I had a great day yesterday on my first time visiting NYC! Rachel, basically my little sister from Texas who now lives here, was a great guide and we had a blast. All afternoon at the MET, then Central Park, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, the Edge, and Times Square. And a subway rat.

Ok NYC friends, I’m making a day trip tomorrow and likely for a day next weekend as well. If you want to meet up, or if you have any recommendations, let me know ASAP!

As today's email from the @scsclassics.bsky.social notes, "Although the ACLS and partner organizations won their legal case for the restoration of all NEH grants in May 2026, at the eleventh hour the government filed an appeal on July 6th, one day before the 60-day window for appeals closed."

Today was another memorable day for me here in Princeton, to say the least. An important day. I had the privilege of sitting down and talking with a scholarly hero of mine, one of my favorite scholars since I was in college. (1/7)

Coffee, cronut, and books in an inspiring place. A pleasant summer Sunday.

My abode for the summer. Brown Hall, Princeton Theological Seminary.

Welp, I'm at 69,120 words with still a long way to go. But I am celebrating slow and steady progress tonight. Cheers.

I want to celebrate one of my closest friends of many years, colleagues, and co-editor of our upcoming book with Brown Judaic Studies, Josiah S. Bisbee, who has been awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Jewish Studies at Duke's Center for Jewish Studies!

Josiah S. Bisbee and Ilan Benattar Join Duke University’s Center for Jewish Studies as 2026–27 Postdoctoral Fellows

The Duke University Center for Jewish Studies is pleased to announce the appointment of Josiah S. Bisbee and Ilan Benattar as the 2026–27 Postdoctoral Fellows in Jewish Studies. Selected through the C...

jewishstudies.duke.edu

From my evening walk.

A must have.

Eerdmans Publishing@eerdmansbooks.bsky.social · last mo.

Available now! 🎉 In Apocalypticism as a Worldview in Ancient Judaism, John J. Collins explores the rise of Jewish #apocalyptic thought in the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman eras through key ancient texts. Learn more: https://loom.ly/dodHwEg

After two days of cloudiness and rain, it’s beautiful today.

It's hard to put into words the evening I've had. I will never forget late college/early grad school reading the work of one of the greatest, and for me one of the most important, scholars of the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East living in the world, Dr. Mark S. Smith. (1/6)

Quite the lovely place to write today. William Elfers ‘41 Reading Room on the third floor of Princeton University’s Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, located next to their large classics collection. Outside of PTS’s Wright Library, this is without a doubt one of my favorite spots on campus.

I’ve enjoyed settling in here at PTS today. The accommodations are lovely. After getting situated at Brown Hall, I enjoyed my first meal in the Mackay Dining Hall, then headed over to Wright Library (which truly lives up to the hype). (1/3)

I made it to Princeton! As soon as I got off the train at Princeton Station, I headed out to the road side where my friend was picking me up, and look who I run into. My advisor and friend Matt Novenson was out on a walk with his son and his dog, a pleasant surprise!

And so ends my fourth year teaching at St. Anthony High School. After the kids finished their last finals, it was great to say goodbye to many of them, sign their yearbooks, laugh, and wish them all a great summer. It was a tumultuous year in many ways. A lot of mixed feelings today. (1/3)

In less than a week I'll be in Princeton! I just have to survive this week. A mountain of tasks stand between me and getting on that plane Saturday: (1/2)

Cancel all Paramount subscriptions after the ousting of Colbert. But say why.

I really wish I could be there in person at my academic home away from home, the University of Edinburgh, to hear one of the finest scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Paula Fredriksen, give the 2026 Gifford Lectures. I’m honored and elated that Paula is my external examiner for my PhD.

Gifford Lectures 2026 | Prof Paula Fredriksen | Conversions of Christianity

How did Christianity become global? Join Paula Fredriksen for six fascinating lectures on its early rise.

eventbrite.com

I can’t believe it has already been 2 years since our conference at Brown University. Dreaming up and co-convening this conference, and now putting the finishing touches on the resulting co-edited volume, has been the greatest scholarly achievement of my life thus far. Excited. More to come folks.

Working all day today to meet publication deadlines. I’m excited about both of these book chapters I am finishing to eventually see the light of day.

Desk vibes tonight. One of my favorite places.

Some gems arrived today. I have read Van Nuffelen and Smith’s classic digitally, but I had to get the print copies.

How about a Tiramisu Espresso Martini to conjure the muse to write this evening? Don’t mind if I do! With deadlines approaching, might as well try to enjoy the process.

We had a blast last night after the conference. I’m glad I stayed back for after dinner drinks with friends in the hotel lobby. Great conversations, hilarious stories, and lots of laughs. Good times, to say the least!

Janet Spittler of the University of Virginia delivering the last paper of the conference on the Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the City of the Cannibals, aguing that the gospels were what the Apocrypha never ceased to be. Good stuff.

Jeremiah Coogan, the first presenter in the session on Gospel Writing Beyond the Fourfold Gospel, is discussing the reception and reconfiguration of Mark’s gospel through the later Christian additions of prefaces with three examples from the 2nd through 6th centuries CE.

The always warm and jovial Christopher Skinner presenting on a kaleidoscopic method of approaching questions of Mark’s Christology. Chris has done an outstanding job spearheading what has been a fantastic conference on the gospels thus far.

Enjoying my friend Nick Elder’s discussion of the types of media that comprise the gospels.

Excited for the joint presentation on gospel production with James Barker and Robyn Faith Walsh.