This page features my academic and professional Curriculum Vitae. Perpetually in progress. For a list of my earned Academic and Professional Certificates, see here: Certificates. CV last updated: 05/21/2026
Education
PhD, The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD); In Progress (2022-Present)
Program Details
- Department of Near Eastern Studies; Major: Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitics; Minor: Assyriology; Current GPA: 4.0; Degree expected 2027/2028.
- Sample of coursework: Archaic Aramaic (Fall 2022); Pentateuch (Fall 2022); Prophets and Prophecy (Fall 2022); Akkadian [Old Babylonian Grammar] (Fall 2022); Seminar in Near Eastern History: Mesopotamia (Fall 2022); Intro to Middle Egyptian (Fall 2022); Seminar in Ancient Israelite Religion (Spring 2023); Seminar in the Minor Prophets (Spring 2023); Advanced Akkadian [Texts from Ekalte] (Spring 2023); Seminar in Near Eastern History: Mesopotamia (Spring 2023); Independent Study: Middle Egyptian (Spring 2023); Northwest Semitic Epigraphy (Fall 2023); Book of Ezekiel (Fall 2023); Akkadian Literary and Religious Texts (Fall 2023); Elementary Sumerian (Fall 2023); Seminar in Near Eastern History: Egypt (Fall 2023); Intro to Coptic (Fall 2023, audit); Advanced Ugaritic (Spring 2024); The History of Hebrew (Spring 2024); Advanced Akkadian [Canaanite Amarna Letters] (Spring 2024); Seminar in Near Eastern History: Late Period Egypt (Spring 2024); Elementary Sumerian II (Spring 2024); Intro to Coptic (Spring 2024, audit); The Evolution of Hebrew Linguistic Thought (Fall 2024); Advanced Akkadian [Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Administrative Texts] (Fall 2024); History of Ancient Syria/Palestine (Fall 2024); Kings, Prophets, and Scribes: The Creation of Israel in the Deuteronomistic History (Fall 2024); Middle Egyptian Texts (Fall 2024, audit); The Book of Job (Spring 2025); History: Ancient Syria-Palestine II (Spring 2025); Advanced Akkadian [Unpublished Texts from the Collection of Elias S. David] (Spring 2025); Modern Hebrew (Spring 2025); Independent Study: Dissertation Research (Spring 2025); The Talmud as Read in the Middle Ages: The Sugya of Kavod HaBriot (Spring 2025, audit); Independent Study: Dissertation Research (Fall 2025); Archaic Aramaic (Fall 2025, audit); Archaic Hebrew Poetry (Fall 2025, audit); Advanced Akkadian [Neo-Babylonian] (Fall 2025, audit); Independent Study: Dissertation Research (Spring 2026); Ancient Israelite Religion (Spring 2026, audit); Qohelet (Spring 2026, audit); Advanced Akkadian (Spring 2026, audit); History of the Jews (Spring 2026, audit); Talmud (Spring 2026, audit); Semitic Sisters: The Intersection of Hebrew and Arabic Language Learning (Spring 2026, audit).
- Courses Taught: Elementary Biblical Hebrew (Fall 2025); Readings in Hebrew Prose (Fall 2025); Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (Spring 2026); Readings in Hebrew Prose and Poetry (Spring 2026); Comparative Semitic Grammar (Fall 2026, forthcoming).
MA, Trinity International University, Divinity School (Deerfield, IL); 2018-2021
Program Details
- Department of Old Testament and Semitic Languages; Major: Biblical and Near Eastern Archaeology and Semitic Languages. Degree earned May 2021.
- Additional Coursework: Old Testament and Semitic Languages (all but thesis).
- Sample of coursework: Egypt and the Bible (Spring 2018); History of Israel (Spring 2018); Israel Study Tour (Spring 2018); Hebrew Exegesis (Summer 2018); Biblical Archaeology (Spring 2019); Guided Research: Qumran Hebrew Literature and Archaeology (Spring 2019); Guided Research: Northwest Semitic Epigraphy (Spring 2019); Extra-Biblical Aramaic (Spring 2019); Old Testament Studies I: Pentateuch & Former Prophets (Spring 2019); Israel Study Tour (Spring 2019); Biblical Aramaic (Spring 2019); Old Testament Studies II: Latter Prophets and Writings (Spring 2019); Field Work in the Middle East: Abel Beth Maacah (Summer 2019).
MA, Welch College (Gallatin, TN); 2017-2020
Program Details
- Major: Theology; Degree earned May 2020; Thesis: “An Examination of the Masorah of Ruth in Codex Leningradensis“
- Sample of coursework: History of Doctrine (Fall 2017); Issues in Old Testament Studies (Spring 2018); Issues in New Testament Studies (Spring 2018); The Arminian Theological Tradition (Spring 2018); Research Methodology (Fall 2018).
