Prof. Meira Z. Kensky is Director of Undergraduate Advising and Senior Assistant Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. Kensky received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Biblical Studies (New Testament) from the University of Chicago. Her first book was Trying Man, Trying God: The Divine Courtroom in Early Jewish and Christian Literature (Mohr Siebeck 2010). Currently, she is working on her second book, an examination of the figure of Timothy in Early Christian literature, and a book on the Apocalypse of Peter and Early Christian tours of Hell. She currently serves on the Society of Biblical Literature's Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession, and on editorial boards for SBL Press and E. J. Brill.
Last Updated
May 4, 2026
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Articles by the Author
Nativity scenes are peaceful and idyllic. However, Matthew’s story of the magi bringing gifts to the newborn Jesus, set in the time of King Herod, foreshadows the gospel’s themes of political rivalry, violence, and the death of Jesus.
Nativity scenes are peaceful and idyllic. However, Matthew’s story of the magi bringing gifts to the newborn Jesus, set in the time of King Herod, foreshadows the gospel’s themes of political rivalry, violence, and the death of Jesus.
Jacob makes a series of strategic preparations in anticipation of meeting his estranged brother Esau. Instead of the expected confrontation, we get a totally unexpected, unanticipated, and unprepared for wrestling between Jacob and a mysterious stranger at the ford of Jabbok. By juxtaposing these two accounts, the narrative invites us to think about both the human impulse to control and its limitations.
Jacob makes a series of strategic preparations in anticipation of meeting his estranged brother Esau. Instead of the expected confrontation, we get a totally unexpected, unanticipated, and unprepared for wrestling between Jacob and a mysterious stranger at the ford of Jabbok. By juxtaposing these two accounts, the narrative invites us to think about both the human impulse to control and its limitations.
