Samuel L. Adams is the Mary Jane and John F. McNair Chair of Biblical Studies, Director of the Master of Theology Program. His interests include the Wisdom literature of the Bible and beyond, wealth and poverty in the biblical world, apocalypticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Egyptology, biblical theology, and the Bible and film. He published the monograph, Social and Economic Life in Second Temple Judea (Westminster John Knox, 2014). His first book, Wisdom in Transition: Act and Consequence in Second Temple Instructions (Brill, 2008), addresses ancient conceptions of retribution and the possibility of an afterlife. Current book projects include a commentary on the Jewish sage Ben Sira (Anchor Yale Bible) and editing a comprehensive introduction to wisdom literature.

As an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he has served churches in New Haven, CT, Chicago, IL, and in Richmond, VA. He is also a regular blogger for the Huffington Post.