Born in Denton, Texas, as the son of Lorraine Hopkin and Arden Hopkin, Shon Hopkin attended Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas and graduated from Orem High School. He received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Brigham Young University in Near Eastern Studies with a focus on Hebrew Bible. He received a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in Hebrew studies with a focus on medieval Hebrew, Arabic, and Spanish literature. Before coming to Brigham Young University, he taught in Seminaries and Institutes for four years at Timpview High School (1997–2001), four years at Provo High School (2001–5), and six years at the Austin Institute of Religion (2006–11).
At BYU Shon has served as Chair of the Book of Mormon Academy and Chair of the BYU Religious Outreach Council. He currently serves as Chair of the Department of Ancient Scripture. He is one of the principal organizers of the ongoing Jewish & Latter-day Saint Academic Interfaith Dialogue project. He has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and articles on Isaiah, the Hebrew Bible, Latter-day Saint beliefs, and medieval literature, including Opening Isaiah: A Harmony (with Ann Madsen); Abinadi: He Came Among them in Disguise (edited, Book of Mormon Academy); Mormonism: A Guide for the Perplexed (with Robert Millet, as part of Bloomberg Press’ Guide for the Perplexed series); and the forthcoming Understanding Your Neighbor: Judaism (with Rabbi Mark Diamond, as part of the Widtsoe Foundation’s series).
Shon’s love for the Holy Land began as an undergraduate at BYU when he and his wife were on the study abroad program (in 1996). Since that time, he has returned as a faculty member and has led numerous tours and trips there. He has travelled extensively in the Middle East, including a lengthy stay in Syria to work on his Arabic and an interfaith trip to Turkey.
Shon and his wife have four children and two grandchildren and live in Orem, Utah.
Classes taught: Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, Isaiah, Pearl of Great Price, Book of Mormon for Non-Members
Research interests: Judaism and Islam, Medieval cultures and literature, biblical studies, religions of the world
Languages: Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic
Other interests and hobbies: teaching and directing in the Especially for Youth program; interfaith dialogue; BYU and University of Texas sports programs; basketball; home improvement projects; reading, reading, and reading
