Educated at Smith College, B.A., and Duke University, M.A. and Ph.D., Levine holds honorary doctorates from Drury University, the University of Richmond, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, and the University of South Carolina-Upstate, and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious grants. Her most recent books include The Jewish Annotated New Testament, co-edited with Mark Brettler, and The Meaning of the Bible, co-authored with Douglas Knight.

Levine's research interests are in biblical studies, the Gospels and Acts as well as the study of Jesus within his Jewish context; in practical theology, Levine is interested not only in what the Bible meant in its original context, but in how it is interpreted by communities today. She combines historical-critical rigor, literary-critical sensitivity, and a frequent dash of humor with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies.

She describes herself as a "Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Christian divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt."