Matthias Henze was born and raised in Hanover, Germany. In 1992 he earned a Master of Divinity from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and moved to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. After completing his doctorate in 1997, Dr. Henze joined Rice’s department of religion, where he is now the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism.

His areas of interest include the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Jewish literature and thought at the time of the Second Temple, apocalyptic literature, and the Qumran fragments. In particular, Dr. Henze focuses on those early texts that never became part of the Jewish Bible - often subsumed under the labels ‘Apocrypha’ and ‘Pseudepigrapha’ – and what we can learn when these texts are read side by side with the canonical writings.

Dr. Henze has written and edited ten books. While at Rice he has won five teaching/mentoring Awards. He was also named a founding fellow of Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence. In 2009 he founded Rice’s Program in Jewish Studies, of which he continues to serve as director.

Honors and Awards:
2015 Graduate Student Association Teaching/Mentoring Award, Rice University
2015 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, Rice University
2014 - Recipient and first holder of the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Chair in Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism, Rice University
2010 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, Rice University
2009 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, Rice University

Fellowships and Grants:
2016 Mandelbaum Scholar in Residence, University of Sydney, Australia
2016 Humanities Research Center Faculty Teaching Release Fellowship, Rice University
2012 Sir Asher Joel Visiting Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
2009-2010 Fellow in Residence, The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS)
2009 PI, Rice University Faculty Initiatives Fund Grant for Jewish Studies

Books:
Mind the Gap: How the Jewish Writings between the Old and New Testament Help Us Understand Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017.

The Embroidered Bible: Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone. Edited by Lorenzo DiTommaso, Matthias Henze, and William Adler. SVTP. Leiden: Brill. Forthcoming.

4 Ezra and 2 Baruch: Translations, Introductions, and Notes. Michael E. Stone and Matthias Henze. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.

Fourth Ezra and Second Baruch: Reconstruction After the Fall. Edited by Matthias Henze and Gabriele Boccaccini, with the collaboration of Jason M. Zurawski. JSJSup 164. Leiden: Brill, 2013.

A Companion to Biblical Interpretation in Early Judaism. Edited by Matthias Henze. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012.

Jewish Apocalypticism in Late First Century Israel: Reading Second Baruch in Context. Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 142. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.

Hazon Gabriel: New Readings of the Gabriel Revelation. Edited by Matthias Henze. Early Judaism and Its Literature 29. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature; Leiden: Brill, 2011.

Biblical Interpretation at Qumran. Edited by Matthias Henze. Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.

The Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 11. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001.
An abbreviated German version of the book appeared in 2006: Die Syrische Danielapokalypse. Jüdische Schriften aus hellenistisch-römischer Zeit. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2006.

The Madness of King Nebuchadnezzar: The Ancient Near Eastern Origins and Early History of Interpretation of Daniel 4. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 61. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Books Under Contract:
Textual History of the Bible. Volume 2: The Deuterocanonical Scriptures. Edited by Matthias Henze and Frank Feder. Leiden: Brill.

Early Judaism and Its Modern Interpreters. Second edition. Edited by Matthias Henze and Rodney Werline. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Fifty Years of the Pseudepigrapha Section at the SBL. Edited by Matthias Henze and Liv Ingeborg Lied. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature Press.

The Old Testament in the New: Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament and other Early Christian Writings. Edited by Matthias Henze and M. Eugene Boring. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

2 Baruch: A Commentary. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Articles and Book Chapters.