Dr. Roger S. Nam joined Candler after serving as dean and professor of biblical studies at Portland Seminary at George Fox University in Oregon. A financial analyst before turning his attention to biblical studies, Nam focuses his research on the economies of the ancient Near East and the book of Ezra-Nehemiah, applying traditional historical-critical methods within social-scientific frameworks. He has also served as a pastor in Seoul, Korea.

His first book, Portrayals of Exchange in the Book of Kings (Brill, 2012), examines the social structures that undergird the economy of ancient Israel. Nam recently published The Theology of the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (Cambridge University Press, 2024) and a technical commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah for the Old Testament Library (Westminster John Knox) is forthcoming. He is coediting The Oxford Handbook for Wealth and Poverty in the Biblical World (Oxford University Press), and co-chairs the steering committee for Economics in the Biblical World for the Society of Biblical Literature’s annual meetings. He is a contributor to Working Preacher, a frequent collaborator with the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, and a popular speaker at churches, conferences and universities.

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