Biography
James Limburg came to the Luther Seminary faculty as visiting associate professor in 1978 and was promoted to professor of Old Testament in 1982.
His career began as a high school teacher in Ellendale, Minn., in 1956. Limburg was professor and chair of the department of religion at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., from 1962-78. In 1991 he was guest professor at the University of Munich in Munich, Germany. He was a summer instructor at Bemidji State College (1973 and 1974) in Minnesota and Presentation Convent in Aberdeen, S.D. (1978 and 1982). Limburg was ordained in 1974. Since his retirement in 2001 he has served as visiting professor of Old Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif., (2002-2004) and has continued teaching, preaching and writing in a variety of contexts.
Limburg earned a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, in 1956 and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Seminary in 1961. He received Master of Theology and Ph.D. degrees from Union Seminary in Virginia in 1962 and 1969. He participated in the America-Israel Society Study Tour of Israel and Greece in the summer of 1964 and Vanderbilt’s Graduate Summer Institute in Judaism in 1972. He has also studied at the University of Michigan and Harvard. He and his wife Martha have spent sabbaticals at the Universities of Heidelberg, Tübingen, Munich and Münster in Germany.
Luther College honored Limburg with the Distinguished Service Award in 1978. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Limburg is a contributor to the Lutheran Study Bible (2009). His books include “Encountering Ecclesiastes” (2006); “The Other Woman: A Northern Minnesota Love Affair” (2006); “Psalms for Sojourners” (1986, 2002); “Psalms: A Commentary” (2000), “Find Yourself in the Psalms” (1997); “Jonah: A Commentary” (The Old Testament Library 1993); “Easter, Proclamation 5B” (1993); “Jonah and Ruth: Friendship Bible Study Series” (1989); “Hosea-Micah, Interpretation Commentaries” (1988); “Acts of the Apostles by H. Conzelmann” (co-translator with A. Thomas Kraabel and Donald Juel, 1987); “Judaism: An Introduction for Christians” (translator and editor, 1987); “Genesis” in Search Bible Studies (1983); “Old Stories for a New Time” (1983); “The Old Testament for Us” (1982); and “The Prophets and the Powerless” (1977).