25 September 1908 A.D. John Bright, Presbyterian Old Testament scholar, is born
25
September 1908 A.D. John
Bright, Presbyterian Old Testament scholar, is born.
Wikipedia offers this about Mr. (Prof.) Bright.
“John Bright (25 September 1908 – 26 March 1995)[1] was an American biblical
scholar, the author of several important books including the influential A
History of Israel (1959), currently in its fourth edition. He was closely
associated with the American school of Biblical criticism pioneered by William F. Albright, which sought to marry archaeology to a defense of the reliability of the Bible, especially the earlier books
of the Old Testament.
Biography
“Born in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, John Bright was raised in the Presbyterian Church U.S., and attended Union Theological
Seminary in Virginia where he earned his B.D. in 1931, followed
by a Th.M. degree four years later. In the winter of 1931-32, Bright
participated in an archaeological campaign at Tell Beit Mirsim, where he met
the renowned William Foxwell Albright of Johns Hopkins
University, who became his mentor. He also participated in a dig at
Bethel in 1935. In the autumn of that year he studied under Albright at Johns
Hopkins University but dropped out later due to insufficient funds to continue
his studies, and took a position as the assistant pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in Durham, North
Carolina, which did not last long. He was able to resume his
studies at Johns Hopkins while he was the pastor of Catonsville Presbyterian
Church in Baltimore, and completed his doctoral degree in 1940. He then went
back to Union Theological Seminary where he was appointed to the Cyrus H.
McCormick Chair of Hebrew and Old Testament Interpretation, a position he held
until his retirement in 1975.[2]
Influence and legacy
“Bright's work A History of Israel for which he is
most famous was published in 1959, with a second and third edition in 1972 and
1981. The second edition (1972) included new information from the Adad-nirari
stela, published in 1968, and the Hebrew ostracon found at Mecad Hasavyahu (Yabneh-Yam), published in 1962.[3] His third edition (1981)
included a thorough revision of the first four chapters. While including new
data, Bright maintained his theological conviction that "the heart of
Israel’s faith lies in its covenantal relationship with YHWH."[4]
“In an appendix to the fourth edition (2000) of Bright's
work, William P. Brown outlined some of the changes in the field of historical
research since the third edition. Brown notes:
`It should be pointed out
that the driving force behind John Bright’s scholarship was his desire to
disseminate to the church and general public the fruits of biblical
scholarship. In an interview held soon after the publication of the third edition
of his textbook, Bright comments on identifying an `outstanding motif’ in his
work: `those of us who have gone more deeply into the subject have a duty to
communicate to the church in a usable form what we know—and to the general
public if they are interested’’’ (Kendig B. Cully, “Interview with John Bright:
Scholar of the Kingdom” [The Review of Books and Religion, 11/4 (1983), p.4]).[5]
Published works
· The Age of King David: A Study in the Institutional History of Israel (doctoral dissertation 1940) (Union Seminary Review, 53 [1942] pp.87-109).
· The Kingdom of God: The Biblical Concept and Its Meaning for the Church (New York/Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1953)
·
Early Israel in Recent
History Writing (Westminster 1956)
·
Jeremiah: A Commentary (Anchor Bible 21: Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965).
·
The Authority of the Old
Testament (Baker, 1975)
·
Covenant and Promise: The
Prophetic Understanding of the Future in Pre-Exilic Israel (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976).
·
A History of Israel: With an
Introduction and Appendix by William P. Brown,
4th edition, Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000. (ISBN 0-664-22068-1) (Google books preview)
References
1.
"Obituary: Dr. John Bright, 86, A Biblical Historian". The New York Times. 1 April, 1995. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
Dr. John Bright, 86, A Biblical Historian - New York Times Retrieved 2011-08-20
Dr. John Bright, 86, A Biblical Historian - New York Times Retrieved 2011-08-20
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