PROFESSOR TUCKER SAMSON FERDA TO BE INSTALLED INTO Errett M. Grable Chair in New Testament
Exegesis and Early Christianity
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary invites you to an installation lecture Nov. 6, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in Hicks Chapel. Dr. Tucker Samson Ferda, associate professor of New Testament, will present the Errett M. Grable Chair in New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity Lecture—"The Solidarity of the Messiah: Recovering Matthew’s Theology of the Cross within Second Temple Judaism."
This event will be in person and online. A reception will follow the lecture. Register for this free event.
ABOUT PROFESSOR FERDA
Dr. Tucker Samson Ferda is associate professor of New Testament. He previously served as assistant professor of New Testament, from 2017 to 2020 was visiting assistant professor, and from 2013 to 2016 was instructor. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also served as teaching fellow. In 2015, he was named a Regional Scholar of the Society of Biblical Literature, an award which “recognizes and promotes outstanding entry-level scholars.” Dr. Ferda has expertise in a wide range of areas in biblical studies, including the Gospels, the life of Jesus, the Old Testament in the New, the history of biblical interpretation, Hellenistic Jewish literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the theological interpretation of Scripture. Many of these interests intersect in his first book, Jesus, the Gospels, and the Galilean Crisis (Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019), published in the Library of New Testament Studies series. He also authored Jesus and His Promised Second Coming: Jewish Eschatology and Christian Origins (Eerdmans, 2024). Dr. Ferda ​is a frequent presenter at regional and national SBL meetings, and he has published numerous essays and 20 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier biblical studies journals, including Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal of Theological Studies, New Testament Studies, and Journal for the Study of Judaism, among others. Dr. Ferda is a member at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, and he frequently leads studies in area churches.
About Errett M. Grable
Errett M. Grable was born in 1889 in Hiram, Ohio, and graduated from Stetson University in 1909. President of Weaver Aluminum Inc., a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America, Grable later became the founder and lifetime director of Rubbermaid Inc., which grew into an international housewares manufacturing company. A member of the board of directors of Western Theological Seminary, he played a major role in guiding the merger between Western Theological Seminary and Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary to form Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. After Grable’s death in 1959, his widow, Minnie, focused her personal philanthropy on scholarships to help young people enroll in vocational training. She established The Grable Foundation in 1976 and supported it until her death in 1990 at age 100. As longtime residents of Pittsburgh and members of Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside, the Grables supported community and youth organizations in Southwestern Pennsylvania and were deeply concerned with the welfare of the Pittsburgh region and all its citizens. The chair was established by Minnie K. Grable in 1964 in memory of her husband.