FACULTY AND STAFF

Dr. Stephen J Pfann
Contact: [email protected]
President
Expertise: Qumran Studies; Ancient Languages; Cultural Geography
Education: M.A., Graduate Theological Union; Ph.D., Department of Ancient Semitic Languages, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Select Publications:
- The Dead Sea Scrolls on Microfiche: A Comprehensive Facsimile Edition;
- “The Essene Yearly Renewal Ceremony and the Baptism of .Repentance,” Proceedings of the Provo Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls;
- “Khirbet Kerak Ware,” Anchor Bible Dictionary;
- “Qumran” in Encyclopedia Judaica rev. ed.;
- “Surveys and Excavations at the Nazareth Village Farm (1997-2002): Final Report,” Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 25 (1979)

Claire Pfann
Contact: [email protected]
Academic Dean
Expertise: New Testament
Education: M.A., Graduate Theological Union; Ph. D. cand., Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Select Publications:
- Production Editor, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek Documentary Texts from Nahal Hever and Other Sites (DJD XXVII)
- “Popes,” “Protestants” in Encyclopedia Judaica rev. ed.
- “A Note on 1Q19” in The Book of Noah (SBL, 2011)

Dr. Youn-Ho Chung
Contact: [email protected]
Dean of Asian Students & Vice President of Public Relations
Expertise: Old Testament; Jewish Studies; Biblical Geography
Education: Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary (M.Div and Th.M); Ph.D., Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Selected Bibliography:
The Sin of the Calf: The Rise of the Bible’s Negative Attitude Toward the Golden Calf
The Historical Process of Judaism: A New Light on Pharisees
“Israel’s Vision in the Bible and its Historical Reality in relation to the Gentiles,” Israel Korea Theology Conference
“The Reality and Identity of the Messianic Jews, and their Theology,” Israel Theology Form
“Where is Mt. Sinai?” The Institute of the Israel Theology

Dr. Ginger Barth Caessens
Contact: [email protected]
Director of Short Term Programs
Expertise: Historical Geography
Education:
- Ph.D., Cambridge University
- M.A., American Institute of Holy Land Studies
- B.A., Wheaton Caollege, Major: History

Dr. Shimon Gibson
Contact: [email protected]
Adjunct Faculty Member
Expertise: Archaeology, Second Temple Period Jerusalem
Education: Ph.D., London University
Select Publications:
- The Cave of John the Baptist
- Below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
- The Final Days of Jesus: The Archaeological Evidence.
- Editor, The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land

Willie Ondricek
Contact: [email protected]
Lecturer
Expertise: Archaeology; Biblical Geography; Geology of Israel; Biblical Society & Cultures
Education: M.A., University of the Holy Land; M.A., Tel Aviv University; Ph.D. Candidate, Tel Aviv University
Archaeological Field Work:
2013-Present: Supervisor, Central Timna Valley Project (Tel Aviv University)
2015: Supervisor, Church of the Nativity Excavation (University of the Holy Land/King’s College, London)
2013-2015: Supervisor, Mt. Zion Excavation (University of North Carolina Charlotte/University of the Holy Land)

Dr. Gabriel Barkay
Guest Professor
Expertise: Archaeology
Education: Ph.D.

Malcom Lowe
Lecturer
Expertise: Philosophy, New Testament Backgrounds
Education: M.A., Physics, Oxford University; B.Phil., Oxford University
Select Publications:
- Editor, Immanuel (periodic publication of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel)
- “A Hebraic Approach to the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard,” Immanuel 24/25 (1990)
- “The Critical and Skeptical Methods in New Testament Research,”Gregorianum 81 (2000)
- “Aristotle on Being and the One,” Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie 59 (1977)

Dr. Petra Heldt
Lecturer
Expertise: Early Christianity; Eastern Christianity; Patristic Studies
Education: Ph.D., Department of Comparative Religions, Hebrew University Jerusalem

Dr. Vered Hillel
Lecturer
Expertise: Second Temple Period Literature
Education: M.A., University of the Holy Land; M.A. and Ph.D., Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Dr. Sam Minskoff
Contact: [email protected]
Lecturer
Expertise: Psychology, Biblical Counseling
Education: Ph.D. International College, Los Angeles
Select Publications:
- “Comparison of Defense Mechanisms Utilized in Perception by Congenitally Blind and Sighted Respondents,” Psychological Reports 55 (1984)

Dr. Moon Beom Lee
Adjunct Faculty and Liaison for Korean Sabbatical Program
Expertise: Historical Geography
Education: Ph.D., University of the Holy Land

Dr. Peter Snyder
Contact: [email protected]
Director of English as a Second Language Program
Expertise: ESL, TESL, English and Applied Linguistics
Education: M.A., Oral Roberts University; Ph.D. (Hon. Causa), University of the Holy Land

Dr. Sam Seong Kim
Lecturer
Expertise: Church Management and Christian Education
Education: D. Min.

Dr. David Schmidt
Lecturer
Expertise: History of the Middle East, History
Education:
- Ph.D.; University of the Holy Land
- Post Graduate Research Studies, Middle East Political History, Keele University, England
- M.A., Middle East Studies, Jerusalem University College, Jerusalem, Israel
- B.Th., London Baptist Bible College, Ontario, Canada
- Dip. Agriculture, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Select Publications:
- Partners Together in this Great Enterprise; the Role of Christian Zionism in the Foreign Policies of Britain and America in the 20th Century, Xulon Press, 2011

Sharon Alley
Lecturer
Expertise: Hebrew, Greek
Education: M.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem

James Courter
Lecturer
Expertise: Biblical Languages and Translation
Education: Ph.D. cand., University of the Holy Land
M.A., Linguistics, University of Texas at Arlington
B.A, anthropology, minor in Russian language, New Mexico State University,

Dr. Randall Buth
Vice President, Institute for Biblical Languages & Translation
Dr. Buth was trained in Israel in biblical languages and historical geography, before spending 28 years as a Bible translator & consultant for Wycliffe Bible Translators and United Bible Societies. He earned a PhD in Semitic Languages from UCLA in 1987, and moved to Israel in 1996 with his wife Margret.
He is the Founder and Director of the Biblical Languages Center in Israel, which works to promote and develop a living knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic in order to fluently read and understand the Bible in its original languages and reproduce these skills in others.
Dr. Buth is a recognized voice in the academic field of biblical studies, linguistics, and discourse, and his pioneering work in the field has been an inspirational force for both the democratization and deepening of the study of biblical languages.

Shaun Bao
Contact: [email protected]
Vice President of Program Development, Asia
Aisin Gioro Bao Shaun, a descendent of the Manchu imperial family that ruled China for 296 years (1616-1912), was born in a palace in mainland China. His distinguished heritage positioned Shaun to become an influential force in his native land, especially with regard to his Christian conviction.
As a young adult, Shaun became a popular movie star, appearing in fifteen feature films in his early career. In the 1980s, Shaun left China for New Zealand where he experienced physical, financial, emotional, and spiritual brokenness. This experience led him to wholeheartedly embrace Christianity.
With his life now on track, Shaun embarked on a business career in high polymer productions in the early 1990s. This business venture led to Shaun’s return to China and to his becoming a recipient of the prestigious Einstein Award.
His renewed contact with China and his love for the people of his homeland caused Shaun to recognize the need for the gospel to be accessible to Mandarin-speakers. He published a groundbreaking harmony of the Life of Jesus in a side-by-side Mandarin and English edition. The first Mandarin “biography” of Jesus, it has reached hundreds of thousands of people.
In addition…

Dr. Seho Chang
Contact: [email protected]
Lecturer
Expertise: The Old Testament
Education:
- Ph.D., Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- M.Div., Chongshin Theological Seminary
- M.A., Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University
- B.A., Chongshin University



Lora Hadassa Gleyzer
Office Manager & Visa Administrator
Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]