Barry’s teaching specialization is Hebrew Bible and the Biblical Hebrew language. Until recently he was chair of the Religion Department at Hope College. His Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (4th edition, Wadsworth Cengage 2009) is an introductory college/university text that is designed to draw students into encountering the biblical text and understanding its world.

Barry’s professional interests include the application of computing technology to teaching and learning. As director of academic computing he is involved in giving direction to the college’s course management system, currently Moodle, and in developing the college’s program of summer online courses.

Barry is active in the Society of Biblical Literature where he is the program chair of the Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew section. His interest in the linguistic shape of the biblical text has recently come to expression in the Genesis 1-11 volume in Baylor’s Handbook on the Hebrew Bible series. In it he applies the linguistic approach called functional grammar to biblical Hebrew.

Barry’s extra-curricular interests  include motorcycles, Macintoshes, Moodle, and more importantly, family – three sons and one wonderful wife.