Martti Nissinen


Martti Heikki Nissinen is a Finnish theologian, serving since 2007 as Professor of Old Testament studies in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki. He is known as an expert of the prophetic phenomenon in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, but his research interests include also gender issues in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean. He has written and edited several books and a significant number of articles on topics related to prophecy, gender, and history of ancient Near Eastern religion.
Nissinen received his Th.D. from the University of Helsinki in 1992, after which he held several research and teaching positions at this institution, such as Assistant Professor of Old Testament Studies and as an Academy Research Fellow of the Academy of Finland. From 2002 to 2007, he served as Professor of Bible and the Ancient Near East. He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J. in 2008–2009 and in 2016 and a visitor in 2011. Since 2014, Nissinen is the director of the Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions, an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses on a more comprehensive understanding of the emergence and influence of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament within the multicultural milieu of the ancient Near East.

Awards and honors

Nissinen is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and an honorary member of the Society for Old Testament Study. He is also the Chairman of the Foundation for the Finnish Institute in the Middle East and the Inspector of the Savo Student Nation.

Books

In English