The Rev. Dr Lissa Wray Beal grew up near Vancouver, Canada and has lived and studied in several Canadian cities. Her years of pastoral ministry revealed her love of preaching and teaching from the Old Testament as she responded to parishioners’ desire to understand its role in Christian faith and life. This informed her decision to pursue a PhD in Old Testament at Wycliffe College. Upon graduation, she taught for many years at Providence Theological Seminary near Winnipeg. During that time, she made an ecclesial transition from the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada to the Anglican Church of Canada, and ministers as an ordained priest.

Her research focuses on Israel’s life in the land, and exile from it. Her interest in narrative and canonical readings, and the insights of trauma studies are evident in her commentaries on 1–2 Kings and Joshua and inform her many articles on topics in 1–2 Kings, Joshua, Psalms, and Jeremiah.  She is currently preparing a commentary on Jeremiah.

She lives in Toronto with her husband, Steve. They enjoy travelling, often feeling more like pilgrims than tourists as they like to visit cathedrals and trace the lives of the saints.