James Robson

Revd James Robson, MA (Oxon), PhD

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In our lost and broken world, the Church needs men and women who can listen humbly, think deeply, believe faithfully, trust completely, rejoice constantly, proclaim courageously, communicate clearly, lead authentically, love compassionately and serve wholeheartedly. I am thrilled to be helping Oak Hill serve the Church by helping women and men do just that."

A phrase that has stayed with James for 25 years is one spoken by John Stott, based on his observations from around the world: "The health of the Church depends on the health of its colleges." James has a passion that Oak Hill is "healthy" - faithful to the Scriptures, fostering Christlike character, a place where everyone flourishes - for the sake of a healthy Church.

That longing to see Scripture shape all of life has been reflected in his research and his ministry. His PhD was on Word and Spirit in Ezekiel. Since then, he has written chiefly on the book of Deuteronomy. He has taught many students Hebrew and Old Testament at both Oak Hill and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He was also Senior Tutor at Wycliffe Hall. Many of those students are serving in different pastoral ministry contexts around both the UK and the world.

Before coming to Oak Hill, James was Ministry director of Keswick Ministries, leading them through a paradigm shift in their ministry. In addition to stints at Oak Hill and at Wycliffe Hall, at different points in his life, he has completed a degree in Experimental Psychology, worked with IBM, and served a curacy at Christ Church Cockfosters.

He is married to Bridget and they have two adult daughters, Anna and Naomi. He enjoys golf, mountain-biking, growing vegetables and armchair cricket.

Please find examples of James' work linked below:

Word and Spirit in Ezekiel

Two fundamental experiences of Yahweh in the Old Testament are an encounter with the 'word' of Yahweh and an encounter with the 'spirit' or 'wind' or 'breath' (ruach) of Yahweh. This thesis explores 'word', ruach, and their relationship in the book of Ezekiel. According to the dominant paradigm for explaining the emphasis on ruach and its relation to Yahweh's word within the book of Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel is recovering from the pre-classical prophets, or even pioneering, an emphasis on ruach in prophecy that is conspicuously absent from the classical, writing prophets. This reading interprets the emphasis on ruach in Ezekiel in terms of the self-authentication of the ministry of the prophet.

This book examines the relationship between ruach and prophecy in Ezekiel and in the rest of the Old Testament, and shows that the dominant paradigm requires modification. The emphasis on Yahweh's ruach in Ezekiel, even the 'prophetic spirit', is best understood in relation to the book's concern for the transformation of its addressees. The prophet Ezekiel's experience of Yahweh's ruach and his own obedience to Yahweh's call are clearly contrasted with the disobedience of the prophet's addressees in order to present Ezekiel as a model for the addressees of the book. His experience illuminates for them how the dramatic vision of the future can become a reality in their experience. Yahweh's ruach has a fundamental role in the envisaged obedient response to Yahweh's word, both of Ezekiel and of the book's addressees.

Bloomsbury 3PL, 2006

Honey from the Rock: Deuteronomy For The People Of God

This study focuses on Deuteronomy's storyline, explores its role within a biblical theology of the Old and New Testaments, and sets out its enduring function as an authoritative word for the Christian and the church today.

In the Old Testament, milk and honey are the enticing fare of the Promised Land; but honey as sweet nourishment extends to Yahweh's words, and Deuteronomy is a book filled with them.

A rock is hardly the most promising place to find nourishment, and perhaps for many readers Deuteronomy may seem equally unpromising. However, in the song of Moses Yahweh is pictured as the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4). Our nourishment comes not just from Deuteronomy, but from God himself.

James's aim in this book is to orient readers to Deuteronomy: to guide them in what to expect, to help them interpret what they find, and to help them think through the wider significance of what they have read. His study is for those interested in understanding Deuteronomy's role within a biblical theology of the Old and New Testaments, and for those convinced that when Deuteronomy is read, God's voice is heard. All with a concern for Christian interpretation and appropriation of the book of Deuteronomy will appreciate Robson's accessible exploration of a word with a story, to shape the life of God's people.

Apollos, 2013

Deuteronomy 1-11: A Handbook on the Hebrew Text

In this volume, James provides a foundational analysis of the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 1-11. Distinguished by the detailed yet comprehensive attention paid to the Hebrew text, Deuteronomy 1-11 is a convenient pedagogical and reference tool that explains the form and syntax of the biblical text, offers guidance for deciding between competing semantic analyses, engages important text-critical questions, and addresses questions relating to the Hebrew text that are frequently overlooked or ignored by standard commentaries. Beyond serving as a succinct and accessible analytic key, Deuteronomy 1-11 also reflects the most recent advances in scholarship on Hebrew grammar and linguistics. By filling the gap between popular and technical commentaries, the handbook becomes an indispensable tool for anyone committed to a deep reading of the biblical text.

Baylor University Press, 2016

Undercurrents in Jonah

On the surface, the book of Jonah is marked by a certain literary simplicity and apparent artlessness. This is evident in at least three ways: its style, with few adjectives, action-oriented narrative, repetition of words and phrases, sound-plays and personifications; its plot, with extreme scenarios and a binary view of the world; its structure, with significant substantial correspondence. Yet it is often in the very places of apparent artlessness that there are hidden depths. A survey of these undercurrents suggests that the book of Jonah is best understood as an engaging exploration of how credal confessions relate to the complexities of lived experience.

Tyndale Bulletin, 2013