adjunct

Dr. John J. H. Lee

Adjunct Professor in Religion and Theology


Programs: Biblical and Theological Studies

Education

PhD (2023), Christian Theology (New Testament), McMaster Divinity College.
Dissertation: Jews and Gentiles in Romans 1–3: Clues from Cohesive Chains and Grammatical Metaphor.

MA (2017), Christian Studies (New Testament), McMaster Divinity College.
Thesis: A Cohesive Harmony Analysis of Ephesians 1–3.

MA (2008), Applied Linguistics, Trinity Western University.
Graduating Essay: “A Descriptive Overview of Akan Segmental Phonology.”

MDiv (2005), Hapdong Theological Seminary, Suwon, South Korea.

BA (2001), International Communications and English, Handong Global University, Pohang, South Korea.

Courses

  • Introduction to Biblical Greek I (REL-222)
  • Introduction to Biblical Greek II (REL-223)

About

Dr. John J. H. Lee is an Adjunct Professor of Religion and Theology at Redeemer. He previously worked as a Bible translator/linguist with Wycliffe Bible Translators and the SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) in the Caucasus region for several years. He is also a PCA pastor serving a small Japanese congregation in Toronto and working as the Managing Editor of the McMaster Divinity College Press. He is married to Lynn, and they have two children, Sue, and Kyum. He blogs at https://johnjhleesdesk.com

Research Interests

  • Early Judaism and Early Christianity
  • The Pauline Epistles
  • The Pauline Gospel
  • Greek Linguistics
  • Systemic Functional Linguistics

Recent Publications

Academic Journal Articles

Lee, John J. H. “The Meaning of KAYXAΣΘAI: A Linguistic-Stylistic Approach.” Filología Neotestamentaria 33 (2020): 31–43.

Lee, John J. H. “Cohesive Harmony Analysis for Ancient Greek: SelPap I:112 and PMich VIII:491 as a Test Case.” Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics 7 (2018): 81–106.

Book Chapters

Lee, John J. H. “From πιστεύειν to πίστις: Neglected Evidence for ‘Faith in Christ.’” In Romans and Galatians, edited by Stanley E. Porter, Zachary K. Dawson, and Ryder Wishart, XXX– XXX. Linguistic Exegesis of the New Testament 2. Eugene: Pickwick, 2025 (forthcoming).

Lee, John J. H. “Chapter 10: A Proposal for Systemic Functional Linguistics Register Theory as a Septuagint Commentary Writing Tool.” In Putting the Pieces Together: Formalizing Units and Structures in the Biblical Languages, edited by Stanley E. Porter, Christopher D. Land, and Jim D. Dvorak, 214-36. McMaster New Testament Studies 11. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2024.

Lee, John J. H. “Kenneth Lee Pike’s Tagmemics and Its Implications for the Discourse Analysis of the New Testament.” In Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation: Volume 3. Further Essays on Prevailing Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 333–53. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 3. Eugene: Pickwick, 2021.

Conference Papers and Presentations

Lee, John J. H. “Did Paul Write Ephesians, or Not? Clues from Grammatical Metaphor.” Presentation at the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 24, 2024.

Lee, John J. H. “From πιστεύειν to πίστις: Neglected Evidence for ‘Faith in Christ.'” Presentation at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 20, 2024.

Lee, John J. H. “Paul on God’s Transcendence and Immanence: Reading Romans 3 Grammatical-Metaphorically.” Presentation at Secularism and the Pursuit of Transcendence, McMaster Divinity College, April 27, 2023.

Lee, John J. H. “Grammatical Metaphor and Greek Texts: Romans 2:17–29 as a Test Case.” McMaster Divinity College Linguistics Circle, Hamilton, February 18, 2021. 

Lee, John J. H. “The Meaning of ΚΑΥΧΑΟΜΑΙ: A Linguistic-Stylistic Approach” Presentation at the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 23, 2019. 

Lee, John J. H. “The Earth and Its Works Will be Disclosed (NA27), or Not (NA28)?: A Text-Critical Analysis of 2 Peter 3:10” Presentation at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) Annual Meeting, San Diego, November 21, 2019. 

Lee, John J. H. “Why Are the Pauline Letters Lengthy?: A Linguistic-Stylistic Study of Romans as a Test Case.” Presentation at the McMaster Divinity College Theological Research Seminar, March 19, 2019.

Lee, John J. H. “Engaging with the Homogeneous Unit Principle based on a Linguistic Investigation of Ephesians 2:11–22.” Presentation at the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting, Denver, November 20, 2018. 

Lee, John J. H. “Engaging with the Homogeneous Unit Principle based on a Linguistic Investigation of Ephesians 2:11–22.” Presentation at the McMaster Divinity College Theological Research Seminar, February 13, 2018.

Lee, John J. H. “The Reformed Notion of Christian Freedom in Engaging Islam.” Presentation at The Reformation in a Post-Christian World, McMaster Divinity College Centre for Post-Christendom Studies Conference, October 27, 2017. 

Book Reviews

Lee, John J. H. Review of The Apocalyptic Paul: Retrospect and Prospect, by Jamie Davies. JETS 66 (2023): 381–84. 

Lee, John J. H. Review of The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic, by Gary M. Burge. Themelios 46, no. 2 (2021). 

Lee, John J. H. Review of Gospel Allegiance, by Matthew Bates. McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry 21 (2019–2020): R1–R7.