Jonathan Kearney

Dr

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Jonathan Kearney is a graduate of University College Dublin where his undergraduate and postgraduate studies were in Near Eastern Languages, Islamic Studies and Jewish Studies. He lectured in the Department of Near Eastern Languages in UCD (part-time 1997–2001; full-time 2003–2007) and in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (2007–2012). Between 2013 and 2016, Jonathan lectured in Religious Studies in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra. He has also lectured on an occasional basis in Trinity College DUblin. At present he lectures in Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies in the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, Dublin City University. Jonathan's research lies mainly in the textual and linguistic foundations of Judaism and Islam; religion and identity formation; and authority and boundaries in religions.






Book

Year Publication
2012 Jonathan Kearney (2012) Rashi - Linguist despite Himself. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing - T & T Clark. [Link]

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2024 Jonathan Kearney (2024) 'Innovative Tradition: On some Aspects of Jewish Biblical Textuality' In: Critical Questions in Contemporary Theology: Essays in Honour of Dermot A. Lane. London : Peter Lang. [Link]
2022 Jonathan Kearney (2022) 'Beyond Peshat and Derash: The Linguistic Dimension of Rashi’s Commentary on Deuteronomy' In: From Theodulf to Rashi and Beyond: Texts, Techniques, and Transfer in Western European Exegesis (800-1100). Leiden : Brill. [Link]
2018 Jonathan Kearney (2018) 'Hebrew Echoes in Arabic: Some Observations on Saadia Gaon's Arabic Translation of the Pentateuch' In: The Cultural reception of the Bible. Dublin : Four Courts Press.
2018 Jonathan Kearney (2018) 'From Intra-Religious to Interreligious Dialogue: The Amman Message as a Precursor and Companion to the A Common Word Initiative' In: The Future of Interfaith Dialogue: Muslim-Christian Encounters through A Common Word. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316466834.003
2018 Jonathan Kearney and Brad Anderson (2018) 'Introduction: Situating Ireland and Socio-Cultural Reception of the Bible' In: Ireland and the Reception of the Bible Social and Cultural Perspectives. London : Bloomsbury.
2017 (2017) 'Mis-reading the Qur’an A non-Muslim pitfall?' In: Reading the Sacred Scriptures From Oral Tradition to Written Documents and their Reception. [Link] [DOI]
2013 Jonathan Kearney (2013) 'An Illuminated Syriac Stepped Cross in the Chester Beatty Library' In: Treasures of Irish Christianity, Volume II: A People of the Word. Dublin : Veritas.
2017 Jonathan Kearney (2017) '“Mis-Reading the Qur’ān: A Non-Muslim Pitfall?”' In: Reading The Sacred Scriptures: From Oral Tradition to Written Documents and their Reception. London : Routledge.

Edited Book

Year Publication
2018 Brad Anderson and Jonathan Kearney (Ed.). (2018) Ireland and the Reception of the Bible: Social and Cultural perspectives. London: Bloomsbury,

Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2024 Jonathan Kearney (2024) 'Constructed Rivalry: The Aleppo and Leningrad Codices as Oppositional Artefacts'. Postscripts: the journal of sacred texts & contemporary worlds, 15 (1):1-35. [Link] http://www.doi.org/10.1558/post.29324
2022 Jonathan Kearney (2022) 'From Nuṣayrīs to ʿAlawīs: The Religiography of Muḥammad Kurd ʿAlī'. Religions, 13 (2). [Link] https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020131
2012 Jonathan Kearney (2012) ''As Its Targum Has It’: On Some of Rashi’s Use of the Targumim in his Commentary on the Torah.”'. Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association, 35 :111-120.
2012 Jonathan Kearney (2012) '“The Torah of Israel in the Tongue of Ishmael: Saadia Gaon’s Tafsīr.” '. Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association, 34 :55-75.
2006 Jonathan Kearney (2006) '“Rashi’s Commentary on the Song of Moses: Soundings in Mediaeval Jewish Exegesis.”'. Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association, 29 :57-77.

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2017 Jonathan Kearney (2017) From Scrolls to Scrolling: Sacred Texts, Materiality, and Changing Media Cultures New Media for Old: The Transformation and Diffusion of Textual Authority in Contemporary Islam Dublin City University, 06/09/2017-06/09/2017.
2017 Jonathan Kearney (2017) The Bible and Biblical Languages in Ireland How did Arabic 'become' a Jewish and Christian Language? Chester Beatty Library, 15/06/2017-15/06/2017.
2017 Jonathan Kearney (2017) Het Instituut voor Joodse Studies aan de Universiteit Antwerpen: Lezingen 2017 Invited Lecture entitled 'Tradition Contested: The Rise of Karaite Judaism and its Impact The Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Antwerp, 09/03/2017-09/03/2017.

Booklet

Year Publication
2012 Jonathan Kearney (2012) An Introduction to Karaite Judaism and its Contribution to Biblical Studies. Dublin: BOOKLET

Encyclopedia Entry

Year Publication
2013 Jonathan Kearney (2013) Grammatical Thought in Medieval Jewish Exegesis in Europe. Leiden: ENC [Link]

Other Publication

Year Publication
2020 Kearney, Jonathan (2020) The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and Commentary. [DOI]
2018 Kearney, Jonathan (2018) The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Companion. [DOI]
2016 Kearney, Jonathan (2016) Practicing Piety in Medieval Ashkenaz: Men, Women, and Everyday Religious Observance. [DOI]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Association Function From / To
European Association of Jewish Studies Member -

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Irish Biblical Association 01/01/2011 - 01/01/2012
Consultative Committee for the Study of Near Eastern Religions 01/01/2008 - 01/01/2009

Reviews

Journal Role
Irish Theological Quarterly Reviewer
Reviewer
Journal for the Study of the New Testament Reviewer

Outreach Activities

Year Engagement Type Organisation Description
Two presentations made to Leaving Certificate students (sitting the examination in 2018) and their teachers. The Coursework Day is organised jointly by the RTAI (Religion Teachers' Association of Ireland) and ICRE (Irish Centre for Religious Education, DCU). [Saturday 28 January 2017]

Research Interests

Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies; Islamic-Jewish Cultural Engagement; Textual traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity; Semitic languages and linguistics; Language and identity; Religious and linguistic minorities; History of religion; Religious Studies and the Study of Religion

Current Postgraduate Students

Student Name Degree Supervision
Dasgupta ,Freya PhD Supervisor
Gumilar ,Gugun PhD Supervisor

Internal Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
Internal Dr Bradford A. Anderson Dublin City University Academic

Teaching Interests

My main teaching interests are in Judaism and Islam as religions, cultural complexes and civilisations. My approach is a broadly Religious Studies one: that is, I engage with religions as largely human phenomena and their cultural manifestations. I am also interested in the question of the nature of religion and utility of that term in describing the phenomena most commonly identified as religions. My initial training was largely philological, so I have a particular interest in the role played by languages in Judaism and Islam (from the role played by languages in the transmission of texts to the role of language as a marker of cultural identity). At present I teach introductory modules on Judaism, Islam and Arabic. I also contribute to a number of other modules offered by the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music.  
    

Modules Coordinated

Term Title Subject
2020 Introduction to Judaism TP104
2022 Introduction to Classical Arabic TP200
2020 Introduction to Islam TP105