25 September 1908 A.D. NYT: Dr. John Bright—OT Historian & Theologian

25 September 1908 A.D.  NYT: Dr. John Bright—OT Historian & Theologian 

No author. “Dr. John Bright, 86, A Biblical Historian.”  New York Times.  1 Apr 1995. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/01/obituaries/dr-john-bright-86-a-biblical-historian.html.  Accessed 2014.  

Dr. John Bright, 86, A Biblical Historian

The Rev. Dr. John Bright, an authority on biblical history and prophetic interpretation, died on Sunday at Westminster Canterbury House, a Presbyterian-Episcopal retirement home in Richmond. He was 86.

Dr. Bright, who lived in Richmond, suffered a long illness, said Prof. James L. Mays, presiding scholar of the Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond.

Dr. Bright was professor emeritus of Hebrew and Old Testament interpretation at Union Seminary. His 35-year career there began in 1940 and was interrupted only by his service as an Army chaplain in World War II. He retired in 1975, but continued to write and publish.

His books included "The Authority of the Old Testament" (Baker, 1975); "Kingdom of God" (Abindon, revised edition 1980); "A History of Israel" (Westminster, 1981), and a commentary on "Jeremiah" for the Anchor Bible Series (Doubleday, 1965). All remain in print. 

 

He was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., and educated at Presbyterian College and Union Seminary in Richmond. He received a doctorate in Hebrew and the Old Testament at Johns Hopkins University, and was ordained in the Southern Presbyterian Church in 1935.

He held pastorates in Durham, N.C., and Cantonsville, Md., before joining the Union Seminary faculty.

He is survived by two sons, Charles C., of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Robert N., of Bayport, L.I., and three grandchildren. His wife, Carrie Lena McMullen Bright, died in 1985.