David P. Melvin
Washington University in St. Louis/
Concordia Seminary

e-mail: dpmelvin@wustl.edu
       I am currently a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, where I am pursuing an M.A. in Jewish and Near Eastern Studies, concentrating in Hebrew Bible.  I am also serving as a teaching assistant for the Religious Studies Department, for the course "Religion and Science" this fall.  This fall I am also beginning work in my master's thesis, in which I will be examining Genesis 6:1-4 and attempting to trace the origins of the narrative back to a common ancient Near Eastern tradition, as well as examining the transformations that this tradition has undergone through movement from a polytheistic setting into a monotheistic setting, redaction, and interpretation.  I am a graduate of Evangel University in Springfield, MO (2005), with a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Biblical Languages (emphasis in Hebrew).  My primary area of interest at this time is Hebrew Bible/Old Testament in its ancient Near Eastern context, but I am also interested in and have done work in the fields of Biblical archaeology, Semitic languages, New Testament, Judaism, early Christianity, and Evangelicalism (especially the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement). 

 Click Here to view my Curriculum Vitae.
       Several papers that I have written dealing with religious/theological topics are available online.  Like all intellectual/creative works, they are protected by copyright and are the exclusive property of the author (me).  If you plagiarize them, shame on you.

       I am also a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God (Illinois District).  I have served as adult Sunday school teacher, youth assistant, and occasionally preach and/or lead worship.  I am currently a member of First Assembly of God in Sparta, IL, where I teach a young adults Sunday school class and assist with the youth group, as well as assisting the pastor with various duties in the church, such as teaching, preaching, worship, etc.  While a student at Evangel University, I served as the adult Sunday school teacher at Battlefield Assembly of God in Battlefield, MO.  This class consisted of detailed exegesis of Old Testament Prophetic books (Micah, Nahum, Daniel).  Relevant extrabiblical sources (ANE texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeological data, etc.) were also incorporated when appropriate. 
       During my senior year at Evangel, I was chosen as the teaching assistant for the Elementary Hebrew classes.  My work involved grading homework, quizzes, and tests, tutoring students, and occasionally teaching classes when the professors were absent.  I also substitute taught one Hebrew class at Central Bible College for Prof. Vince Medina in September 2004. 



       On a less professional note, I also have many hobbies, such as storm chasing and lightning photography, volleyball, music (I play the guitar), reading, and writing.  I used to maintain a storm chasing website called "Skies of Fire" which displayed my photo gallery.  The gallery on this website is much smaller and less developed than that one, but I hope to eventually find time to expand it to something akin to "Skies of Fire."  At its peak, "Skies of Fire" attracted enough attention that following the May 3, 1999, Oklahoma tornado outbreak, a local news station did a story about me. 
       Another notable past venture of mine was creating, producing, and hosting "Rock of Ages," a Christian music program on WDQN radio, a local station in Du Quoin, IL.  I worked as a DJ at the station for 4 years, during 3 of which "Rock of Ages" ran.  It aired from 8:00-11:00 PM on Sundays and featured a rather unique mix of new and classic contemporary Christian music- basically everything from old Amy Grant and Russ Taff to Switchfoot and P.O.D.  Aside from hosting the program, I also did all of my own production work and playlist creation.  The program actually still airs with a different host, Dave Read, a friend of mine who took over after I left.  The name is now "Rock of Ages 2.0" but the format is still essentially the same.

       As far as personal details go, my wife, Kendra, and I have been married for 3 years, and she is also a graduate of Evangel University (2005, Social Work).  We met when we were 13 years old, at a church youth group lock in (same church that we were later married in).  In June 2006 we had our first child, Malachi.  I grew up in Du Quoin, IL, a small town of 6,500 in southern Illinois, and I am a 2001 graduate of Christian Fellowship School.  I enrolled at Central Bible College in Springfield, MO in August 2001 to pursue pastoral ministry.  During my sophomore year I decided that I wanted to teach as a college professor, so in fall 2003 I transferred to Evangel University.  Among my work at Evangel, I worked as a volunteer at the Tel es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Excavation in Israel during the summer of 2004, through a research grant from Evangel University.  I graduated summa cum laude in May 2005, and in the fall of 2005 I began graduate work at Washington University in St. Louis and Concordia Seminary.  During the summer of 2005 (before beginning graduate work), I also studied modern Hebrew in Israel at the University of Haifa.  After completing my master's degree, I intend to pursue a Ph.D in some area of Hebrew Bible/Ancient Near Eastern Studies.

                                 
             *6th Century A.D. Synagogue in Capernaum, Israel                                                         *My wife, Kendra, and I

Some Useful Links:

Washington University in St. Louis
Concordia Seminary
Evangel University
The Society of Biblical Literature
The Near Eastern Archaeological Society
Biblical Archaeological Society
American Schools of Oriental Research
The Tel es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project
The Assemblies of God
Dr. William P. Griffin's Personal Site
Christian Fellowship School
The National Weather Service- St. Louis, MO
The Storm Prediction Center
The Unbound Bible
Internet Sacred Text Archive
The Evangelical Theological Society
Jewish Texts: Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud Yerushalmi, Talmud Babli