David Rolph Seely

Bio

Dr. David Rolph Seely earned a B.A. from BYU in Greek in 1981; an M.A. from BYU in Classics in 1982; an A.M. from University of Michigan in Ancient and Biblical Studies in 1985; and a Ph.D. from University of Michigan in Ancient and Biblical Studies in 1990. He was hired at BYU in 1987. He currently teaches courses in the Book of Mormon, New Testament, Old Testament, Writings of Isaiah, Pearl of Great Price, History of Israel, History of the Bible, and History of Civilization. He uses Italian, Spanish, French, German, Ancient Hebrew and Greek, Ugaritic, Aramaic, Akkadian, and Latin to supplement his research. Dr. Seely has written several books and articles related to the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. Among these are Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem which he co-edited with John W. Welch and his wife, Jo Ann H. Seely.

Online Text

David Rolph Seely and Jo Ann H. Seely, "Paul: Untiring Witness of Christ," Ensign, Aug 1999, 22.

Seely, David Rolph and Jo Ann H. Seely. "'Behold the Lamb of God.'" In "Behold the Lamb of God": An Easter Celebration edited by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Frank F. Judd Jr., and Thomas A. Wayment, 17–47. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008.

Seely, David Rolph and Jo Ann H. Seely. "Jesus the Messiah: Prophet, Priest, and King." In Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior edited by Laura D. Card, Gary L. Hatch and Paul H. Peterson, 248–69. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2002.

Online Video

"Abinadi, Moses, Isaiah, and Christ: O How Beautiful Upon the Mountains Are Their Feet," in Sperry Symposium, November 13, 1999.

"Jesus the Messiah," in Christ, Savior, Son of God: A Brigham Young University Symposium, January 08, 2000.

"The Last Supper According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke," from The Last Supper Through the Resurrection, April 19, 2003.

"Words Fitly Spoken," in Sperry Symposium, October 30, 2004.

"Books, Paragraphs, Chapters, and Verses in the New Testament," in Sperry Symposium, October 27, 2006.

Highlighted Publications:

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Behold the Lamb of God." Pages 17-47 in "Behold the Lamb of God": An Easter Celebration. Edited by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Frank F. Judd, Jr., and Thomas A. Wayment.

"The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Roundtable Discussion Celebrating the Sixtieth Anniversary of Their Discovery, Part 2." With Richard Holzapfel, Donald W. Parry, and Dana M. Pike. Religious Educator 9/2 (2008): 83-97.

With William J. Hamblin. "Solomonic Themes in Byzantine Churches and Art." Athens Institute for Education and Research: 5th International Conference on History. Athens, Greece. December 29, 2007.

"The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Roundtable Discussion Celebrating the Sixtieth Anniversary of Their Discovery, Part 1." With Richard Holzapfel, Donald W. Parry, and Dana M. Pike. Religious Educator 8/3 (2007): 126-45.

"Voices from the Dust: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Latter-day Saints." The Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture Series, Kirtland, Ohio. April 15, 2007.

"The Community of the Renewed Covenant: The Dead Sea Scrolls after Sixty Years." The Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture Series, Kirtland, Ohio. April 14, 2007.

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Behold the Lamb of God." Paper delivered at "Behold the Lamb of God:" The 2007 Easter Conference. Sponsored by the Religious Studies Center, BYU, Provo, UT. April 7, 2007.

"'Seek and Ye Shall Find': The History of the Division of the Biblical Text." Thirty-Fifth Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium: How the New Testament Came to Be. October 27, 2006.

"Behold the Lamb of God: A Textual and Visual Exploration of a Scriptural Metaphor of the Savior." Weekly Honors Seminar. Thursday, September 28, 2006.

With Kent P. Jackson and Frank F. Judd, Jr. "Chapters and Verses, Punctuation, Spelling, and Italics in the King James Version." Religious Educator 7:2 (2006) 40-64.

"The Distinctive Terminology of the Sectarian Texts from Qumran: A Comprehensive Survey." Paper read at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Philadelphia, November 21, 2005.

"The Language of Barkhi Nafshi (4Q434-438) and Citation and Allusion to the Bible." Paper delivered at the Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting, Singapore, June 28, 2005.

