James D. Moore is a philologist and social historian of the ancient Near East and ancient Mediterranean. In addition to his post, at Ohio State, he is Chargé de Conférence at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (2023–2024), and a collaborator on the ERC project SLaVEgents: Enslaved persons in the making of societies and cultures in Western Eurasia and North Africa, 1000 BCE - 300 CE (2023–2028).

He publishes broadly in ancient Near Eastern studies, has edited hundreds of new Northwest Semitic documents (in Aramaic, Phoenician, and Hebrew), written on ancient Hebrew and Aramaic literatures, and publishes frequently on social history and scribal culture. He advocates for the incorporation of digital resources in the study of languages and culture.

He teaches Near Eastern Languages, Hebrew Bible, and ancient historical courses.