Exum studied at Wake Forest University, where she received her BA, and Columbia University, where she received her MA and PhD.[1] Previously, she taught at Boston College.[2] She served as part of the translation team for the New Revised Standard Version.[3] While at Sheffield, Exum served as Director of the university's Centre for the Study of the Bible in the Modern World. In 2004, Exum co-founded Sheffield Phoenix Press, an academic publisher of books in biblical studies, along with David J. A. Clines and Keith W. Whitelam.[4]
Exum held a number of notable leadership positions in academia, including president of the Society for Old Testament Study.[5] She has been the editor of a number of journals in her field. She was the Executive Editor of Biblical Interpretation for more than a decade and co-edited the journal Biblical Reception.[6]
———; Clines, David J. A. (1993). The New Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament - Supplement series. Vol. 143. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press. ISBN978-1-8507-5424-4. OCLC29426176.
——— (1993). Fragmented Women: feminist (sub)versions of biblical narratives. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament - Supplement series. Vol. 163. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press. ISBN978-1-5633-8018-1. OCLC28148470.
——— (1996). Plotted, Shot, and Painted: cultural representations of biblical women. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament - Supplement series. Vol. 215. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN978-1-8507-5592-0. OCLC36220021.