Carmen Joy Imes

Dr. Carmen Imes is passionate about helping students and other laypeople engage the Old Testament and discover its relevance for Christian identity and mission. She is best known for her books Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters (IVP 2019) and Being God's Image: Why Creation Still Matters (IVP 2023). Imes has appeared on over 100 podcasts and radio shows and releases weekly "Torah Tuesday" videos on her own YouTube channel. She writes for Christianity Today, Politics of Theology, and The Well (InterVarsity). Imes is also a frequent speaker at churches, conferences, and retreats. Before arriving at Biola in 2021, she served as professor of Old Testament at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada. Her academic journey began when Carmen and her husband served as missionaries in the Philippines with SIM International, reaching out to ethnic minorities. Imes loves introducing students to the rich insights of the global church.

Affiliation Faculty
Position Associate Professor of Old Testament

Author's books

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Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters

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In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we’ve misunderstood the command about “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” Instead, Imes says that this command is about “bearing God’s name,” a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. Readers will revisit the story of Israel as they trudge through the wilderness from a grueling past to a promising future.

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Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters – Audiobook

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In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we’ve misunderstood the command about “taking the Lord’s name in vain.” Instead, Imes says that this command is about “bearing God’s name,” a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. Readers will revisit the story of Israel as they trudge through the wilderness from a grueling past to a promising future.

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Bearing Yhwh’s Name at Sinai: A Reexamination of the Name Command of the Decalogue

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The Name Command (NC) is usually interpreted as a prohibition against speaking Yhwh’s name in a particular context: false oaths, wrongful pronunciation, irreverent worship, magical practices, cursing, false teaching, and the like. However, the NC lacks the contextual specification needed to support the command as speech related. The first expresses the demand for exclusive worship and the second calls for proper representation. As a consequence, the NC invites a richer exploration of what it means to be a people in covenant with Yhwh—a people bearing his name among the nations. It also points to what is at stake when Israel carries that name “in vain.” The image of bearing Yhwh’s name offers a rich source for theological and ethical reflection that cannot be conveyed nonmetaphorically without distortion or loss of meaning.

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Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters

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What does it mean to be human? This timeless question proves critical as we seek to understand our purpose, identity, and significance. Amidst the many voices clamoring to shape our understanding of humanity, the Bible reveals important truths related to our human identity and vocation that are critical to the flourishing of all of creation. Carmen Joy Imes seeks to recover the theologically rich message of the creation narratives starting in the book of Genesis as they illuminate what it means to be human.

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Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters – Audiobook

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What does it mean to be human? This timeless question proves critical as we seek to understand our purpose, identity, and significance. Amidst the many voices clamoring to shape our understanding of humanity, the Bible reveals important truths related to our human identity and vocation that are critical to the flourishing of all of creation. Carmen Joy Imes seeks to recover the theologically rich message of the creation narratives starting in the book of Genesis as they illuminate what it means to be human.

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For Us, but Not to Us: Essays on Creation, Covenant, and Context in Honor of John H. Walton

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John H. Walton is a significant voice in Old Testament studies, who has influenced many scholars in this field as well as others. This volume is an acknowledgment from his students of Walton’s role as a teacher, scholar, and mentor. Each essay is offered by scholars (and former students) working in a range of fields—from Old and New Testament studies to archaeology and theology. They are offered as a testimony and tribute to Walton’s prolific career.”

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Illustrated Exodus in Hebrew (GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts)

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Illustrated Exodus in Hebrew belongs to the series GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts (GIBT) that presents the books of the Bible in their original languages, embedded scene by scene in the context of Keith Neely’s evocative, full-color illustrations. These innovative resources will accelerate your comprehension by helping you distinguish narrative from dialogue at a glance. The illustrations provide visual cues for action, tension, and emotion, inviting an immersive reading experience in the ancient languages. Whether you are a beginning student of biblical languages, or an accomplished scholar, our hope is that this fresh presentation of the ancient texts will ignite your imagination and turn the world of these words into an expansive, multicolored landscape in your mind’s eye.

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Illustrated Psalms 1–150 in Hebrew (GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts)

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Illustrated Psalms 1–150 in Hebrew belongs to the series GlossaHouse Illustrated Biblical Texts (GIBT) that presents the books of the Bible in their original languages, embedded scene by scene in the context of Keith R. Neely’s evocative, full-color illustrations. These innovative resources will accelerate your comprehension by helping you distinguish narrative from dialogue at a glance. The illustrations provide visual cues for action, tension, and emotion, inviting an immersive reading experience in the ancient languages. Whether you are a beginning student of biblical languages, or an accomplished scholar, our hope is that this fresh presentation of the ancient texts will ignite your imagination and turn the world of these words into an expansive, multicolored landscape in your mind’s eye. Co-authored with a Biola/Talbot student, R. Mark Reasoner

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Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends

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The Psalms teach us how to pray. Many saints over the past three millennia have come near to God by praying the Psalms, and this volume introduces us to some of their greatest thoughts on them. Covering all 150 psalms, this companion to the “Prayerbook of the Bible” contains key devotional readings from the Great Tradition as well as space for journaling our own prayers. This book will help us learn to pray as Jesus prayed—after all, He quoted from the Psalms more often than any other book.

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Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends – Audiobook

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The Psalms teach us how to pray. Many saints over the past three millennia have come near to God by praying the Psalms, and this volume introduces us to some of their greatest thoughts on them. Covering all 150 psalms, this companion to the “Prayerbook of the Bible” contains key devotional readings from the Great Tradition as well as space for journaling our own prayers. This book will help us learn to pray as Jesus prayed—after all, He quoted from the Psalms more often than any other book.

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