Bill T. Arnold

Bill T. Arnold is an American scholar and theologian. He is currently the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is an editor of biblical commentary series, notably the New Cambridge Bible Commentary (NCBC),^[1] the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch (BCOTP),^[2] and the New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT).^[3]

Bill T. Arnold
Occupation	Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation
Academic background
Education	Asbury University, Asbury Theological Seminary
Alma mater	Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Ph.D.)
Academic work
Discipline	Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Sub-discipline	Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture Criticism & Interpretation of the Pentateuch, Genesis in Contemporary Thought, Deuteronomy Hebrew and Cognate Languages
Institutions	Asbury Theological Seminary
Notable works	Deuteronomy (NICOT)
Website	https://asburyseminary.edu/faculty/bill-arnold/

His research encompasses Old Testament and ancient Near Eastern studies both separately and in combination. In addition, he is the author of numerous books, including biblical commentaries, Old Testament introductions, a biblical Hebrew grammar, and other works on ancient Near Eastern history and culture.^[4]

Education

Arnold received a Bachelor of Arts at Asbury University and went on to receive a Master of Divinity at Asbury Theological Seminary. He continued his studies at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion and received a Doctor of Philosophy, specializing in Hebraic and Cognate Studies.^[5]

Career

From 1991 to 1995, he served as a professor at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. Since then, Arnold has been the (Paul S. Amos) Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.^[5]

Research and Works

Arnold’s research encompasses Old Testament and ancient Near Eastern studies, both separately and in combination. He specializes in Pentateuchal interpretation and is writing a two-volume commentary on Deuteronomy, the first of which was published in 2022 (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.). He has written on many aspects of Old Testament interpretation, including Hebrew language and the history of Israelite religion. Past publications have taken up specific portions of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis and 1-2 Samuel), as well as a grammar (A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, with John H. Choi) and introductory materials (Who Were the Babylonians? and Encountering the Old Testament, with Bryan E. Beyer).^[6]

Arnold's 2014 volume with Cambridge University Press (Introduction to the Old Testament) approaches the Hebrew Scriptures through the interpretive lenses of monotheism for secular classrooms, aiming to show the relevance of the Hebrew Scriptures for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and secularists. This volume is now being revised for a second edition—The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Testament (expected late 2025).^[6]

Theology

Arnold aligns with the Wesleyan-Arminian theological tradition, as shown by his article in Firebrand Magazine on key Wesleyan concepts.^[7] His role as an associate editor of The Wesley Study Bible, rooted in Methodist tradition, further affirms this connection.^[8]