Nazeer Bacchus
Instructor of Theological Studies Loyola Marymount University
Biography
Nazeer Luis Bacchus is a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism whose research explores ritual, embodiment, and religious experience through methods drawn from literary and religious studies. His current book project investigates the religious dimensions of seeing in biblical and early Jewish literature, tracing its generative role in articulating piety, ritual, and the sacred. Nazeer received his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from New York University in 2025, where he also served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities from 2025 to 2026. He is the recipient of the A.R. Pete Diamond Award from the Society of Biblical Literature and the Mary Cady Tew Prize for Excellence in Religion and Literature. His work has also been recognized by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. At Loyola Marymount University, he teaches a broad range of courses that invite students into sustained engagement with religious texts and traditions through curiosity, interpretive care, and ethical self-reflection on their roles as interpreters.
Nazeer can be reached at nazeer.bacchus@lmu.edu
Nazeer can be reached at nazeer.bacchus@lmu.edu
Education
New York University
Ph.D.
Hebrew Bible
2025
Yale University
M.A.
Religion & Literature
2019
University of Central Florida
B.A
English Literature
2015
Minor in Judaic Studies
Areas of Expertise
Hebrew Bible
Pentateuch
Priestly Literature
Second Temple Jewish literature
Literary Criticism
Literary Aesthetics & Poetics
Embodiment
Ritual Studies
Affiliations
- Catholic Biblical Association
- Society of Biblical Literature
- American Academy of Religion
- Association for Jewish Studies
- American Academy for Jewish Research


