Justin Michael Reed

Associate Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible

Stanford University, BA; Harvard Divinity School, MTS; Princeton Theological Seminary, PhD

Justin Michael Reed earned a bachelor's degree in African & African American Studies from Stanford, his master's degree in Hebrew Bible from Harvard, and his PhD in Old Testament from Princeton Seminary. He combines these interests through teaching and publications focused on Black biblical hermeneutics, ideological criticism, and how the study of race and ethnicity can inform our interpretation of biblical texts.

Reed's 2020 dissertation earned him the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise and is the foundation for his first monograph, The Injustice of Noah's Curse (Oxford University Press, 2025).

He is ordained as a Progressive National Baptist minister, and contributes to the wider church by sharing the insights of critical biblical scholarship in ways that are interesting and accessible.

For access to some of his work, visit drjustinreed.com/links.

He is married to attorney Catherine Howard, who serves as a public defender for Jefferson County; they are the proud parents of Jordan and Justice.

I believe that how we interpret the Bible matters–our interpretations have a deep connection to how we live in the world. At Louisville Seminary, I enjoy the responsibility of guiding our students to think critically about how we read the Bible, and I love walking with students as we discover ways of reading that cultivate compassion and justice in the world.
—Justin Reed