People

Role at SMBC:

As Director of Research, Geoff oversees and promotes SMBC's higher degrees by research program, as well as resources and inspires research amongst the college faculty. He also lectures in Old Testament.

Prior to SMBC:

Prior to moving to Australia in 2009, Geoff worked in management for a retail company in his home town of Dublin. He is a graduate of the Irish Bible Institute and spent two years working as an intern for a Baptist church (2004-2006). Geoff moved to Australia to continue his theological training and is an honours graduate of the Australian College of Theology and SMBC. While at college he worked as a student pastor (p/t) at Heathcote-Engadine Baptist Church (2009-2011). He began lecturing part-time in Old Testament in 2012. His PhD examined the rhetorical shaping of Leviticus within its Pentateuchal setting.

Academic Interests:

Geoff currently researches and writes in the following areas: Pentateuch, Genesis 1-11, Leviticus, Psalms, Daniel, Rhetorical Criticism, and Intertextuality. He is available to supervise research masters (MTh) and doctoral (PhD, ThD) students working in related areas. 

Publications and Research:

Books

• The Book of Numbers. Pillar Old Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans (forthcoming)
• Leviticus. The Bible in God’s World Commentary Series. Eugene: Cascade (forthcoming).
• ‘You Shall Be Clean’: A Biblical Theology of Defilement and Cleansing. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Leicester: IVP (forthcoming).
• Teaching Leviticus: From Text to Message. Fearn: Christian Focus. (Available for purchase from the SMBC online store)
• "I Will Walk among You": The Rhetorical Function of Allusion to Genesis 1–3 in the Book of Leviticus. Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplements Series 21. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press/Eisenbrauns, (2018).
• Co-editor, Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament (Australian College of Theology Monograph Series; Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017).  (Available for purchase from the SMBC online store)

Articles and Essays

• ''And Darkness is My Friend': Contextualising Psalm 88 as Christian Congregational Worship.' In Contextualising the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn and Michael Rhodes. Nottingham: IVP (forthcoming).
• 'Hiding in Plain Sight: Identifying Implicit Markers of בושׁ in Hebrew Narrative.' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament (forthcoming).
• 'What Hope for the Land? Geospatial Defilement and Cleansing in the Hebrew Bible.' Pages 227-39 in Hope for the World from the Old Testament: Essays in Honour of J. Gordon McConville on His 70th Birthday. Edited by David G. Firth, Jamie A. Grant, and Alison Lo. GlossaHouse Festschrift Series 4. Wilmore: GlossaHouse, 2024.
• 'Endangered or Dangerous? YHWH’s Presence and Impurity in Levitical Perspective.' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 46.4 (2022): 480­-94.
• ''Do Not Eat the Owl’: Hearing Leviticus 11 as Christian Scripture.' Hiplil Novum 6 (2020): 20–32.
• Personal Tribute. Page 113 in 'He Inscribed upon the Stone': Celebrating the Work of Jim Eisenbraun. Atlanta: SBL, 2020.
• 'Dodging the Question? The Rhetorical Function of the מה־זאת עשׂית formula in the Book of Genesis.” Tyndale Bulletin 70 (2019): 161–83.
• 'The Role of Divine Healing in Cross-Cultural Ministry.' Evangelical Review of Theology 41 (2017): 339–54.
• ''I Will Walk in Your Midst': The Implications of Leviticus 26:3–13 for Social Wellbeing.' Pages 71–88 in Justice, Mercy and Wellbeing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by Peter G. Bolt and James R. Harrison. Eugene: Pickwick, 2020.
• ''Weeping May Endure for a Night’: The Need to Find Lost Words.' Pages 1–6 in Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament. Edited by G. G. Harper and K. Barker. Australian College of Theology Monograph Series. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017.
• 'Lament and the Sovereignty of God: Theological Reflections on Psalm 88.' Pages 80–93 in Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament. Edited by G. G. Harper and K. Barker. Australian College of Theology Monograph Series. Eugene: Wipf & Stock 2017.
• 'Silence of the Lambs: A Lost Cry of Lament in Psalm 8.' Pages 148–161 in Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament. Edited by G. G. Harper and K. Barker. Australian College of Theology Monograph Series. Eugene: Wipf & Stock 2017.
• ''My Only Friend—Darkness’: A Sermon on Psalm 88.' Pages 260–267 in Finding Lost Words: The Church's Right to Lament. Edited by G. G. Harper and K. Barker. Australian College of Theology Monograph Series. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017.
• 'First Things First: Reading Genesis 1–3 in Its Pentateuchal Context.' Pages 45–55 in The Gender Conversation: Evangelical Perspectives on Gender, Scripture and the Christian Life. Edited by E. Murphy and D. I. Starling. Eugene: Wipf & Stock/Morling Press, 2016.
• 'The Theological and Exegetical Significance of Leviticus as Intertext in Daniel 9.' Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 4 (2015): 39-61.
• ​'Time for a New Diet? Allusions to Genesis 1-3 as Rhetorical Device in Leviticus 11.' Southeastern Theological Review 4 (2013): 179-195.

