Aubrey Buster

Biography

Dr. Aubrey E. Buster joined the Wheaton faculty in 2018. Prior to that, she received her B.M. in Voice with Elective studies in English Literature and her M.A. in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College, and her Ph.D. from Emory University, where she was a recipient of the George W. Woodruff Fellowship.

Dr. Buster’s research focuses on the Psalms, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Daniel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. She is the author of Remembering the Story of Israel: Historical Summaries and Memory Formation in Second Temple Judaism (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and co-author with John H. Walton of The Book of Daniel, Chapters 1–6 (Eerdmans, 2025). She is currently working on the second volume on Daniel 7–12 for the NICOT series, and the Ezra-Nehemiah volume for the Bible in God's World Series.

She is on the editorial board for the Bulletin for Biblical Research and Brill’s Biblical Interpretation series, and is the co-chair of the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah program unit for the Society of Biblical Literature. In 2022, she received the Junior Faculty Achievement Award, given in recognition of outstanding achievement and promise as a pre-tenure faculty member at Wheaton.

When not studying the Old Testament with her colleagues and students, she likes to spend time with her husband Jeff, her three children, Malcolm, Martin, and Serena, and with friends.

Education

Emory University
Ph.D., Hebrew Bible, 2018

Wheaton College
M.A., Biblical Exegesis, 2011

Wheaton College
B.M., Voice and English Literature, 2009

Areas of Expertise

Psalms
Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah
Daniel
Dead Sea Scrolls
Cultural Memory

Professional Affiliations

Society of Biblical Literature
Institute for Biblical Research
European Association of Biblical Studies

Books

Remembering the Story of Israel:
Historical Summaries and Memory Formation in Second Temple Judaism

Cambridge University Press, 2022
by Aubrey Buster, Ph.D.

From the publisher
"In this book, Aubrey Buster demonstrates how methods adapted from cultural and social memory studies and the new formalism can illuminate the communal function of biblical and extra-biblical historical summaries in Second Temple Judaism. Refining models drawn from memory studies, she applies them to ancient texts and demonstrates the development of Judah's speech about their past across the Second Temple period. Buster's wide-ranging study demonstrates how and where the historical summary functions in the book of Psalms, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles, as well as the Qumran Psalms Scrolls, Words of the Luminaries, Paraphrase of Genesis and Exodus, and Pseudo-Daniel. She shows how the historical summary proves to be a generative, replicable, and ultimately productive form of memory. Crossing the boundaries of genre categories and time periods, liturgical performances, and literary works, historical summaries crafted a highly selective but broadly useful mode of commemoration of key events from Israel's past."

Reviews
‘This is a thought-provoking, well-researched work. I am excited about it and about the promise it carries for future research.’
- Ehud Ben Zvi - University of Alberta

The Book of Daniel: Chapters 1-6

"An indispensable resource for preaching and teaching the book of Daniel"
"In this volume of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, scholars Aubrey E. Buster and John H. Walton guide readers through chapters 1–6 of the book of Daniel. They provide historically informed, theologically sound interpretations of some of the most memorable stories and imagery in the Old Testament, including Daniel in the lion’s den, the fiery furnace, the figure with feet of clay, and the writing on the wall. Buster and Walton also help readers understand the significance of the text’s composition, audience, historical context, genre, and structure. Accessible and insightful, this well-researched volume is an essential resource for preaching, teaching, and study of the book of Daniel." (From the publisher)

Selected Publications

“Ezra-Nehemiah and Esther.” Pp. 217–230 in State of Old Testament Studies. Edited by M. Daniel Carroll R. and Chip Hardy. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2024.

“Daniel 4 and the Cultural Schema of the Akītu-Festival. Co-authored with John H. Walton, Vetus Testamentum (2024).

“The Role of the Spirit in the Wilderness: Nehemiah 9:5b–37 and Isaiah 63:7–64:11.” Pages 235–247 in Isaiah and Intertextuality. Edited by Wilson de Angelo Cunha and Andrew Abernethy. Forschungen zum Alten Testament II/148. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2024

“Recited History and Social Memory in the Ancient Mediterranean.” Pages 325–351 in Collective Memory and Collective Identity: Case Studies in Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic History. Edited by Johannes Unsok Ro and Diana Edelman. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 534. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021.

“Sense of a Beginning: The Role of Beginnings in the Israelite Historical Résumés.” Pages 3–21 in For Us But Not To Us: Essays on Creation, Covenant, and Context in Honor of John H. Walton. Edited by Adam E. Miglio, Joshua T. Walton, Caryn A. Reeder, and Kenneth C. Way. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2020.

“Genre.” The Dictionary of the Bible and Ancient Media. Edited by T. Thatcher, Chris Keith, Raymond Person, and Elise Stern. London: T & T Clark, 2017.

"Written Record and Membership in Persian Period Judah and Classical Athens." Pages 297-320 in Voice and Voices in Antiquity. Edited by Niall Slater. Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World 11. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

“Horn,” “Humility: HB/OT,” “Hosts, Hosts of Heaven,” “Hosts, Lord of.” Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception. Edited by Hans-Josef Klauk et al. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2016.

Presentations

“Recited History and Social Memory in the Ancient Mediterranean.”
European Association of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Helsinki, 2018

“‘He Remembered that they were but Flesh’: The Wilderness as Site of Sin and Grace in Israelite Historical Résumés. ”
Theology Connect Conference, Sydney, 2018

“Cultural Memory and Historical Poetics in Psalm 78.”
United Theological College Research Colloquium, Parramatta, NSW, 2018

“1 Chronicles 16:8 - 36: Psalms as Social Strategy.”
Chronicles -Ezra-Nehemiah Section. Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, 2017

“Bring Back Lament: Navigating Strategies for Soul Repair and Healing Among Korean - Adoptees and Immigrant College and Seminary Students.” Co -authored with Joseph Kim Paxton.
Bible and Practical Theology Section. Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, 2017

“Historical Recital as Social Strategy in Nehemiah 9:6-37 .”
United Theological College Research Colloquium, Parramatta, NSW, 2016

“‘Chaining Out’ on Deuteronomy: Fantasy Theme Analysis of Prayers in Ezra - Nehemiah.”
Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah Section. Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Atlanta, 2015

“Resolving Violence in the Psalms through Music: Leonard Bernstein and the Chichester Psalms.”
Bible and Modern Culture Section. Society of Biblical Literature Southeastern Regional Meeting, Nashville, 2015

“Memory and Agent Formation in the Psalms.”
Bible and Practical Theology Section. Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, 2014.

Courses Taught

Old Testament Literature and Interpretation
Psalms
Daniel
God and Emotions