"The Mediterranean World: Cradle of Christian Art." Paper delivered at The Lecture Series: Art of the Ancient Mediterranean World: Eypt, Greece, Rome. Sponsored by the Brigham Young University Museum of Art, December 2, 2004.

"'Words Fitly Spoken': Tyndale's English Translation of the Bible." Paper delivered at the Thirty-Third Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium: Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church, Sat. Oct. 30, 2004.

"Words 'Fitly Spoken': Tyndale's English Translation of the Bible. Pages 212-27 in Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the True Church: The 33rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Salt Lake City/Provo: Deseret Book and BYU Religious Studies Center, 2004).

Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem. Edited by John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely. Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2004.

"Voices from the Past: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Latter-day Saints. Paper delivered at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors' Center, Saturday, September 13, 2003.

"The Community of the Renewed Covenant: Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls After Fifty Years. Paper delivered at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors' Center, Friday, September 12, 2003.

"The Last Supper According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke." Pp. 59-107 in From the Last Supper Through the Resurrection: The Savior's Final Hours. Ed. by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003.

"The Last Supper According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke." Paper delivered at a symposium From the Last Supper Through the Resurrection: The Savior's Final Hours at the BYU Salt Lake Center, Saturday, April 19, 2003.

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Jesus: Prophet, Priest and King." Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Ed. Paul H. Peterson, Gary L. Hatch, and Laura Card. Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2002, 251-73.

"Lehi's Altar and Sacrifice in the Wilderness," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10:1 (2001): 64-69, 80.

With Steven W. Booras and Douglas M. Chabries. "The Herculaneum Scrolls." IS&T Reporter: "The Window on Imaging," Vol. 16.2 (April 2001):1-4.

Articles in the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, ed. David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2000. "Damascus Document (Zadokite Fragment)," p. 309. "Resurrection," pp. 1120-22.

"Implanting Pious Qualities as a Theme in the Barki Nafshi Hymns." Pages 321-31 in The Dead Sea Scrolls Fifty Years after their Discovery 1947-1999. Proceedings of the Jerusalem Congress, July 20–25, 1997, eds. Lawrence H. Schiffman, Emanuel Tov, and James C. VanderKam. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society in cooperation with the Shrine of the Book, 2000.

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Jesus the Messiah: Prophet, Priest, and King." Paper delivered at the CES Scripture Seminar, Christ, Savior, Son of God, Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday, June 16, 2000.

"Barkhi Nafshi." Pages 76-77 in Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. by Lawrence H. Schiffman and James C. VanderKam. Oxford University Press, 2000.

"Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls." Chicago Area Young Single Adult Conference Session held at the Field Museum, Chicago, May 27, 2000.

With Steven W. Booras. "Multispectral Imaging of the Herculaneum Papyri." Cronache Ercolanesi 29/1999, 95-100.

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Jesus the Messiah: Prophet, Priest, and King." Paper delivered at "Christ, Savior, Son of God: A Symposium, Sponsored by The BYU Religious Studies Center and Continuing Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, January 8, 2000.

With Moshe Weinfeld. Lament by a Leader. Pages 335-42 in Qumran Cave 4 XX, Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 2, ed. Esther Chazon and et al. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXIX Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

With Moshe Weinfeld. Barkhi Nafshi. Pages 255-334 in Qumran Cave 4 XX, Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 2, ed. Esther Chazon and et al. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXIX Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. "4Q434-438. 4QBarkhi Nafshia-e: Introduction," 255-65; "4QBarkhi Nafshia, 434," 267-86; "4QBarkhi Nafshib, 435," 287-93; "4QBarkhi Nafshic, 436, 295-305; "4QBarkhi Nafshid, 437, 307-25; "4QBarkhi Nafshie, 438," 327-34.

Brief Notice: An Epistle from the New Testament Apostles, arranged by John W. Welch (Bookcraft, 1999). Brigham Young University Studies 38:3 (1999), 219.

With Jo Ann H. Seely. "Paul: Untiring Witness of Christ." Ensign, August, 1999, 22-29.

