Dr. Spencer L. Allen, Ph.D., teaches at the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies in the Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas. He holds a doctorate in Hebrew Bible and Assyriology from the University of Pennsylvania (2011), a Master’s of Theological Studies in Scripture and Interpretation from Harvard Divinity School (2001), and he spent a year studying Semitic languages at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (2001-2002). Allen previously taught in the Division of Biblical Studies at John Brown University and in the critical writing program at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches Monday morning classes at First Presbyterian Church, Rogers, and occasional Wednesday evening classes at First United Methodist Church, Rogers, as well as occasional classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) within the University of Arkansas. Allen has published articles on the use of rhetorical questions in Amos; Assyrian political treaties; the grammar of divine names in the biblical world; the biblical dimension of rock superstar Bruce Springsteen’s music and lyrics; and local cult leader Tony Alamo’s views on Christian polygamy. His book, The Splintered Divine: A Study of Ishtar, Baal, and Yahweh Divine Names and Divine Multiplicity in the Ancient Near East, came out in 2015 as the fifth volume in the De Gruyter series Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records (SANER). He is currently completing the manuscript for his next book, a collection of his sermons, Give a Man a Fish and Other Sermons Your Pastor Won’t Give.
