Professor of Old Testament Martin Klingbeil

Martin Klingbeil, D.Litt., has been appointed Professor of Old Testament at Friedensau Adventist University (FAU) for the fall semester of the new academic year 2023/24. Prof. Klingbeil was Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Southern Adventist University (USA) until his move to Friedensau. In Friedensau he teaches Old Testament, Biblical Hebrew, and Archaeology.
Martin Klingbeil was born in Berlin in 1966. He graduated from high school in Pforzheim (Baden-Württemberg) in 1985. His academic curriculum vitae points to a highly experienced and successful scholar: he began by studying theology from 1986 to 1989 at Bogenhofen Castle Seminary (Austria) and Helderberg College (South Africa), where he completed his Bachelor's degree. He then studied "Semitic Languages and Cultures" at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa (B.A. Hons. 1990), followed by a Master's degree in the same subject, also at Stellenbosch. The title of his master's thesis was: "Syro-Palestinian Stamp Seals from the Persian Period (538–332 BC)." This was followed by the doctoral phase, in which he researched the topic: "Yahweh Fighting from Heaven: God as Warrior and as God of Heaven in the Hebrew Psalter and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography." In 1995, he obtained a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from the University of Stellenbosch with this dissertation. Numerous scholarships and prizes supported him in his research.
His teaching activities have taken him to almost every continent. From 1995 to 1996 he taught in Rwanda at the Adventist University of Central Africa as an associate professor; from 1996 to 2003 at the Faculty of Theology of the Adventist University in Bolivia; from 2003 to 2005 as Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at River Plate Adventist University (Argentina) – where he still serves as a guest lecturer today; from 2005 to 2010 as guest lecturer of Hebrew and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Adventist International Institute for Advanced Studies (Philippines); from 2006 to 2010 as Professor of Biblical Hebrew and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Helderberg College (South Africa) and from 2011 to 2023 as Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Southern Adventist University (USA).
During his tenure at Southern Adventist University, he led various archaeological excavation projects in Israel and published widely in the field of biblical archaeology. From 2011 to 2013, he excavated with Prof. Michael Hasel (Southern Adventist University) at Khirbet Qeiyafa (most likely the biblical Shaarayim of 1 Samuel 17:52) and edited two of the seven-volume excavation report series. From 2013 to 2018, together with Prof. Yosef Garfinkel (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Prof. Michael Hasel, he led "The Fourth Expedition to Lachish," an extensive excavation project focusing on the Iron Age IIA-B (ca. 10th-8th century BC). In addition, he designed a multimedia exhibition at the Southern Adventist University Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum, which displayed ancient Near Eastern stamp- and cylinder-seals from various collections over a three-year period, centered around the themes of creation, cosmos and ecology in the ancient Near East and the Bible.
The list of his academic publications is extensive, reflecting his academic career and research work. Please refer to the university website.
Martin Klingbeil is also an ordained pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In addition to German, he speaks English, Spanish, French, and Afrikaans; he lives with his wife Thandi on the university campus in Friedensau.The couple have three sons: Jonathan, David, and Matthias (Text: Andrea Cramer).