
Jason Robert Combs
I'm a Researcher
About
Jason Robert Combs is an Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University. He joined the BYU faculty in 2016 after working as a lecturer at High Point University, Guilford College, and UNC-Greensboro in North Carolina. He holds Masters degrees in Biblical Studies from Yale Divinity School and in Classics from Columbia University. He earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies with an emphasis on the history of early Christianity from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied under Professor Bart Ehrman. At UNC, his dissertation, “Epiphanies in Second- and Third-Century Christian Literature: Discourse, Identity, and Divine Manifestations,” was awarded the coveted Royster Fellowship, and he received two distinguished awards for his teaching. Combs has published academic articles in the journals Early Christianity, the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists, Journal of Biblical Literature and Journal for the Study of the New Testament Combs has also published articles for a popular Latter-day Saint audience in the 46th and 47th Annual Sperry Symposium volumes, Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament and “Thou Art the Christ, The Son of the Living God”: The Person and Work of Jesus in the New Testament. Combs resides in Pleasant Grove, Utah, with his wife, Rose, and their four children.
Research
- All
- Publications
- Presentations
- Forthcoming

“The Narrative Fulfillment of Isaiah 6 in 3 Nephi 11,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 29 (2020): 289–298.

“(En)gendering Christian Dreams: Tertullian, Authority, and a Visionary Woman in Carthage” International Conference on Patristic Studies, Oxford — Tertullian Session (August 2019).

“‘Eloi la... Elijah’?: Reading a Mondegreen in Mark 15:34–35.” AAR/SBL/ASOR Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting at Creighton University, Omaha, NE (March 2019).
“The Shepherd of Hermas and the Problem of Non-Christian
Epiphany.”
• With response by Harry Maier (Vancouver School of Theology).
Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting — Combined Session of Inventing
Christianity and Religious Experience in Antiquity (November 2018).
“Soliciting Divine Manifestations: Proto-Orthodox Practices in the Late-Second and Early-Third Century CE.” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting — Combined Session of Mysticism, Esotericism, and Gnosticism in Antiquity and Religious Experience in Antiquity (November 2018).

“‘Christ’ after the Apostles: The Humanity and Divinity of the Savior in the Second Century” in “Thou Art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”: The Person and Work of Jesus in the New Testament — Sperry Symposium 2018, ed. Eric Huntsman, Lincoln Blumell, and Tyler Griffin (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2018), 303–334.
“Dreams/Visions among Early Third-Century Proto-Orthodox
Christians: Experience at the Boundaries of Discourse.”
• With response by Frances Flannery (James Madison University).
Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting — Religious Experience in Antiquity
(November 2017).

“From King Ahaz’s Sign to Christ Jesus: The ‘Fulfillment’ of Isaiah 7:14” in Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament: Text and Context — Sperry Symposium 2017, ed. Aaron Schade, Brian Hauglid, and Kerry Muhlestein (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2017), 95–122.

“Dreams of Divine Chastisement: The Origin and Influence of an Early Christian Dream-Type.” North American Patristics Society Annual Meeting (May 2017).

“Dating the Sabbath-Worker Agraphon: The Fourth-Century Origin and Significance of Bezae- Luke 6.5.” AAR/SBL/ASOR Rocky Mountain-Great Plains Regional Meeting at the University of Colorado Boulder (March 2017).

“Christ in the Form of a Young Man: An Early Christian Epiphany-Type.” Disclosure, Inspiration, Epiphany: Divine Revelation in the Ancient Mediterranean; Conference at King’s College, London (May 2016).

Dreaming Christian: Divine Manifestations and Christian Identity in the Second and Third Centuries — academic monograph.

“Sabbath and Sunday in Ancient Christianity: Second through Sixth Centuries” in Sacred Time: The Sabbath as a Perpetual Covenant, ed. Gaye Strathearn — Submitted to BYU’s Religious Studies Center.

“Historical Criticism” in Mormons and the Bible, eds. Cory Crawford, Eric Eliason, and Taylor Petrey (Oxford: Oxford University Press) — Under Contract. (Submitted to editors.)
Courses
New Testament: Gospels Rel A 211
Historical background, narrative, and doctrines of the New Testament. Covers the life and teachings of Jesus Christ set forth in the four Gospels.
New Testament: Acts–Revelation Rel A 212
Historical background, narrative, and doctrines of the New Testament. Covers the Acts of the Apostles through the Revelation of John.
Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Rel A 250
A survey course which teaches of the Savior's roles throughout eternity with emphasis on His fulfillment of Heavenly Father's covenant with His children and the blessings of the Atonement and eternal life.
Methods and Sources for the Study of the Greek New Testament ANES 302
This class is an introduction to the academic study of the Greek New Testament designed for ANES majors and minors. It considers the historical context, cultural setting, literary framing, and content of key biblical writings, as well as various disciplinary and faith-informing approaches taken to these writings within the field of biblical studies.
Junior Seminar in Ancient Near Eastern Studies ANES 395
This class is a junior seminar designed for ANES majors that will consider best practices in research and writing within the discipline, and that will result in a 12–15 page research paper reflecting those practices. It will also cover various aspects of professionalization within the discipline, including preparation for graduate work in ANES or related fields and maintaining mental, emotional, and spiritual health in the academy.
Other Courses
Book of Mormon I Rel A 121
Narrative, doctrines, and precepts of the Book of Mormon. Covers 1 Nephi through Alma 29.
Book of Mormon II Rel A 122
Narrative, doctrines, and precepts of the Book of Mormon. Covers Alma 30 through Moroni 10.
Teachings & Doctrine of the Book of Mormon Rel A 275
A study of the teachings and doctrine of the Book of Mormon with emphasis on the Savior's ministry.
Student Comments
Contact
Jason Robert Combs, PhD.
Office
210C JSB
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
Phone
+1 801 422 7689
jason_combs@byu.edu