Acknowledgements
This book began as my dissertation for the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology’s Joint Doctoral Program in Religion, and I am deeply grateful that it bears the unmistakable influence of my committee: Pam Eisenbaum, Greg Robbins, and Adam Rovner. Thanks as well to Jonathan Bernier, Andy Guffey, Bill Heroman, Chris Keith, Anthony Le Donne, and Jordan Ryan for the many in-person and online conversations that have left their indelible mark on my scholarship over the years.
It is impossible to overstate just how unlikely it is that I ever would have completed this project without the companionship and moral support of Michael Barber, Aaron Lockhart, Camilla Raymond, John Sehorn, and Danny Yencich. Sometimes it felt like the whole world depended on those exhilarating conversations we had about biblical studies and theology during our regular get-togethers for breakfast at The Delectable Egg. I miss you all so much, and I hope that this book is a testament to how much your friendship has meant to me.
Thanks especially to Isaac Oliver and Matthew Thiessen, who in addition to being sources of great encouragement these past few years, also took the time and exceptional effort to wade through early chapter drafts and offer their kind feedback. I am also grateful to Isaac and the Enoch Seminar for the invitation to present some of my dissertation research at the 14th Nangeroni Meeting held in Rome on June 26–29, 2022.
I would also like to express my appreciation for the amazing staff at Brill, including Akiko Hakuno and Marjolein van Zuylen, and especially Paul Anderson and the Biblical Interpretation editorial board. Ten years ago, when I first picked up a copy of Douglas Estes’s The Questions of Jesus in John—the book that inspired my 2014 master’s thesis—I never dreamed that someday I would see my own research published in the very same monograph series.
Lastly, this work would not have been possible without the selfless patience, empathy, and loving reassurance of my spouse, Alyssa Bennett Smith. What an unspeakable grace it is to be your partner and friend.