BA, Welch College (Gallatin, TN); 2013-2018
Program Details
- Major: History; Minor: Theological Studies; Degree earned 2018.
- Sample of coursework: History of American Christianity (Spring 2014); World Geography (Fall 2014); Beginning Hebrew I (Fall 2014); History of Western Civilization I and II (Fall 2014; Spring 2016); Beginning Biblical Hebrew II (Spring 2015); Renaissance and Reformation (Spring 2015); Hebrew Exegesis I and II (Fall 2015; Spring 2016); Beginning Koine Greek I and II (Fall 2015; Spring 2016); Masterpieces of World Literature II (Spring 2016); Creeds and Councils of the Early Church (Spring 2017); Free Will Baptist History (Spring 2017); Jacksonian Era 1814-1850 (Spring 2017); Genesis and Exodus (Spring 2017); Historiography (Summer 2017).
AAS (Associates of Applied Science), Cochise College (Sierra Vista, AZ); 2016-2017
Program Details
- Degree: Intelligence Operations Studies (IOST); Degree earned: Spring 2017
University Teaching
- Elementary Biblical Hebrew (JHU – Fall 2025)
- Elementary Biblical Hebrew II (JHU – Spring 2026)
- Readings in Hebrew Prose (JHU – Fall 2025)
- Readings in Hebrew Prose and Poetry (JHU – Spring 2026)
- Comparative Semitic Grammar (JHU – Fall 2026; forthcoming)
Publications
- “Studying Aramaic in Sixteenth-Century Strasbourg: Fagius, Tremellius, and the Birth of Aramaic Studies,” in a conference proceedings volume (forthcoming).
- “Ancient Israelite Religion (Iron Age),” in The Database of Religious History (2024).
- “Ugaritic Ba’lu Cycle,” in The Database of Religious History (2024).
- “Katumuwa Stele from Sam’al,” in The Database of Religious History (2024).
- “Balaam Inscription from Tell Deir ‘Allā,” in The Database of Religious History (2024).
- “Hebrew Manuscripts,” in Textual History of the Bible, vol. 3D, A Companion to Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill, 2022.
- “The Scholarly Bible Portal of the German Bible Society,” in Textual History of the Bible, vol. 3D, A Companion to Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill, 2022.
Further Academic Training
Additional Graduate Studies
The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.): Spring 2020 - Present
- Department: Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures; Status: non-degree seeking student; GPA: 4.0
- Courses: Aramaic Dialects II (Spring 2020); Northwest Semitic Inscriptions (Fall 2021); Comparative Semitic Grammar (Spring 2022); Historical Hebrew Grammar (Spring 2022, audit); Classical Ethiopic I and II (Summer 2023); Intro Quranic and Classical Arabic I (Fall 2024, audit); Intro Akkadian (Fall 2024, audit); Biblical Hebrew Poetry I (Fall 2024, audit); Intro Targumic Aramaic (Fall 2024, audit); Intro Quranic and Classical Arabic II (Spring 2025, audit); Hebrew Poetry II (Spring 2025, audit); Intro Targumic Aramaic II (Spring 2025, audit); Seminar in Syriac Patristics (Spring 2025, audit); Aramaic Dialects (Spring 2026, audit); Syriac (Spring 2026, audit); Basic Classical Armenian (Summer 2026).
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands): 2023 - 2026
- Program (July 6-17, 2026; forthcoming): Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Semitics program). Courses: Historical Linguistics (Stefan Norbruis); Northwest Semitic: Ugaritic and Phoenician (Agustinus Gianto); Introduction to Syriac (Martin Baasten); Reading Classical Ethiopic Literature (Martin Baasten).
- Program (July 21-Aug 1, 2025): Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Semitics program). Courses: Arabic Paleography and Epigraphy (Ahmad Al-Jallad); Comparative Semitics (Marijn van Putten; Benjamin Suchard; Ahmad Al-Jallad); Rabbinic Hebrew (Martin Baasten); Classical Ethiopic (Martin Baasten).
- Program (July 15-26, 2024): Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Semitics program). Courses: Northwest Semitics (Agustinus Gianto); Advanced Biblical Hebrew (Agustinus Gianto); Sabaic (Imar Koutchoukali); Historical Grammar of Hittite (Alwin Kloekhorst).
- Program (July 10-21, 2023): Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Semitics program). Courses: Historical Grammar of Hebrew (Benjamin Suchard); Classical Ethiopic (Martin Baasten); Introduction to Safaitic (Ahmad Al-Jallad); Reconstructing Afroasiatic (Marijn van Putten, Marwan Kilani, et al.).
Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA): Winter 2020-Spring 2022 (online)
- Program: Ancient Near Eastern Studies; Status: non-degree seeking student; GPA: 4.0
- Courses: Beginning Ugaritic (Winter 2020); Beginning Akkadian (Fall 2020); Advanced Akkadian (Winter 2021); Northwest Semitic Texts (Spring 2021); Ugaritic 2 (Spring 2022).
Additional Academic Courses and Certificates
List of Programs
- Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Universiteit Leiden; Summer 2026; forthcoming)
- Safaitic Epigraphy (The Arabian Epigraphic Institute; Summer 2026 online; forthcoming)
- Ancient South Arabian (The Arabian Epigraphic Institute; Summer 2026 online; forthcoming)
- Modern Hebrew Ulpan 3 (Rosen School of Hebrew; Spring/Summer 2026 online – in progress)
- Intensive Course on Pre-Islamic Arabia and Arabic (Princeton University; Jan 12-16, 2026)
- Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Universeit Leiden; Summer 2025)
- Arabic 103 (Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.; Spring 2025)
- Modern Hebrew Ulpan 2 (Rosen School of Hebrew; Fall 2024-Spring 2025 online)
- Meroitic/Old Nubian (Macquarie Ancient Languages School; Summer 2025 online)
- Digital Applications in Assyriology Nordic Summer School (Copenhagen; Summer 2024)
- Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Universeit Leiden; Summer 2024)
- Venice Summer School in Digital and Public Humanities (Ca’ Foscari, Venice; Summer 2024)
- Anatolian Languages and Linguistics Summer School. Courses included: (1) Writing Systems in Ancient Anatolia; (2) Lydian Language and Linguistics; (3) The Hittites: Texts and Contexts; (4) Anatolian Historical Linguistics (Oxford University; Summer 2024)
- Computer-assisted Genetic Editing: From Medieval Manuscripts to Born-Digital Documents (Universiteit Antwerpen; Summer 2024)
- Introduction to Old Persian (Macquarie Ancient Languages School; Summer 2024 online)
- Summer School in Languages and Linguistics (Universeit Leiden; Summer 2023)
- Semi-Intensive German Language A2, (Freie Universität Berlin; Summer 2023)
- Historical and Geographical Settings of the Bible (Jerusalem University College; Summer 2022)
- Arabic 101 & 102 (Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center; Spring 2022 online)
- Syriac I (Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute; Fall 2022 online)
- Syriac (Agora University; Fall 2021 online)
- Modern Hebrew Ulpan 1 (Rosen School of Hebrew, an affiliate of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Fall 2021 online)
- Biblical Aramaic (Israel Institute of Biblical Studies, an affiliate of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Spring 2021 online)
- Additional coursework at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (non-degree seeking student): History of Ancient Israel (Fall 2019); Exegesis of Zechariah (Fall 2019); Exegesis of Genesis (Spring 2021); Hebrew/Aramaic Primary Texts I (Fall 2021); Hebrew/Aramaic Primary Texts II (Spring 2022)
- Additional coursework at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (non-degree seeking student): Akkadian (Fall 2019); Advanced Hebrew Grammar (Spring 2020, audit)
- See more here: See here: https://m-saunders.com/certificates/
Professional Certificates and Courses
- See here: https://m-saunders.com/certificates/
Archaeological Excavations
- Tel Abel Beth Maacah, Israel (joint project by Azusa Pacific University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Summer 2019
Conference Presentations
- “Multilingualism, Imperialism, and Hebrew-Aramaic Code-Switching in the Hebrew Bible” – Denver, CO (forthcoming: Nov. 2026)
- “Echoes of Scribal Culture: Formulaic Expressions in the Amarna Letters and the Hebrew Bible” – Society of Biblical Literature, Boston, MA (Nov. 22, 2025)
- “Scribal Lists and the Limits of Knowledge: The Rhetoric of Wisdom in the Book of Job in Light of Its Ancient Near Eastern Context” – Boston, MA (Nov. 18, 2025)
- “Studying Aramaic in Sixteenth-Century Strasbourg” – Studying Hebrew in Sixteenth-Century Strasbourg, an international conference at the University of Strasbourg (June 17, 2025)
- “The Sociolinguistics of the Canaanite Shift in the Amarna Letters: Rewriting the History of the Canaanite Shift in Second Millennium Cuneiform Sources” – American Oriental Society, Boston, MA (Apr. 10, 2025)
- “Languages Beyond Borders: Principles of Aramaic-Based Code-Alternation in the Hebrew Bible” – Inaugural Lecture for the Princeton-Hopkins Annual Hebrew Bible Graduate Student Symposium, Princeton, NJ (Feb. 16, 2025)
- “The Canaanite Shift in Late Bronze Age Canaano-Akkadian: Methodology and Implications” – Society of Biblical Literature, San Diego, CA (Nov. 23, 2024)
Invited Talks
- “The Social History of Old Aramaic” – Alttestamentliches Doktorandenkolloquium, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen (Feb. 10, 2026)
- “The Canaanite Shift in Late Bronze Age Canaano-Akkadian: Methodology and Implications” – Johns Hopkins Near Eastern Studies Lunch Lecture (Nov. 12, 2024)
- “An Introduction to Semitic Languages” – JHU Ancient Civilizations Club (Apr. 11, 2023)
Grants and Awards
- Singleton Graduate Fellowship for Research in Europe, The Charles Singleton Center for the Study of Premodern Europe, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2025): $2,500
- Stulman Research Award, Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Program in Jewish Studies, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2025): $2,500
- Max Kade Center Summer Travel Grant, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2025): $1,500
- Samuel Iwry Fellow, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins (2024-2025)
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Summer Language Study Grant (Summer 2024): $1,200
- Summer Travel Grant, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2024): $1,500
- Max Kade Center Summer Travel Grant, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2023): $1,500
- Summer Travel Grant, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins (Summer 2023): $1,500
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Summer Language Study Grant (Summer 2023): $1,200
- Academic Scholarship for Arabic 101 & 102, Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (Spring 2022)
- Ruud Scholarship, Trinity International University (2018-2019)
- History Scholar Award, Welch College (May 2018)
Professional Memberships
- American Society of Premodern Asia (ASPA, formerly AOS): member since 2024
- Society of Biblical Literature (SBL): member since 2024
- The International Association for Assyriology (IAA): member since 2023
- American Schools of Overseas Research (ASOR): member since 2020
Professional Conference Attendance
Conferences Attended
Ethiopic Historiographical Texts, Hamburg, Germany (June 29-30, 2023); International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (ISBL), Amsterdam, Netherlands (July 28-Aug 1, 2024); American Schools of Overseas Research (ASOR), Boston (Nov 19-22, 2024); Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), San Diego (Nov 23-25, 2024); American Oriental Society (AOS, now ASPA), Boston (Apr 9-12, 2025); Cutting-Edge Research in Semitic Dialectology: Bridging Theory and Practice, Berlin, Germany (June 11-13); Studying Hebrew in Sixteenth-Century Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France (June 16-17, 2025); Current Research and Challenges in Ugaritic Studies, Göttingen, Germany (June 19-21, 2025); International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (ISBL), Uppsala, Sweden (June 23-27, 2025); Aram Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies (Aram Conference), Oxford, England (June 30-July 1, 2025); North Atlantic Conference on Afro-Asiatic Linguistics 48 (NACAL 48) (Sept 26-28, 2025); ETS, Boston, MA (Nov 17-19); American Schools of Overseas Research (ASOR), Boston, MA (Nov 19-22); Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), Boston, MA (Nov 22-25, 2025); International Association for Comparative Semitics (IACS), Penn State, University Park, PA (May 19-20, 2026).
Languages Studied
Ancient Languages
Proficient (can teach): Aramaic (including Syriac); Classical Hebrew (epigraphic and biblical), Phoenician, and Canaanite Dialects (Ammonite, Moabite, Edomite); Ugaritic; Akkadian
Basic Knowledge (have studied): Rabbinic Hebrew; Arabic (Pre-Islamic Epigraphic; Classical); Classical Ethiopic (Gǝʿǝz); Safaitic (and related Ancient North Arabian scripts); Sabaic (and related Old South Arabian languages); Egyptian (Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs; Coptic); Sumerian; Greek (Koine; Judeo-Greek); Latin; Classical Armenian; Old Persian; Meroitic and Old Nubian
Modern Languages
German (A2+reading); French (A2+reading); Spanish (A2); Modern Hebrew (A2); Modern Standard Arabic (A1)
Professional Employment
- Officer, US Army Reserve | Ft. Meade, MD | May 2019 – present
- Intelligence Analyst | General Dynamics Information Technology | Arlington, VA | Apr 2020 – Jul 2022
- Imagery Analyst | Boeing Intelligence and Analytics | McLean, VA | Jun 2019 – Jan 2020
- Circulation Assistant | Rolfing Library, Trinity International University | Jan 2018 – Jun 2019
- Human Intelligence Collector (35M), US Army Reserve | 304th MP BN, Nashville, TN | Feb 2016 – May 2019