Prof Dr Louis C. Jonker is a distinguished professor in Hebrew Bible / Old Testament studies in the Faculty of Theology, University of Stellenbosch. HE has a B1 rating at the NRF, and is a fellow of the Alxander von Humboldt Foundation (Bonn). He was successfully nominated by a colleague in Germany, prof Christian Frevel of the Ruhr University of Bochum, for a Georg Forster Prize of the Humboldt Foundation. Jonker was awarded the prize as one of six scholars internationally, and it enables him to spend research leave of 12 months during 2024-2026 in Germany. He was furthermore succesffully nominated as Global Fellow of the MF School of Theology and Religion in Oslo, Norway. Jonker will spend a month in 2024 (October) in Oslo.

Jonker specializes in the biblical literature formation processess of the Late Persian and Early Hellenistic periods (400–250 BCE) in Ancient Israel's history. He has published a commentary on Chronicles (2013) as well as a monograph (2016), both at internationally acclaimed publishers. He has submitted another 800+ pages commentary manuscript to a publisher in the United States, and it is scheduled for publication in 2025. Jonker also has experience in archaelogy of the biblical world, including Israel, Palestine, Iran, Greece, and Turkey. He is co-lecturing an undergraduate module on the value of archaeology for biblical interpretation.

Jonker is also engaged in ecclesial policy matters, particularly on homosexuality in the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, as well as on interreligious dialogue. His input in these discussions is of a hermeutical nature, that is, how to develop responsible ways of using the Bible in ethical matters.