Karen H. Jobes (born 1952) is an American biblical scholar who is Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor Emerita of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at Wheaton College. She has written a number of books and biblical commentaries. In 2015, she received the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Christian Book of the Year Award for "Bible Reference" books. Jobes currently serves as the first female president of the Evangelical Theological Society.[1][2]

Education

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Jobes was born Karen Hill and raised in New Jersey.[3] She completed a BA in physics from Trenton State College in 1974 and an MS in computer science from Rutgers University in 1979.[4] She became a Christian while at college.[5] She returned to study and completed a Master of Arts in Religion (1989) and PhD (1995) in Biblical Hermeneutics from Westminster Theological Seminary.[5] Her dissertation, titled The Alpha-Text of Esther: Its Character and relationship to the Masoretic Text, was supervised by Moisés Silva, with whom she went on to co-author Invitation to the Septuagint, which has become a standard textbook in studies of the Septuagint.[4][5]

Career and research

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Jobes worked in physics and computer science at Princeton University and Johnson and Johnson before returning to study theology.[6]

Jobes has taught New Testament and written commentaries on both Old and New Testament books.[5] From 2005 until 2015, she was the Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor of New Testament Greek and Greek Exegesis at Wheaton College.[4] She taught biblical Greek classes and classes on the Septuagint.[6] She has written a number of books out of her classroom teaching including Discovering the Septuagint, a guided reader for students working with the Greek biblical text,[7] and Letters to the Church, a commentary on Epistle to the Hebrews and the General Epistles that provides a model for students to work through critical issues and draw their own conclusions.[8]

Jobes translated the Codex Sinaiticus Esther for the British Library.[4] She was also part of the NIV and TNIV translation committee for over ten years.[6][9]

Awards and honors

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In 2015, Jobes' commentary on the Johannine epistles won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's Christian Book of the Year Award for "Bible Reference" books.[10] In 2018, the Society of Biblical Literature awarded Jobes its Status of Women in the Profession Outstanding Service in Mentoring award.[11]

Personal life

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Jobes married Forrest "Buzz" Jobes, a research physicist, in 1980 and has two stepsons.[6] He died in 2023.[12] She is a member of Oreland Evangelical Presbyterian Church.[3]

Selected publications

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Books

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  • Jobes, Karen H. (2005). 1 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Baker Academic. ISBN 9781585583621.
  • Burge, Gary M.; Lee-Thorp, Karen; Jobes, Karen H. (2008). John: The Gospel of Life. Harper Collins. ISBN 9780310276517.
  • Moo, Douglas J.; Lee-Thorp, Karen; Jobes, Karen H. (2008). Romans: Celebrating the Good News. Zondervan.
  • Jobes, Karen H. (2011). Esther. NIV Application Commentary. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 9780310872146.
  • Jobes, Karen H. (2011). Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 9780310494799.
  • Jobes, Karen H. (2014). 1, 2, and 3 John. Exegetical Commentary on the Testament. Zondervan Academic. ISBN 9780310518013.
  • Jobes, Karen H.; Silva, Moisés (2015). Invitation to the Septuagint. Baker Academic. ISBN 9781493400041.
  • Jobes, Karen (2016). Discovering the Septuagint: A Guided Reader. Kregel Academic. ISBN 9780825443428.
  • Jobes, Karen H. (2021). John Through Old Testament Eyes: A Background and Application Commentary. Kregel Publications. ISBN 9780825445088.

Chapters and articles

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References

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  1. ^ "Karen H. Jobes, President-Elect / Program Chair". Evangelical Theological Society. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Fea, John (November 21, 2023). "The Evangelical Theological Society elects its first woman president".
  3. ^ a b "About Karen". Karen Jobes.
  4. ^ a b c d "Karen Jobes, Ph.D." Wheaton College.
  5. ^ a b c d "Interview:Karen H. Jobes". women Biblical Scholars. February 5, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d "Alumni: Karen H. Jobes". Westminster Theological seminary.
  7. ^ Long, Phillip J. (August 19, 2016). "Book Review: Karen H. Jobes, Discovering the Septuagint". Reading Acts. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  8. ^ Kamell, Mariam J. (November 2012). "Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles". Themelios. 37 (3). Gospel Coalition.
  9. ^ Gaudreau, Josh (December 14, 2017). "Thursdays with Theologians – Karen Jobes". Encompass Church. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  10. ^ Toomb, Sherri (May 5, 2015). "ECPA Announces the 2015 Christian Book Award® Winners". ECPA. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  11. ^ "The Status of Women in the Profession Outstanding Service in Mentoring Awards". Society of Biblical Literature.
  12. ^ "Obituary information for Forrest C Jobes, Jr". www.matherhodge.com.