Joseph Lam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. He received his Ph.D. (with Honors) from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on ancient Near Eastern religious texts and practices, with an emphasis on the diverse written traditions of the Levant (Syria-Palestine) in 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, including the Hebrew Bible. At Carolina, he has taught courses on Classical Hebrew language, Hebrew Bible, ancient Near Eastern culture, and the place of metaphor in religious language.