"4Q437: A First Look at an Unpublished Barki Nafshi Text." Pp. 147-160 in The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls: Technological Innovations, New Texts, & Reformulated Issues. Ed. by Donald W. Parry and Eugene Ulrich. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Advisor for the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls on CD. Transcriptions of the Qumran Nonbiblical Texts with English Translation. Provo: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1998. Distributed by E. J. Brill.

"Implanting Pious Qualities as a Theme in the Barki Nafshi Hymns." Paper read at "The Dead Sea Scrolls--Fifty Years After Their Discovery: Major Issues and New Approaches," An International Congress, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, July 20-25, 1997.

"Praise, Prayer, and Worship at Qumran." Pages 95-114 in LDS Perspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by Donald W. Parry and Dana M. Pike. Provo, Utah: The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997.

"The Masada Fragments, the Qumran Scrolls, and the New Testament." Pages 287-301 in Masada and the World of the New Testament. Eds. John F. Hall and John W. Welch. BYU. StudiesMonographs. Provo: Brigham Young University, 1997. Same as the article in BYU Studies.

"The Masada Fragments, the Qumran Scrolls, and the New Testament." BYU Studies 36:3 (1996-97), 287-301. Also appeared in book form.

"'The Circumcised Heart' in 4Q434 Barki Nafshi." Revue de Qumran 17 (1996) 527-35.

"The Barki Nafshi Texts: 4Q434-439." Pages 194-214 in Current Research & Technological Developments on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Edited by Donald W. Parry & Stephen D. Ricks. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996.

"Temple Symbolism in the Gospel of John." Presentation given at the Church Education System Annual Conference. August 1996, New Testament. Provo, Utah.

"4Q437: A First Look at an Unpublished Barki Nafshi Text." Paper read at the 1996 International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. July 15-17, 1996. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Cosponsored by Brigham Young University and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies.

Campus Nazionale: Master 96. A CES sponsored five day conference for the youth in Italy from the ages of 18-30. Held in Assissi, Italy, May 1-5, 1996. At this conference I presented three two hour presentations and one one hour presentation in Italian: Cristo e la dottrina dell'espiazione nel Libro di Mormon; Isaia nel Libro di Mormon: Il tempio al tempo di Gesù Cristo: I rotoli del Mar Morto.

"Praise, Prayer, and Worship at Qumran." Paper read at a conference entitled LDS Perspectives on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Saturday, March 23, 1996, Brigham Young University. Cosponsored by Brigham Young University Religious Education and The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. Expanded version to appear in the publication of the proceedings. Video distributed by F.A.R.M.S.

"The Raised Hand of God as a Covenant Oath Gesture." Pages 411-21 in Fortunate the Eyes that See: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday. Edited by Astrid B. Beck, Andrew H. Bartelt, Paul R. Raabe, and Chris Franke. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995.

"The Barki Nafshi Texts: 4Q434-439." Paper read at Judean Desert Scrolls Conference 1995 at the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, April 1995.

"Shedding Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls." Pages 1-6 in Religious Studies Newsletter Vol. 9, No. 2 Jan. 1995.

With Richard Neitzel Holzapfel. My Father's House: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in the New Testament, 290 pp. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1994.

Articles in the Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. David Noel Freedman. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1992: Arabah, I:321-24; Shur, Wilderness of, V:1230; Sin, Wilderness of, VI:47; Zin, Wilderness of, VI:1095-96.

Assistant to the Editor for The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday, 1992) under the direction of David Noel Freedman (1984-87).

"Paul's Epistle to Philemon: From Unprofitable Servant to Beloved Brother in Christ." Pages 165-77 in Studies in Scripture, Volume Six: The New Testament: Acts--Revelation. Edited by Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1987.

"Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians: 'Is Christ Divided?' Unity of the Saints Through Charity--The Pure Love of Christ." Pages 57-82 in Studies in Scripture, Volume Six: The New Testament: Acts--Revelation. Edited by Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1987.

"Matthew 24-25: The Olivet Discourse." Pages 391-404 in Studies in Scripture,

Volume Five: The New Testament--The Gospels. Edited by Kent P. Jackson and Robert L. Millet. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1986.

Editorial Assistant to David Noel Freedman for publication of The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll (Freedman and Mathews, 1985).

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae PDF