Brent Strawn’s research focuses on ancient Near Eastern iconography, Israelite religion, biblical law, the Psalms, poetry, and Old Testament theology. He's D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School and the former William Ragsdale Cannon Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology. Strawn has published over two hundred and fifty articles, chapters in books, contributions to reference works, and reviews. He is the author of What Is Stronger than a Lion? Leonine Image and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2005), The Old Testament Is Dying: A Diagnosis and Recommended Treatment (Baker Academic, 2017), The Old Testament: A Concise Introduction(Routledge, 2019), Lies My Preacher Told Me: An Honest Look at the Old Testament (Westminster John Knox, 2021), and Honest to God Preaching: Talking Sin, Suffering, and Violence (Fortress Press, 2021). He has edited or coedited over twenty-five volumes, including The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Law (Oxford, 2015), which received the 2016 Dartmouth Medal from the American Library Association for most outstanding reference work, and The Westminster Study Bible (Westminster, 2024). Strawn is an ordained elder in the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church and regularly speaks and preaches at churches across the country. He has appeared on CNN on matters ranging from Easter celebrations to Pope Francis to gun violence, and served as both translator and member of the editorial board for The Common English Bible. Professor Strawn has received grants from the Association of Theological Schools, the Catholic Biblical Association, the Wabash Center, the Center for Hebraic Thought, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.