Dr. Rannfrid I. Lasine Thelle

-Biblical studies: Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

-Assyriology, especially ancient Babylon: its history and reception in Western culture

-Heritage management and history of archaeology

Beyond her research areas in biblical studies and Assyriology, Rannfrid is currently expanding her interest in heritage management issues into a new interdisciplinary field involving archaeological management, art history, iconoclasm, historiography, and 21^st-century religious/ideological movements with a research project that investigates rationales for destruction and preservation of religious art and architecture in the Middle East.

- Survey courses in Old and New Testament

- Religion and Society

- Archaeology and the Bible

- Race and the Bible

- Women and the Bible

- The Bible and the Ancient Near East

- Biblical Hebrew

- Independent study topics with students pursuing a minor

Books

Babel and Bible: The Impact of Mesopotamia on Biblical Studies 1872–1924. Scriptural Traces. New York: Bloomsbury, 2026.

Babylon entdecken. Translation of Discovering Babylon, 2019. Translated by Gerlinde Baumann. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2021.

Discovering Babylon. Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East. London: Routledge, 2019.

Oppdagelsen av Babylon [The Discovery of Babylon]. Oslo: Spartacus, 2014.

Approaches to the “Chosen Place”: Accessing a Biblical Concept. Library of Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, 564. New York: T&T Clark International, 2012.

Ask God: Divine Consultation in the Literature of the Hebrew Bible. Beiträge zur biblischen Exegese und Theologie, 30. Frankfurt aM: Peter Lang Verlag, 2002.

 

Co-edited volumes

Jehu’s Tribute: What Can Biblical Studies Offer Assyriology? Edited by Jeffrey L. Cooley and Rannfrid I. Lasine Thelle. Explorations in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2025.

Hope: Imagining a Better Future in Judean, Babylonian, and Mediterranean Antiquity. Edited by Jennifer Singletary, Jeffrey L. Cooley and Rannfrid I. Lasine Thelle. Advances in Ancient Biblical and Near Eastern Research, 2025. (A hard copy issue of the online, special issue).

Special Issue: Hope. Guest editors: Jennifer Singletary, Jeffrey L. Cooley and Rannfrid I. Lasine Thelle. Advances in Ancient Biblical and Near Eastern Research 4/2/December 2024. (An open-access online publication)

New Perspectives on Old Testament Prophecy and History: Essays in Honour of Hans M. Barstad. Edited by Rannfrid I. Thelle, Terje Stordalen, and Mervyn E. J. Richardson. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, 168. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

 

Articles and book chapters

“Tribal Justice in Judges 20-21: Benjamin and His Brothers in an Inverted World.” In a volume on minor characters in the book of Judges, edited by Tammi Schneider and Traci Birge. Equinox, forthcoming.

“Deuteronomy, the Deuteronomistic History, and the Books of Joshua through Kings.” In Oxford Handbook of Deuteronomy, edited by Don C. Benjamin, 312–329. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025.

“Challenges of Reckoning.” Review article of Johannes Renger, “German Assyriology: A Discipline in Troubled Waters,” in Bernard M. Levinson and Robert P. Ericksen (eds.), The Betrayal of the Humanities: The University during the Third Reich, Indiana University Press, 2022. Review of Biblical Literature 11 (2023): 29–40.

“Motherhood, Violence, and Power in the Book of Judges.” In Judges, Gender, and Intertextuality, edited by Shelley Birdsong, J. Cornelis de Vos, and Paul Kim, 101–120. Resources for Biblical Study; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2023.

“Deuteronomy, the Deuteronomistic History, and the Books of Joshua through Kings.” In Oxford Handbook of Deuteronomy, edited by Don C. Benjamin. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022, online.

“Moab as a Mirror for Judah? Reflections of Jeremiah 1–20 in Jeremiah 48.” In Prophecy and Foreign Nations, edited by Uwe Becker, Matthijs de Jong, and Hannes Bezzel, 111–129. Forschungen zum Alten Testament, II Reihe. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022.

“The Minor Prophets’ Relation to the Torah and the Former Prophets.” In Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets, edited by Julia O’Brien, 186–199. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

“Matrices of Motherhood in Judges 5.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43/3 (2019): 436–452.

“Moderfigurenes vold i Dommerne 5.” [The Violence of the Mother Figures in Judges 5]. St. Sunniva: tidsskrift for feministisk teologi. Issue 1 (2019): 52–69.

“Contested Antiquities—Contested History: ‘The City of David’ as an Example,” in The Future of the Past: from Amphipolis to Mosul, New Approaches to Cultural Heritage Preservation in the Eastern Mediterranean, edited by Konstantinos Chalikias, Maggie Beeler, Ariel Pearce, Steve Renette. Archaeological Institute of America, Heritage, Conservation and Archaeology, 2016, 11–20. Online publication: https://www.archaeological.org/news/sitepreservationhcaspecialpubs/21700

“Female Labor in the Bible: Recognizing its Value While Exposing Reader Assumptions.” Review article of Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic History. By Mercedes L. García Bachmann. Pp. xv + 413. International Voices in Biblical Studies, 4. Atlanta, Ga.: Society of Biblical Literature, 2013, for Hebrew Studies 56 (2015): 403–409.

“Self as Other: Israel’s Self-Designation as Adulterous Wife, a Self-Reflective Perspective on a Prophetic Metaphor.” In New Perspectives on Old Testament Prophecy and History: Essays in Honour of Hans M. Barstad, edited by Rannfrid I. Thelle, Terje Stordalen, and Mervyn M. E. Richardson, 104–120. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, 168. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

“Babylon as Judah’s Doppelgänger: The Identity of Opposites in the Book of Jeremiah.” In Concerning the Nations: Essays on the Oracles against the Nations in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, edited by Andrew Mein, Paul Kim, and Else K. Holt, 77–94. Library of Library of Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, 304. London: Bloomsbury, 2015.

“Kohelet—Forkynneren: en bibelsk visdomsbok.” [Qohelet—Ecclesiastes: A Biblical Wisdom Book]. Religion og livssyn: tidsskrift for religionslærerforeningen i Norge. [Journal of the Association of Teachers of Religion in Norway]. 26:3 (2014): 61–65.

“Reflections of Ancient Israelite Divination in the Former Prophets.” In Israelite Prophecy and the Deuteronomistic History, edited by M. Jacobs and R. Person, 7–33. Ancient Israel and its Literature. Atlanta: SBL, 2013.

“Discovering Oppression: Liberation from Oppressive Convictions and Finding Freedom to Read.” Teaching Theology and Religion 16:3 (2013): 267–73.

“Gammeltestamentlig forskning i Norge.” [Old Testament Research in Norway]. In Teologi og modernitet: Universitetsteologien i det 20. hundreåret [Theology and Modernity: University Theology in the 20th Century, on the occasion of the 200^th anniversary of the University of Oslo], edited by H. Elstad & T. Rasmussen, 55–87. Oslo: Unipub, 2011.

“MT Jeremiah: Reflections of a Discourse on Prophecy in the Persian Period.” In The Production of Prophecy: Constructing Prophets and Prophecy in Yehud, edited by E. Ben Zvi and D. V. Edelman, 184–207. BibleWorld; London: Equinox, 2009.

“Babylon in the Book of Jeremiah: Negotiating a Power Shift.” In Prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah, edited by H. M. Barstad and R. Kratz, 187–232. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 388. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, 2009.

“The Biblical Conquest Account and its Modern Hermeneutical Challenges.” Studia Theologica 1 (2007): 262–282.

“Da alle kriger var hellige og Gud befalte folkemord.” [When All Wars Were Holy and God Commanded Genocide]. PACEM 7, No. 2 (2004), 151–156.

“Dyrene i Bibelen.” [The Animals of the Bible]. Religion og Livssyn: Tidsskrift for Religionslærerforeningen i Norge [Journal of the Association of Teachers of Religion]. 14:1 (2002): 25–29.

“Profettekster og historien: GT-forskningen og teologisk refleksjon.” [Prophetic Texts and History: the Relationship Between Old Testament Research and Theological Reflection]. Kirke og Kultur [Church and Culture] (2002): 279–290.

“Historiens utfordringer: Gammeltestamentlig forskning ved Det teologiske fakultet i det 20. Århundre.” [The Challenges of History: Old Testament Research at the Faculty of Theology in the 20th Century, written for the centennial of the journal]. Norsk Teologisk Tidsskrift [Norwegian Journal of Theology] 101 (2000): 17–32.

“Darash et-Adonai: The Prophetic Function of Consulting YHWH in Jer. 21.2 and 37.7.” Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 12 (1998): 249–255.

