Joshua Tan is an interdisciplinary researcher with training in systematic and historical theology and developing doctoral interests in digital humanities and computational philology, with a focus on biblical languages.
He holds a Master of Letters in Systematic and Historical Theology from the University of St Andrews, UK (Brash Scholarship, Singapore), as well as a Master of Divinity and a Master of Christian Studies from Seminari Theoloji Malaysia. His formal theological training is grounded in close textual analysis, historical method, and doctrinal synthesis.
His earlier research centred on the doctrine of atonement, examined through biblical texts, patristic theology, and early Jewish literature. Drawing on sources such as the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Mishnah, Midrash, and Pseudepigrapha, he developed a multi-layered account of atonement that integrates Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, and ongoing intercessory role. This work reflects sustained engagement with primary texts across languages and traditions.
Closely related to this focus is his interest in biblical metaphor and intertextuality, particularly covenantal and marital imagery across the canon. His research traces how prophetic portrayals of Yahweh and Israel are reconfigured in New Testament depictions of Christ and the Church, attending to both continuity and transformation in biblical theology.
Building on this textual and theological foundation, Joshua is now developing PhD research in digital humanities, focusing on the computational modelling of biblical texts. His proposed doctoral project investigates how a Latin biblical text (the Nova Vulgata) can be represented as a linguistically annotated, digitally structured corpus, designed to interoperate with existing Greek and Hebrew resources. The project foregrounds questions of data modelling, annotation methodology, reproducibility, and cross-linguistic alignment, treating digital infrastructure as a form of scholarly inquiry rather than a purely technical add-on.
Joshua brings substantial professional experience in information systems and digital workflows, including database design, web-based platforms, and long-term engagement with structured data. This background informs his interest in sustainable, transparent research infrastructures and reproducible methods in the humanities.
He has formal training in Biblical Hebrew and Greek, and is pursuing further study in Latin and selected modern European languages to support his research in biblical philology and corpus-based analysis. He works primarily in English and has competence in several Asian languages.
Joshua’s doctoral interests lie at the intersection of biblical studies, historical theology, and digital corpus infrastructure, with the aim of contributing both to disciplinary scholarship and to the development of reusable research resources for the wider academic community.