Book Reviews

• Review of Michael J. Glodo, The Lord Bless You and Keep You: The Promise of the Gospel in the Aaronic Blessing (Wheaton: Crossway, 2023), JETS (forthcoming).
• Review of Andrew R. Davis, The Book of Amos and Its Audiences: Prophecy, Poetry, and Rhetoric (Society for Old Testament Study Monograph Series; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), Themelios 49 (2024), 195–97.
• Review of Brad Vaughan, The Cross in Context: Reconsidering Biblical Metaphors for Atonement (Downers Grove: IVP, 2022), Themelios 48 (2023), 666–68.
• Review of Christopher R. Jones and Katharina Hirt, Handbook of Reading Theological German. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021), Themelios 48 (2023), 193–95.  
• Review of Christophe Nihan and Julia Rhyder, eds., Text and Ritual in the Pentateuch: A Systematic and Comparative Approach (University Park: Eisenbrauns, 2021), Themelios 47 (2022), 391–92.
• Review of Steven D. Mathewson, The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2021), Themelios 47 (2022), 209–11.
• Review of Jerry E. Shepherd, Leviticus (SGBC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021), Themelios 47 (2022), 167–68. 
• Review of James A. Greenberg, A New Look at Atonement in Leviticus: The Meaning and Purpose of Kipper Revisited (Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement 23; University Park: Eisenbrauns, 2019), Themelios 45 (2020).
• Review of Hendrik J. Koorevaar and Mart-Jan Paul, eds., The Earth and the Land: Studies about the Value of the Land of Israel in the Old Testament and Afterwards (Edition Israelogie 11; Berlin: Lang, 2018), Themelios 45 (2020), 146–48.
• Review of Nevada L. DeLapp, Theophanic "Type-Scenes" in the Pentateuch: Visions of YHWH (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 660; London: T&T Clark, 2018), Themelios 44 (2019) 563–64.
• Review of Matthew S. Goldstone, The Dangerous Duty of Rebuke: Leviticus 19:17 in Early Jewish and Christian Interpretation (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 185; Leiden: Brill, 2018), Review of Biblical Literature (02/2020).
• Review of Daniel I. Block and Richard L. Schultz, eds., Sepher Torath Mosheh: Studies in the Composition and Interpretation of Deuteronomy (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2017), Themelios 44 (2019), 359–61.
• Review of Matthew E. Ferris, If One Uses It Lawfully: The Law of Moses and the Christian Life (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2018), Themelios 44 (2019), 133–35.
• Review of Beth E. Elness-Hanson, Generational Curses in the Pentateuch: An American and Maasai Intercultural Analysis (Bible and Theology in Africa 24; New York: Lang, 2017), Review of Biblical Literature (05/2019).
• Review of Bryan D. Estelle, Echoes of Exodus: Tracing a Biblical Motif (Downers Grove: IVP, 2018), Themelios 43 (2018): 466–68.
• Review of Alastair J. Roberts and Andrew Wilson, Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), Themelios 43 (2018): 466–68.
• Review of William P. Brown, A Handbook to Old Testament Exegesis (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2017), Themelios 42 (2017): 513–14.
• Review of Nazek Khalid Matty, Sennacherib's Campaign Against Judah and Jerusalem in 701 B.C.: A Historical Reconstruction (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 487. Berlin: DeGruyter, 2016), Southeastern Theological Review 8 (2017): 87–89.
• Review of Susanne Boorer, The Vision of the Priestly Narrative: Its Genre and Hermeneutics of Time (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 27. Atlanta: SBL, 2016), Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament (forthcoming).
• Review of Joe M. Sprinkle, Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015), Themelios 42 (2017): 365–67.
• Review of Francis Landy, Leigh M. Trevaskis and Bryan D. Bibb (eds.), Text, Time, and Temple: Literary, Historical and Ritual Studies in Leviticus (Hebrew Bible Monographs 64; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2015), Southeastern Theological Review 8 (2017): 83–85.
• Review of L. Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (New Studies in Biblical Theology 37; Downers Grove: IVP, 2016), Themelios 41 (2016): 311–312.
• Review of L. Michael Morales, ed., Cult and Cosmos: Tilting Toward a Temple-Centred Theology (Biblical Tools and Studies 18; Leuven: Peeters, 2014), Southeastern Theological Review 7 (2016): 119–20.
• Review of Bryan C. Babcock, Sacred Ritual: A Study of the West Semitic Ritual Calendars in Leviticus 23 and the Akkadian Text Emar 446 (Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement 9; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2014), Southeastern Theological Review 6 (2015): 243–245.
• Review of Oren R. Martin, Bound for the Promised Land: The Land Promise in God's Redemptive Plan (New Studies in Biblical Theology 34; Downers Grove: IVP, 2015), Themelios 40 (2015): 282-284.
• Review of Andrew J. Schmutzer and David M. Howard, eds., The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul (Chicago: Moody, 2013), Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 4 (2015): 115-117.
• Review of James W. Watts, Leviticus 1–10 (Historical Commentary on the Old Testament; Leuven, Peeters: 2013), Themelios 39 (2014): 531-532.

Academic Papers Presented

• 'Reading Exodus through Levitical Eyes: Intertextuality and the Hermeneutics of Pentateuchal Illocutions.' Presented to the Evangelical Theological Society, San Diego, 20 November 2024.
• ''Darkness is My Closest Friend’: Interrogating an Attempt to Reintroduce Psalm 88 as Christian Congregational Lament.' Presented to the Carey Psalms Conference, Auckland, 18 July 2024.
• 'What's Impurity Got to Do with It? Leviticus, Gentiles, and the Council of Jerusalem.' Presented to the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology (Cambridge) in conjunction with the IBR Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar, 27 June 2024.
• 'Leviticus as Casualty of Evangelical Hermeneutics: Reading Hebrews 10:4 Canonically.' Presented to the Tyndale Fellowship Old Testament Study Group, London, 6 July 2023.
• 'What Hope for the Land? Geospatial Defilement and Cleansing in Old Testament Perspective.' Presented to the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research, Old Testament Group, Cambridge, 30 June 2021.
• 'Endangered or Dangerous? YHWH's Presence and Impurity in Levitical Perspective.' Presented to the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research, Old Testament Group, Cambridge, 26 June 2019.
• ''Do Not Eat the Owl’: Hearing Leviticus 11 as Christian Scripture.' Presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, Denver, 13 November 2018.
• 'Mimicking God’s Grace? Sin and Interpersonal Confrontation in the Pentateuch.' Presented at Theology Connect, Sydney, 14 July 2018.
• 'The Role of Divine Healing in Cross-Cultural Ministry.' Presented to the Harvest 7th Annual Research Conference, Melbourne, 25 August 2017.
• ''Do Not Eat the Hoopoe or the Bat’: The Enduring Relevance of Leviticus 11 as Christian Scripture.' Presented to the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research, Old Testament Group, Cambridge, 4 July 2017.
• 'Justice for All? The Contribution of Leviticus 26:3–13.' Presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, San Antonio, 15 November 2016.
• ''I Will Walk in Your Midst’: The Implications of Leviticus 26:3–13 for Social Wellbeing.' Presented at Justice, Mercy and Social Wellbeing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Sydney College of Divinity, 23 July 2016.
• 'First Things First: Reading Genesis 1–3 in Its Pentateuchal Context,' presented at The Gender Conversation, Morling College, Sydney, September 7, 2015.
• 'Mosaic Whispering in the Danielic Ear? Leviticus as Underappreciated Intertext in Daniel 9', presented at the Theology & Philosophy Postgraduate Research Conference, ACU, Sydney, October 1, 2013.
• 'Time for a New Diet? Allusions to Genesis 1–3 as Rhetorical Device in Leviticus 11', presented to the International Society of Biblical Literature, St. Andrews, July 9, 2013.
• 'Beware the Serpent: Allusions to Genesis 1–3 as Rhetorical Device in Leviticus 11', presented to the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research, Old Testament Group, Cambridge, July 1, 2013.

Speaking Ministry:

• Preachers Conference, New Zealand (2024)
• Exploring Leviticus, Auckland (2023)
• Bega Bible Teach In (2022)
• SMBC Children's Ministry Conference (2019)
• KCC Easter Convention (2019)
• Hunter Bible Ministries Workshop (2018)
• Bega Bible Teach In (2018)
• KCC Next Gen Conference (2018)
• Training session on Exodus, Life Anglican Church, Quakers Hill (2017)
• SMBC Preaching Conference (2017)
• Training session on Exodus, St. Matthew's, Manly (2016)
• Katoomba Easter Convention (2016)
• Training session on Daniel, St. Matthew's, Manly (2014)
• Training session on Leviticus & Numbers, Christ Church St. Ives (2014)
• Christian Reformed Church (NSW) Young Adults Conference (2014)
• Illawarra Missions Day Conference (2013)
• Various preaching at local churches

Personal:

Geoff is married to Laura. They have two children—Samuel and Abigail—and live in Croydon. The Harpers attend Petersham Baptist Church. In his spare time he enjoys climbing mountains, fishing, snorkeling, reading and playing Lego with the kids.

High res photo download (6.2MB)