• Chad Spigel joined the Religion Department at Trinity University in 2008 and teaches courses in Hebrew Bible, Judaism, and archaeology. His research interests include ancient synagogues and their roles in ancient Jewish communities, Jews living in the ancient Diaspora, and the use of archaeology and the Bible in popular television documentaries. Chad has worked on several archaeological excavations and from 2011-2014 he was an Area Supervisor for the excavation of the ancient village of Huqoq (Israel). Chad is currently the Director of the Mellon Initiative for Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities at Trinity, a Councilor for the Arts and Humanities division of CUR, and is working on a book about undergraduate research in Religious Studies. 

    • Ph.D., Duke University
    • M.A., Duke University
    • B.A., Brandeis University
    • Spigel, Chad. “The Jewish Minority of Dura-Europos.” Journal of Ancient Judaism 10.2 (2019): 211–55. 
    • Spigel, Chad. “Debating Ancient Synagogue Dating: The Implications of Deteriorating Data.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 376 (2016): 83–100. 
    • Spigel, Chad and Matthew Grey. “Huqoq in the Lake Hellenistic and Early Roman Periods.” Pages 362-78 in Galilee in the Late Second Temple and Mishnaic Periods (100 BCE–200 CE), Volume 2. 
    • Spigel, Chad. “Reconsidering the Question of Separate Seating in Ancient Synagogues.” Journal of Jewish Studies 63.1 (2012): 62–83. 
    • Spigel, Chad. Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities: Methodology, Analysis and Limits. Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 149. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012. 

    Chad Spigel joined the Religion Department in 2008 as an Assistant Professor. His research and teaching interests include the role of synagogue worship in ancient Jewish communities, approaches to the study of Jews and Judaism, and the use of archaeology and the Bible(s) in popular media. His first book,Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities: Methodology, Analysis and Limits (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck), will be available in October 2012.