 He graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina in 1980, winning the Baggott Award as the outstanding religion major of the graduating class.He earned Master of Divinity with Languages (1982) and Master of Theology (1985) degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina focusing on Hebrew, the Old Testament, and ancient near eastern studies.He earned a DPhil from University of Oxford (Regent's Park College, Oxford) in 1988, focusing on Hebrew, the Old Testament, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies.