Dr M. den Dulk (Matthijs)

Matthijs den Dulk (PhD, Chicago) is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature and PI of the NWO Vidi-project 'Ethnicity and (In)Equality in Early Christianity.' He also currently serves as Academic Director of the Netherlands School for Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion (NOSTER).

His most recent book, Ethnic Stereotypes and the Letters of Paul: History and Reception is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press in early 2026. It analyzes the role and function of ethnic stereotypes in the Pauline corpus and argues that taking ancient ethnic stereotypes into account sheds significant new light on various aspects of the background, content and composition of these texts. The book, furthermore, explores how Pauline texts provided apostolic fiat to later generations for thinking about ethnic groups in essentializing and generalizing ways, and functioned as lenses through which modern interpreters viewed allegedly inferior ethnic and racial groups in their own day and age. Research on this book was supported by a grant from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.

Matthijs den Dulk [pronunciation: mɑˈtɛis dɛn dɤlk] previously published a monograph on Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, which argues that much in this important and complicated second-century document can be better understood when read against the backdrop of intra-Christian contestations (Between Jews and Heretics: Refiguring Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho [Routledge, 2018]). He has also edited several books, including, most recently, a volume entitled Early Christian Epistolarity, co-edited with Judith M. Lieu.

His articles have appeared in the Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum, Novum Testamentum, Vigiliae Christianae, Journal of Theological Studies and the Journal of Early Christian Studies, among others.

Den Dulk serves on several editorial boards of journals and series (see 'Ancillary activities').