Topias Tanskanen

Short Bio:

• Postdoctoral Fellow in Exegetics, Polin Institute, ÅAU, 1.1.2025–31.12.2027 (Current Position)
• Substitute University Teacher in New Testament Greek and Exegetics, ÅAU, 1.1.–31.08.2025.
• Project Researcher (Academy of Finland -project JESAJA), ÅAU, 11.02.2023–31.12.2024
• Doctoral Defense, 31.05.2023 (Faculty Opponent: Prof. Loren T. Stuckenbruck), passed with honours.
• Substitute University Teacher in Biblical Hebrew, Old Testament Exegetics, and Jewish Studies, ÅAU, 10.10.2022–10.02.2023
• Doctoral Student in Old Testament Exegetics, ÅAU, various grants and funding, 01.06.2018–09.10.2022.
• Studies of Hebrew and Semitic Philology, University of Helsinki, 2016–2021
• Master of Theology, with Major in OT Exegetics, ÅAU, 2016–2018
• Bachelor of Theology, with Major in OT Exegetics and Minors in Jewish Studies and Dogmatics, ÅAU, 2014–2016

Memberships:

• Network for the Study of the Reception History of the Bible (SRB), 2018–
• Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods (OTSEM), 2018– (Postdoctoral Representant in the Board, 2025–)
• Institutum Judaicum Aboense, Board Member, 2023–
• Finnish Exegetical Society, 2021– (Deputy Board Member, 2022–2023; Board Member 2024–)
• Finnish Oriental Society, 2019–
• Societas Patristica Fennica, 2023–
• Deputy Member of the Board for the Foundation of the Finnish Institute in the Middle East, 2025–

My research is at this time focussed on early Jewish reception history of the Hebrew Bible (as started with my doctoral studies), and its relation to early Christian understanding of the Old Testament, both in New Testament and elsewhere up to 400 CE (current focus in my "Habilitation")

Other research interests include: early Israel, Semitic philology, Jewish Studies in general (esp. classical/rabbinic), intersections between exegetics and translation studies (esp. translation of the Bible and ancient texts), translating ancient texts (esp. from various Semitic languages including Ge'ez and Syriac), Nordic history of research in exegetics and Semitic philology, popularising exegetics in secular and religious sphere.

All my teaching has been done in Swedish (my third language) at ÅAU as substitute teacher (2022–2023 and 2025). These include, among other courses:

• Inledning till Bibeln (Introduction to the Bible, 15 ECTS), taught both Old Testament and New Testament parts.
• Grundkurs i nytestamentlig grekiska (Introductory Course in New Testament Greek, 10 ECTS)
• Grundkurs i biblisk hebreiska (Introductory Course in Biblical Hebrew, 10 ECTS)
• Nytestamentliga texter på grekiska 1 (New Testament Texts in Greek 1, 5 ECTS), Matthew, Philemon, and Philippians
• Nytestamentliga texter på grekiska 2 (New Testament Texts in Greek 2, 5 ECTS), John and Romans
• Textkritik (Textual Criticism, 5 ECTS), New Testament Part
• Jesus och evangelierna (Jesus and the Gospels, 5 ECTS)
• Judisk litteratur (Jewish literature, 5 ECTS)
• Kyrka, sakrament och kyrkligt liv (Church, Sacraments, and Church Life, 5 ECTS), 1/3 (exegetical part)
• Utombibliska texter (Texts Outside of the Bible, 5 ECTS)

I have supervised three bachelor theses in theology (2023: 2; 2025: 1).