Dr. Coblentz Bautch is Professor of Religious and Theological Studies and Area Coordinator. She teaches courses in biblical studies, religion in antiquity and classical languages.
The research of Dr. Coblentz Bautch concerns ancient Mediterranean religions and she is especially interested in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Her scholarship takes up the interpretation of Scripture, deuterocanonical books, and literature that is described today as pseudepigraphal and apocalyptic. She also explores in her work the history of women in antiquity and otherworldly figures like angels and demons in ancient Judaism and Christianity.
- Ph.D. in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity; M.A. in Biblical Studies, the University of Notre Dame
- M.T.S. in Biblical Studies, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University
- B.A. with Honors in Religious Studies; Germanic Studies, Indiana University
Honors and Awards
- Distinguished Teaching Award, St. Edward’s University
- Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, St. Edward’s University
- Frankel Fellow, University of Michigan
- McCarthy Chair, Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome
- Invited Residency at École biblique, Jerusalem
- Regional Scholar of the Southwest Region, Society of Biblical Literature
Organizations, Boards and Memberships
Professional Societies: Society of Biblical Literature * Catholic Biblical Association * Enoch Seminar * Southwest Commission on Religious Studies * South Texas Jewish Studies Colloquium
Leadership Roles
- Society of Biblical Literature, Program Committee Chair
- Catholic Biblical Association, Co-chair, Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Continuing Seminar
- Enoch Seminar, Immediate Past Vice-Director
Current projects: 1 Maccabees (Liturgical Press); Oxford Handbook of Angels and Demons (Oxford University Press); Introducing the Pseudepigrapha (Eerdmans).
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion Grant
CCD Biblical Scholarship and Biblical Literacy Promotion Grant
American Academy of Religion Regional Development Grant
Lilly Theological Research Grant
Harvard University Sheldon Fellowship
- Enoch Studies in the 2020s: New Vistas. Editor with M. Goff and J. Scott (De Gruyter)
- “Rulers, Rivals and 1 Maccabees,” Biblische Notizen 200
- Fallen Angels Traditions: Second Temple Developments and Reception History (ed. with A. K. Harkins and J. Endres; Catholic Biblical Association)
- A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17-19: "No One Has Seen What I Have Seen" (Brill)
- "Spatiality and Apocalyptic Literature,” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 5
- “Kyrios Christos in light of Twenty-First Century Perspectives on Second Temple Judaism,” Early Christianity 6
Co-editor of Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
The Legacy of the Hasmoneans: Memorials and the Ruins of Mode’in and Gezer,” in the Space, Place, and Lived Experience in Antiquity Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, November 2025
“The Aramaic “Books” of Enoch: The State of the Question in 2025,” Enoch within and outside the Books of Enoch: Parabiblical Writings, Iconography, and Oral Tradition (EABS) Section. International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Uppsala, June 2025
“‘The One Called Maccabeus’: Shared Traditions in 1 and 2 Maccabees,” Invited Speaker for Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity Workshop and Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and Boston College, March 2025
“Biblical Studies after the Pandemic: Should Anything Change?” Invited Panelist, Southwest Commission on Religious and Theological Studies, Irving, March 2025
Class Preparation
Professor Coblentz Bautch enjoys mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and is an enthusiastic supporter of student research. She encourages her students to aim high in developing and meeting their academic goals. To that end, Dr. Coblentz Bautch celebrates student successes and works to make further opportunities available for students.
Outside the Classroom
Professor Coblentz Bautch encourages students to share their research with others at the St. Edward’s Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), the Central Texas Colloquium on Religion Research Conference, and the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies Annual Meeting. Graduate students who work in the area of Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity should explore also the Enoch Graduate Seminar.