# Daniel McClellan (biblical scholar)

Daniel Orrin McClellan is an American biblical scholar. He is a public scholar of the Bible and religion and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He has been active in sharing his view on social media. McClellan was the winner of the Society of Biblical Literature's 2023 Richards Award for Public Scholarship.

## Biography

Daniel McClellan was born in 1980 and is originally from West Virginia. As of 2006, he was married and, as of 2024, has three daughters.

### Education and academic career

From 2013 to 2023, McClellan worked as scripture translation supervisor for the LDS Church. He has a bachelor's degree in ancient Near Eastern studies from Brigham Young University with a minor in Classical Greek, a master's degree in Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, and a master of arts in biblical studies from Trinity Western University.
In 2020, he received a PhD from the University of Exeter, where he wrote a dissertation under the supervision of Francesca Stavrakopoulou. In 2022, he published a revised version of his dissertation, titled YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach. His formal academic areas of expertise include Second Temple Judaism, the early Israelite religion, the cognitive science of religion, and textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible.

#### Social media

Since 2021, McClellan has been active on social media, confronting misinformation being shared on social media about the academic study of the Bible and religion. He leads online classes, cohosts the Data Over Dogma Podcast, and is also active on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. On TikTok, he has become popular by "stitching" videos containing misinterpretations of the Bible.

### Political career

McClellan has run for public office in Utah twice, though he lost both elections to incumbents. His first bid was for Utah State House of Representatives (District 52) in 2018; he received 33.5% of the vote. In 2020, he ran for Utah's State Senate (District 10) and received 34.8% of the vote. As of 2025, he is a registered Democrat - though he has also voted Republican at times in the past.

## Publications
### Theses

* McClellan, Daniel O (December 2013). "You Will be Like the Gods": The Conceptualization of Deity in the Hebrew Bible in Cognitive Perspective (PDF) (Master of Arts in Biblical Studies thesis). British Columbia, Canada: Trinity Western University, Library and Archives Canada = Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. ISBN 9780499255105. OCLC 1019486334.
* McClellan, Daniel O (18 May 2020). Deity and Divine Agency in the Hebrew Bible: Cognitive Perspectives (PhD in Theology and Religion thesis). UK: University of Exeter.

### Other Publications

* McClellan, Daniel O. (7 May 2015). Psalm 82 in Contemporary Latter-day Saint Tradition (1st ed.). The Interpreter Foundation.
* McClellan, Daniel O (2022). YHWH's Divine Images: A Cognitive Approach.Ancient Near East Monographs (PDF). Atlanta, GA, USA: Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 978-1628374384. OCLC 1345581122.

### Book chapters

* McClellan, Daniel (September 2018), "Religion and Description", Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion: 106–113, doi:10.17613/vybm-9p24, ISBN 978-1-78179-568-2
* McClellan, Daniel (2019), Blumell, Lincoln (ed.), "The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament." (PDF), New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament., BYU Religious Studies Center: 497–513
* McClellan, Daniel (2021), Shannon, Avram R. (ed.), "'Go Ye and Learn What That Meaneth': Mercy and the Law in the Old Testament's Prophetic Literature and in the Gospels", Covenant of Compassion: Caring for the. Marginalized and Disadvantaged in the Old Testament, BYU Religious Studies Center, doi:10.17613/aw8k-9d82
* McClellan, Daniel (25 February 2021), "Forming Divine Bodies in the Hebrew Bible", Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies: 171–194, doi:10.17613/atkd-xr22, ISBN 978-0-567-65672-8, retrieved 14 January 2024

### Articles

* "Forming divine bodies in the Hebrew Bible." Pages 171–94 in Life and Death: Social Perspectives on Biblical Bodies. Edited by Francesca Stavrakopoulou (T&T Clark, 2021).
* McClellan, Daniel O. (2020). "2 Nephi 25:23 in Literary and Rhetorical Context". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 29. Utha, USA: Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 29, 20200401, 1: 1–19. JSTOR 10.5406/jbookmormstud2.29.2020.0001. OCLC 9700686633.
* "Religion and Description." Pages 106–13 in Method Today: Redescribing Approaches to the Study of Religion. Edited by Brad Stoddard (Equinox, 2018)
* The Gods-Complaint: Psalm 82 as a Psalm of Complaint Journal of Biblical Literature 137.4 (2018): 833–51. The Gods-Complaint: Psalm 82 as a Psalm of Complaint
* McClellan, Daniel (2017), "Cognitive Perspectives on Early Christology", Bible Interpretation (PDF), vol. 25, pp. 647–662
* McClellan, Daniel. "The Angel of YHWH - TheTorah.com". www.thetorah.com. The Torah .com. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
* "Names of God". Bible Odyssey. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
* McClellan, Daniel (2019), ""As Far as It Is Translated Correctly": Bible Translation and the Church", Religious Educator, vol. 20, Religious Studies Center, pp. 52–83, retrieved 14 January 2024
* Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer in Religious Educator Vol. 10 No. 3 · 2009. Outreach: A Conversation with James E. Faulconer | Religious Studies Center
* Ancient Studies: Research Update in Review Magazine Fall 2009 Ancient Studies | Religious Studies Center
* The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament in New Testament History, Culture, and Society. The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament | Religious Studies Center
* ""Go Ye and Learn What That Meaneth", Covenant of Compassion". rsc.byu.edu. Religious Studies Center. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
* The Church of Jesus Christ in Kosrae in Battlefields to Temple Grounds.