Stephen Germany is a post-doctoral fellow in the research project “Transforming Memories of Collective Violence in the Hebrew Bible,” funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

2023 Habilitation, University of Basel
2016 Ph.D., Emory University
2011 M.T.S., Harvard University
2008 B.A., Oglethorpe University

Stephen Germany's research focuses on the literary history of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the narrative materials in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. As part of the research project “Transforming Memories of Collective Violence in the Hebrew Bible,” his current work deals with the depiction of conflicts between Israel/Judah and geographically adjacent nations.

Building upon his observation of macro-level narrative patterns in the depiction of violent conflicts between Israel/Judah and their neighbors, he is currently preparing a monograph investigating the literary development, rhetorical function, and historical context(s) of narratives of conflict with two of Israel’s most prominent neighbors in the biblical account of the monarchic period. In this study, titled Kingmakers and Kingbreakers: Philistines, Arameans, and Historical Patterning in Samuel–Kings, he argues that the Philistines and Arameans serve primarily as ‘stock characters’ in a narrative diptych in the books of Samuel and Kings recounting the rise of the monarchy and later the fall of the (northern) kingdom of Israel. Yet beyond offering a new synchronic reading, the study also probes below the narrative surface in order to inquire into the formation of the respective texts, asking how – and in which historical context(s) – this symmetrical historiographic pattern in the received form of Samuel–Kings arose.