Research Interests:
The Old Testament in its ancient Near Eastern context, Archaeoseismology, Disaster study in the prophetic corpus, Textual transmission of the Hebrew Bible/Dead Sea Scrolls
Presentations:
- “Records of Ruin in Middle Assyrian Building Inscriptions: Propaganda or Problems in the Textual and Archaeological Record?” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Santa Clara, March 2012
- “Reevaluating Leonine Imagery in Amos 1:2 in Light of a Neo–Assyrian Parallel.” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Santa Clara, March 2012
- “Connecting the Fractures of an Ancient, Levantine Earthquake.” UCLA History + (Plus) Conference, Los Angeles, October 2011
- “Reading and Aligning a Variant Text: 4QDeutk1.” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Los Angeles, March 2011
- “Advances and False Leads in Levantine Archaeoseismology.” UCLA Archaeology Graduate Student Conference, February 2011
- “Shaking Out the Past: Anthropological Approaches to Natural Disaster in the Eighth Century.” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Atlanta, November 2010
- “Stretched to its Limits: Clarifying the Scope of Amos’s Earthquake.” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, Atlanta, November 2010
- “A Confluence of Clues: Earthquake Imagery in Eighth Century Prophetic Texts.” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Phoenix, March 2010
- “Historical Ordering in the Deuteronomy Dead Sea Scrolls.” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Phoenix, March 2010
- “Repetition, Reduction, and Rereading in the Kirta Epic.” Society of Biblical Literature National Meeting, New Orleans, November 2009
- “The Kirta Epic and Reflections on Scribal Education at Ugarit.” UCLA Colloquium, Nov 2009
- “Copying for Clarity: 4QDeutk2 and its ‘Variants.’” Pacific Coast Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Santa Clara, March 2009
- “What Mean These Stones, A Reappraisal of Iron II Massebot.” Pacific Coast of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Pasadena, March 2008
Publications:
- “Is Anyone Home? Amos 6:8–11 in light of Post–Disaster Housing,” forthcoming book chapter
- “Shalman” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 2009
- “Shammah” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 2009
- “Syene” in New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 2009
- The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception. Edited by Patrick Miller and Peter W. Flint with the assistance of Aaron Brunell and Ryan Roberts, 2005
Personal Interests:
Dr. Roberts is passionate about supporting local agriculture, practicing treatment free beekeeping, visiting scores of national parks, spending time outdoors, and being with his wife and baby daughter.