deuteronomy’s ritual covenant and curses. The book examines the social functions of ritual material in Deuteronomy and presents a comparative study of Deuteronomy 27-30 with two ritual texts from Mesopotamia. Ramos's work illuminates how the ritual life of ancient Israel shaped the literary form of Deuteronomy.

Subjects: Anthropology - Soc Sci, Archaeology, Classical Studies, Middle East Studies, Religion

Biography

Ramos has a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA, and an MPhil in Religious Studies from Cambridge University. Her areas of research center on the Hebrew Bible, the book of Deuteronomy, ritual studies, Northwest Semitic inscriptions, treaties and curses.

Education

Books

Featured Title

Articles

A Northwest Semitic Curse Formula: The Sefire Treaty and Deuteronomy 28

Published: Apr 09, 2021 by ZAW
Authors: Melissa Ramos
Subjects: Religion, Middle East Studies, Archaeology, Applied Linguistics

An examination of Aramaic curses from the Iron Age and two texts from biblical law demonstrates striking and robust parallels in thematic content, vocabulary, and syntactical formulation. The similar pattern of the curses and geographic distribution suggest that a shared tradition of formulaic curse language was part of the training of Aramaic-language scribes and practitioners from the Neo-Assyrian Empire who were sent to peripheral states to facilitate administration.