Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies

MA (Glasgow), BA (London Bible College), PhD (Cambridge)

Iain Provan has been the Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College since 1997.

He was born and educated in the UK and retains strong family, academic, and church connections with his homeland. He received his his BA in Theology from London Bible College, and his MA at Glasgow University in Mediaeval History and Archaeology. Provan's PhD from Cambridge focused on the books of Kings, and his dissertation was subsequently published as Hezekiah and the Books of Kings. His academic career took him to King’s College London, the University of Wales, and the University of Edinburgh, where he was a senior lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament Studies.

Provan written numerous essays and articles, and several books including commentaries on Lamentations, 1 and 2 Kings, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. He has co-authored with Phil Long and Tremper Longman A Biblical History of Israel. He is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland; a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge; and the recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship. He and his wife, Lynette, have four children. Iain Provan is also a qualified Provincial B Licence soccer coach (BC) and ARA rowing coach (UK).

Provan's recent publications include:

Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters

Discovering Genesis: Content, Interpretation, Reception

The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture

Against the Grain 

Convenient Myths: The Axial Age, Dark Green Religion, and the World that Never Was