his research since then. In 1996 he published an essay applying social identity theory and Barth’s ideas on ethnicity to Galatians. This was the first published application of social identity theory in New Testament studies. Social identity theory has now become a widely used approach in New Testament interpretation. Esler applied both social identity theory and ideas on ethnicity in Galatians (1998) and Conflict and Identity in Romans (2003). He has recently argued for the need to take seriously the reality of Judean ethnic identity in the ancient Mediterranean world and its asymmetrical relationship to Christ-movement socio-religious identity in the interpretation of New Testament texts. Esler also writes on the way that biblical stories have been represented in Western art, including his study of two Rembrandt depictions of Saul and David in 1998. In 2004 he co-authored with artist Jane Boyd a book on the Velázquez painting Christ with Martha and Mary in the National Gallery in London which was covered in The Independent on 18 February 2005 under the heading "Through the looking-glass: how a mirror explains the secrets of a masterpiece" (p. 3). A work Esler co-authored with Ronald A. Piper, Lazarus, Martha and Mary: A Social-Scientific and Theological Reading of John, contains a chapter on the Lazarus frescoes from the early Christian tombs in the Roman catacombs. More recently Esler has contributed a chapter on the biblical paintings of Welsh artist Ivor Williams to Imaging the Bible in Wales 1800-1975 (edited by Martin O’Kane and John Morgan-Guy). Esler’s understanding of the role of the Arts and Humanities Research Council on his appointment as its Chief Executive in 2005 appeared in an article in The Guardian. His developing views were reflected in the evidence he provided to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology at their introductory meeting with him on 28 February 2007 While at the AHRC, Esler also chaired the Network Board of HERA: Humanities in the European Research Area, an EU-funded network of national Research Funding Agencies for collaborative research in the humanities. For much of his last year at the AHRC, Esler was involved in a major project on impact published in 2009 as Leading the World: The Economic Impact of UK Arts and Humanities Research. One of his initiatives in this project was commissioning essays by leading UK arts and humanities researchers on the public value of research in their