Rev. Dr. David G. Garber Jr.

Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and Director of Distance Learning

Rev. Dr. David G. Garber, Jr. is associate professor of Old Testament and Hebrew and director of distance learning at McAfee. He received his B.A. in religion from Baylor University (1995), his M.Div. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary (1998-99), and his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Emory University (2005).

In his research, Dr. Garber explores the usefulness of trauma theory as an interpretive lens for biblical study and is currently the co-chair of the Biblical Literature and the Hermeneutics of Trauma program unit of the Society of Biblical Literature. He has published several articles utilizing trauma theory to study troubling texts in the books of Ezekiel, Nahum, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. He is currently writing a volume on Prophets and the Trauma of Empire, building on this foundational work.

In his teaching, Dr. Garber likes to instill in his students a sense of curiosity about lesser known biblical texts or texts that present particular theological problems to traditional Christian interpretation. Moreover, he likes to help students develop their own ministerial voice using creative projects in his electives like, “Social Justice and the Old Testament,” “The Theology of Exile,” “Creation Theology, Spirituality, and the Arts,” and “The Bible and Popular Culture.”

Dr. Garber is married to Dr. Michelle Brooks Garber, and the two can be found often together training their two Brittany dogs in various dog sports. Dr. Garber has an avocation in nature and landscape photography and has recently taken up gardening at the inspiration of his students in his course on Creation Theology.

Education

  • Ph.D., Emory University, 2005
  • Th.M., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1999
  • M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1998
  • B.A., Baylor University, 1995

Contact Rev. Dr. David G. Garber Jr.


(678) 547-6413
garber_dg@mercer.edu