About Esau

Esau McCaulley, PhD, is an author and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. His research and writing focus on New Testament theology, African American Biblical interpretation, and articulating Christian public theology.

He completed his doctoral studies at the University of St. Andrews where he studied under the direction of N.T. Wright. His doctoral dissertation, called Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance, looks at the role Jewish messianism played in Paul’s argument in Galatians that Jesus has made believers heirs in the Messiah to the Abrahamic promises.

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In 2019 he published the award-winning book Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, the timing of which happened to coincide with a widespread national conversation on race. Since then, his work has continued to expand into more public theology, and he is the author of many works including a new memoir How far to the Promised Land, and a children’s book entitled Josie Johnson’s Hair and the Holy Spirit

Alongside his books, Esau regularly writes popular pieces. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today. He continues to teach at Wheaton College, a job which he still considers his primary vocation. He is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children.