On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, Dr. Bill Arnold, the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Seminary, was presented with a facsimile of the cover of a Festschrift to be published in his honor. From the German words for “celebration” and “writing,” a Festschrift is a volume of writings by different authors presented as a tribute to a scholar. The work is titled “God of the Fathers: Conceptualizations of Divinity in Genesis and Deuteronomy.” 

The facsimile was presented by Dr. David Schreiner, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Inductive Biblical Studies, who co-edited the volume with Dr. Mark Awabdy and Dr. Drew Holland, all former students of Dr. Arnold. The Festschrift features contributions by 23 authors, including leading scholars in Biblical studies such as Dr. John H. Walton, Dr. Sandra L. Richter, Asbury Seminary professors Dr. Lawson G. Stone and Dr. Ben Witherington, III, among others. Each article addresses topics in the areas of Dr. Arnold’s scholarly work in Old Testament studies, especially Genesis and Deuteronomy. The work will be published in March 2026 as a volume of the “Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte” (Journal for Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Legal History) by publisher Harrassowitz Verlag.

In his statements at the presentation, Dr. Schreiner remarked:

“Dr. ​​Bill Arnold has been a foremost faculty member at Asbury Theological Seminary, including throughout my formal education here. Bill has shown me what it means to keep a finger on the pulse of the academy and the Church. He understands that educating ecclesial leadership alongside motivated parishioners will impact the ongoing vitality and capabilities of the Church. And now, as a colleague, I am convinced of Bill’s burden to empower the churches of the Wesleyan tradition and their leadership in terms of knowledge, formation, and service. It is with great admiration and respect that Mark Awabdy, Drew Holland, and I offer this project to Bill as a celebration of his service to the Church, Asbury Theological Seminary, us, and every other student. ”

Dr. Arnold is a widely recognized Old Testament scholar who has contributed articles to multiple academic journals. He has authored and co-authored several books, including a two-volume commentary on Deuteronomy, the first installment of which appeared in 2022. He is also an editor of biblical commentary series, notably the “New Cambridge Bible Commentary,” the “Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch,” and the “New International Commentary on the Old Testament.”