Ph.D., 2010, M.Phil., 2008, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; M.A., 2003, B.A., 1999, The Ohio State University

Professor Riley specializes in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in the light of textual sources and material culture from the ancient Near East. Within this context, he is interested in negative depictions of the divine. His current research project is a monograph based on his dissertation (Esau I Hated: Perceptions of Divine Hate in the Ancient Near East), which uses as primary sources material from Canaanite documents (Ugaritic), ancient Israel (biblical Hebrew), and Mesopotamia (Akkadian).

He has published book reviews in Review of Biblical Literature and H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews and his contribution to Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible: Essays in Honor of Samuel Greengus is in press with Eisenbrauns. Dr. Riley is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.

An avid teacher, Professor Riley makes it a point to stay abreast of current trends in pedagogy. Prior to coming to the University of Oregon, he taught at Xavier University for several years.