 

Translation of Textbook

Hans M. Barstad. A Brief Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Trans. Rannfrid Thelle; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010) from Norwegian: En bok om Det gamle testamente. Oslo: Det teologiske fakultet, Universitetet i Oslo, 2003.

 

Book Reviews

Review of Stephanie Dalley, Stephanie Dalley. The City of Babylon: A History, c. 2000 BC–AD 116 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021). ISBN 978-1-316-50177-1 Paperback. i–xxi, 1–375. In Batten, Alicia, ed. Review of Biblical Literature, Review of Biblical Literature, 2024. The Society of Biblical Literature, 2024: 63–67.

Review of Paul-Alain Beaulieu, A History of Babylon: 2200 BC–AD 75. Blackwell History of the Ancient World. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2018. In Review of Biblical Literature, September, 2019.

Review (in Norwegian) of Jorunn Økland, Irmtraud Fischer, Mercedes Navarro Puerto, and Andrina Valerio (eds.). Torah. The Bible and Women: An Encyclopaedia of Exegesis and Cultural History, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, 1:1. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011. In Teologisk tidsskrift 2 (2013): 186–190.

Review of Hugh Pyper. An Unsuitable Book: the Bible as Scandalous Text. The Bible in the Modern World, 7. Sheffield: Phoenix Press, 2005. In Review of Biblical Literature Oct. 15, 2006.

Review of Timothy S. Laniak. Shame and Honor in the Book of Esther. SBLDS, 165. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1998. In Hebrew Studies 4 (2000).

Review of Magnar Kartveit (ed.). Det gamle testamentet: Analyse av tekstar i utval. Oslo: Samlaget, 1997. In Stavanger Aftenblad 29. January, 1998 (a Stavanger daily).

 

15 reviews published in Norsk Teologisk Tidsskrift (Norwegian Theological Journal) between 1994 and 2005

 

Homily resources

Chapter in Samklang: Det gamle testamente i den norske kirkes prekener, Terje Stordalen et al. (eds.), Oslo: Verbum, 2023 [OT scholars wrote chapters to pastors to use as a resource on days when the lectionary had an OT text for the sermon. I wrote on the reading for New Years Eve: Jeremiah 29].

Contributions to Nytt norsk kirkeblad (New Norwegian Church Journal): commentaries on the homily text for specific Sundays. A resource used by many pastors:

Commentary on the texts for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, Nytt norsk kirkeblad 26 (1998), 27–28.

Commentary on 1 Kings 19:1-9, 6th Sunday after Pentecost, the Day of the Apostles, 23. July, Nytt Norsk Kirkeblad (2000).

Commentary on Isaiah 1:18-20, «Kom, la oss gjøre opp vår sak!», 4th Sunday after Easter, Nytt norsk kirkeblad 2 (2010), 22–24.

 

Teaching resources

“Det gamle testamente. Tekstarbeid og metode” [The Old Testament: textual work and method], in the UNIPUB-kompendium, Bibelen og kristendommens historie. 1992. [The Bible and the History of Christianity], pp. 45–58.

 

Study Bible

Introductory chapters and annotations/commentary for the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Esther (in Norwegian). Studiebibelen. Oslo: Verbum, 2019.

- Award for Research/Creative Projects (ARCS), Wichita State University (2024)

- John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award for Teaching (2023)

- Ard Research Award, History Department, Wichita State University (2022)

- Award for Research/Creative Projects (ARCS), Wichita State University (2018)

- Tilford Fellow Award, Wichita State University (2021)

- Travel grants from the Norwegian Association of Writers of Non-fiction (2010 and 2014)

- Grants from the Norwegian Association of Writers of Non-fiction (2009, 2016)

- Post-doc Fellowship, University of Oslo (2000, 2002-2005)

- Norwegian Research Council scholarship for research abroad (Jerusalem, 1998)

- Deutsche akademische Austauschdienst (1996)

- Doctoral Fellowship, the Norwegian Research Council (1995-1999)

Languages

Norwegian: native language

English: fluent

Japanese: spoken fluency

German: proficient academic reading, fair spoken

French: basic reading comprehension

Spanish: basic reading comprehension

Modern Hebrew: basic conversation, basic reading comprehension

Modern Arabic: rudimentary Levantine Arabic conversation, studying Fuṣḥā now

 

Ancient languages:

Biblical Hebrew, proficient

Koiné Greek, used to be proficient

Latin: none (thus, I am uneducated)

Akkadian: rudimentary