Steven Ortiz

Associate Professor of Archaeology and Biblcial Backgrounds and Director of the Charles D. Tandy Institute for Archaeology

Dr. Ortiz is a biblical archaeologist with over 20 years of field experience. He lived in Israel for over four years and spends most of his summers in the country. Dr. Ortiz has been a senior staff member on several archaeological field projects. He is currently the co-director and principal investigator at Tel Gezer. Dr. Ortiz’s research focus is the Iron Age in the southern Levant. He specializes in the use of archeological methods and theory in the interpretation of the past. Specifically, how this enterprise can illuminate and reconstruct history relative to ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible. Dr. Ortiz is currently writing a book on the Intersections of Archaeology and Biblical Interpretation.

Dr. Ortiz grew up in East Los Angeles and has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, he is passionate about teaching students and the church the relevance of the historical and cultural context in the proper interpretation of scripture. He is a frequent supply preacher and conference speaker. He has contributed to over 100 radio interviews, newspaper articles, and denominational publications.