Alex Kirk
Samford University
Assistant Professor of Divinity
Beeson Divinity School
Old Testament
Divinity Hall
Alex Kirk joined the faculty of Beeson Divinity School in 2024 to teach Old Testament and Hebrew after serving in global theological education for nearly a decade. He has previously taught in over a dozen countries, at schools like Ecole Superieure Baptiste de Théologie de l’Afrique de l’Ouest in Lomé, Togo, Institut Biblique de la Croix-des-Bouquets in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, and Baptistička teološka škola in Novi Sad, Serbia, as well as helping to launch William Tennent School of Theology in Colorado and serving with Crosslands Training in the UK. Both a philologist and a theologian by training, his academic interests range from biblical Hebrew linguistics and text criticism to poetry, wisdom literature, hermeneutics and theological interpretation of Scripture. His first book, Agur's Wisdom and the Coherence of Proverbs 30 (SBL, 2024), combines many of these interests to present a detailed interpretation of Proverbs chapter 30 as a coherent collection that mocks pride and commends humility as the better part of wisdom. Ongoing projects relate to the relationship of wisdom and law in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism, the role of humor in biblical wisdom and theological interpretation of Ecclesiastes.
As the son of a pastor and an enthusiast for literature of all types, Kirk is particularly passionate about leading church leaders deeper into the text of the Old Testament to encounter God. To this end, he continually strives to deepen his own understanding of the hermeneutical reality that this ancient text is the word of the LORD to his people. Alex is married to Meghan and they have three daughters, Rue, Willa and Janie. Their family attends Christ the King Anglican Church (ACNA) in Hoover, Alabama.
Along with Rony Kozman, Kirk hosts the The Two Testaments podcast.
Education
- PhD, Theology and Religion (Old Testament), Durham University
- MA, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, The University of Toronto
- MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary–Orlando
- BA, English and Classics, University of Florida
Books
- Agur's Wisdom and the Coherence of Proverbs 30 (Atlanta; SBL Press, 2024)
Selected Journal Articles
- “Toward a Reading of Proverbs 30:1b: Tracing the Life of the Text in the Versions,” Vetus Testamentum 74, 2022.
- “A Thorny Text: The Use of את and the Subversion of Form in Ezek 2:6,” with Peter Bekins, Vetus Testamentum 67, 2017, 357–71.
- “Subversive Boundary Drawing in Jonah: The Variation of אשׁר and שׁ as Literary Code-Switching,” with Robert D. Holmstedt, Vetus Testamentum 66, 2016, 542–55.
Blog Posts
- Read your bible every day? How Haitian Christians helped me rethink a mantra. (plough.com, 2021)
- When Scripture Gets Weird: Understanding Agur in Proverbs 30 (The Gospel Coalition, 2021)
- The King and the Beast: Understanding Daniel 4 (The Gospel Coalition, 2021)
- Cultural Virtues for Teachers (trainingleadersinternational.org, 2019)
- Haiti, Hebrews, and Hope (trainingleadersinternational.org, 2019)
Involvement
- Society of Biblical Literature