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Rob Kranz is a doctoral candidate in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. His research focuses on the intersection of the Hebrew Bible and film and how that intersection opens new lines of questioning, dialogue, and textual interpretation.

His first career was in engineering software. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Houston. In 2018, Rob decided to pursue a lifelong dream to teach, research, and write about the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at the university level. In 2019, he received a graduate certificate in biblical history and geography from Jerusalem University College in Israel. In 2021, Rob earned an M.A. in Old Testament from Abilene Christian University. He obtained a Th.M. from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in 2022. Rob enjoys spending time with his family, running, traveling, and cooking in his free time.

Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Susanne Scholz

Publications:

Book Review, Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, The Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God, by J. Richard Middleton in Restoration Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 3 (2024): 185–86.

Book Review, How Scripture Interprets Scripture: What Biblical Writers Can Teach Us about Reading the Bible, by Michael Graves in Restoration Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 4 (2023): 248–50.

Book Review, Reading German for Theological Studies: A Grammar and Reader, by Carolyn R. Thompson in Restoration Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 2 (2022): 122–24.

Book Review, A Boundless God, by Jack Levison in Restoration Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 1 (2022): 55–56.

“Examples of Warrior Banter in Samuel: Preservation of Honor and Divine Proxy,” Restoration Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 2 (2021): 81–94.

Presentations:

"The Perils of Jephthah’s Daughter." SBL Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, November 2024.

"Subtle Bias: Identifying Influence in Visual Media." Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE) World Religion Teachers Event, San Diego, California, November 2024.

"On the Big Screen: Engaging the Bible through Film." Perkins Summit for Faith and Learning, Perkins School of Theology, ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, March 2024.

"The Melodrama of Jephthah and His Daughter." Southwest Commission on Religious Studies Annual Regional Meeting, Dallas, Texas, March 2024.

"Patterns of Deception: The Moses Controversy through the Lens of Classical Film Theory." SBL Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, November 2023.

"Primordial Wisdom and the Gentiles in the Moral Preaching of 1 Enoch." SBL Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, November 2023.

Fellowships, Awards, and Service to the Profession:

2022–2027 Moody Graduate Fellowship (ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University)

2025–Present SBL Bible and Film Steering Committee

2024–2026 GPRS Steering Committee Student Representative (ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University)

2024 GPRS Outstanding Community Service Award (ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University)

2024/2021 Alpha Chi National Honor Society (ÃÛÌÒ½´Methodist University and Abilene Christian University)

2021 Outstanding Academic Award (Abilene Christian University)

2021 GST Outstanding Thesis Award (Abilene Christian University)

2020–2021 Prentice and Barbara Meador Endowed Scholarship (Abilene Christian University)