| Adela Yarbro Collins | |
| Birth Date: | 1945 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation | |
| Boards: | President of the New England Region of the Society of Biblical Literature |
| Spouse: | John J. Collins |
| Education: | Pomona College, Harvard University (Ph.D.) |
| Thesis Title: | The Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation: a thesis |
| Thesis Year: | 1975 |
| Discipline: | Biblical studies |
| Sub Discipline: | New Testament studies |
| Workplaces: | University of Notre Dame, University of Chicago, Yale Divinity School |
| Doctoral Students: | Candida Moss |
| Main Interests: | Gospel of Mark, Book of Revelation |
Adela Yarbro Collins (born 1945) is an American author and academic, who served as the Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. Her research focuses on the New Testament, especially the Gospel of Mark and the Book of Revelation. She has also written on the reception of the Pauline epistles, early Christian apocalypticism, and ancient eschatology.
Born in 1945 as Adela Yarbro, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College, and her Master and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. Collins formerly held appointments at the University of Notre Dame (1985-1991) and at the University of Chicago (1991-2000).[1] In 2010, a Festschrift was published in her honor: Women and Gender in Ancient Religions .
Collins's work has focussed on Apocalypticism, the Book of Revelation, and the Gospel of Mark. Among her many books Mark: A Commentary (Fortress 2007); Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of Apocalypse (Westminster, 1984); and The Combat Myth in the Book of Revelation (Harvard Dissertations in Religion 9; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press for the Harvard Theological Review; reprinted Wipf and Stock, 2001) stand out as major contributions to the field. Collins is considered one of the pioneers in understanding apocalyptic literature in Judaism and Christianity and her commentary on Mark has been called a "landmark in Markan scholarship."[2]
She is noted for her mentorship of students in particular her support for women biblical scholars. Her colleague Michal Beth Dinkler said in a tribute to Collins "Adela has helped to pave the way for younger female scholars like myself in a field that continues to be dominated by men."[3] Collins served as dissertation adviser to a number of biblical scholars including Paul Holloway, James Kelhoffer, Stephen Ahearne-Kroll, and Candida Moss.
Collins has also served as the President of the Society of New Testament Studies (2010–2011), as the President of the New England Region of the Society of Biblical Literature (2004–2005), and as President of the Society of Biblical Literature (2022-2023).[4] In 2014 she was awarded honorary doctorates in theology by the University of Oslo, Norway. In 2015 she received a second honorary doctorate from the University of Zurich.[5] In 2018 she was a joint recipient of the University of Mainz's Gutenberg Research Award.[6] In 2020 she was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[7]
Adela Yarbro is married to John J. Collins, the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. The two co-authored King and Messiah as Son of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008).