President & Professor of Biblical Studies
Brian Tabb was called as the third president of Bethlehem College and Seminary in 2024. Dr. Tabb came to Bethlehem as a seminary apprentice in 2005, was a founding member of the faculty in 2009 and served for many years as the school’s academic dean. He continues to serve as professor of biblical studies, teaching courses on biblical theology, Greek exegesis, and other subjects.
In addition to his leadership and teaching responsibilities, Dr. Tabb serves the broader church and academy through his writing and editing. He is general editor of Themelios, an international theological journal published by The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of 1–2 Timothy and Titus (Crossway, 2015), Suffering in Ancient Worldview: Luke, Seneca, and 4 Macabees in Dialogue (T&T Clark, 2017), All Things New: Revelation as Canonical Capstone (IVP, 2019), and After Emmaus: How the Church Fulfills the Mission of Christ (Crossway, 2021). He is also the editor of The Gospel and the Modern World: A Theological Vision for the Church (Crossway, 2023) and co- editor of Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament (Zondervan, 2022).
Tabb is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.A., M.A.), Bethlehem College and Seminary (M.A.), Luther Seminary (M.Th.), and London School of Theology, where he completed a Ph.D. in New Testament under the supervision of Professor Steve Walton.
Dr. Tabb lives with his wife, Kristin, and their four children in St. Paul. He is an active member of The North Church, one of Bethlehem College and Seminary’s founding churches, and he previously served as a non-staff elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis.
Academic Credentials
- B.A., Wheaton College (Psychology, minor in Bible/Theology)
- M.A., Wheaton College Graduate School (Biblical Exegesis)
- M.A., Bethlehem College and Seminary (Biblical and Pastoral Studies)
- M.Th., Luther Theological Seminary (New Testament)
- Ph.D., London School of Theology (New Testament)
Publications
Books
Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament: Genre, Authorial Intent, and the Nature of Scripture. Co-edited with Andrew M. King. Counterpoints. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2022.
After Emmaus: How the Church Fulfills the Mission of Christ. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021.
All Things New: Revelation as Canonical Capstone. New Studies in Biblical Theology 48. London: Apollos, 2019.
Suffering in Ancient Worldview: Luke, Seneca, and 4 Maccabees in Dialogue. Library of New Testament Studies 569. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.
1–2 Timothy and Titus: A 12-Week Study. Knowing the Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017. What Jesus Demands from the World: A Study Guide. Nashville: Lifeway, 2015.
What Jesus Demands from the World: A Study Guide, with John Piper. Nashville: Lifeway, 2015.
Praying with Paul: A Study Guide for A Call to Spiritual Reformation, with D.A. Carson. Nashville: Lifeway, 2014.
Articles and Chapters
“Editorial: Theological Reflections on the Pandemic.” Themelios 45.1 (2020): 1–7. Online
“Editorial: Themelios Then and Now: The Journal’s Name, History, and Contribution.” Themelios 44.1 (2019): 1–5. Online.
“We Have Something of Heaven: A Theology of Joy in Revelation.” Desiring God. March 5 2019. Online.
“The Nature of True Worship: Reading Acts 17 with Seneca, Epistle 95.” in Paul and the Greco-Roman Philosophical Tradition. Edited by Joseph Dodson and Andrew W. Pitts. LNTS. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.
“Paul and Seneca on Suffering.” Pages 88–108 in Paul and Seneca in Dialogue. Edited by David E. Briones and Joseph Dodson. Ancient Philosophical Commentary on the Pauline Writings. Leiden: Brill, 2017.
“Is the Lukan Jesus a Martyr? A Critical Assessment of a Scholarly Consensus.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 77 (2015): 280–301.
“Salvation, Spreading, and Suffering: God’s Unfolding Plan in Luke-Acts.” Journal for the Evangelical Theological Society 58.1 (2015): 43–61. Online.
“Jesus’s Thirst at the Cross: Irony and Intertextuality in John 19:28.” Evangelical Quarterly 85 (2013): 338–351.
“Johannine Fulfillment: Continuity and Escalation,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 21 (2011): 495–505.
“Revelation.” in The NIV Zondervan Study Bible, Edited by D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015.
Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Tremper Longman III (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013).
Media
- “Well Supplied for Difficult Days.” 2 Timothy 3:10-17. Bethlehem Baptist Church. October 2019.
- “Approved by God.” 2 Timothy 2:14-26. Bethlehem Baptist Church. August 2019.
- “The Word at Work.” 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10. Bethlehem Baptist Church. August 2018.
- “Revere the Risen King.” Revelations 1:9-20. Bethlehem Baptist Church. August 2017.
- “The Whole Gospel for Our Whole Lives.” Acts 20:17-35. Bethlehem Baptist Church. April 2016.
- “The King on Trial.” Mark 15. Redeemer Bible Church. July 2015.