George Ernest Wright

George Ernest Wright (born September 5, 1909 , † August 29, 1974 ) was an American Old Testament scholar and Biblical archaeologist . As an expert in archeology in the Middle East , he gained particular fame for his work in the field of studying and dating ceramics .

Life

Wright was born in Ohio to a Presbyterian minister. He made his Bachelor of Arts at the College of Wooster (Ohio), his theological Bachelor in 1934 at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago . In the same year he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church .

He studied with William Foxwell Albright at Johns Hopkins University , where he received his Master of Arts in 1936 and his PhD in 1937 . From 1939 to 1958, he taught Old Testament history and theology at McCormick Theological Seminary . 1958 moved to the Harvard Divinity School , where he was professor and (from 1961) curator of the Semitic Museum. He stayed that way until his death.

Wright published numerous monographs and articles on subjects ranging from biblical theology to the archeology of Palestine. He was also the founder of The Biblical Archaeologist , now known as the Near Eastern Archeology Magazine . He was a staunch defender of the importance of Old Testament study for the Christian faith. In 1965 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Expeditions

In the course of his teaching career, Wright led three archaeological expeditions :

• 1956–1974: The Drew-McCormick archeology expedition to Shechem
• 1964–1965: The Hebrew Union College Biblical and Archaeological School Expedition at Tell Gezer
• 1971–1974: The Joint American Expedition to Idalion , Cyprus

Fonts (selection)

• The pottery of Palestine from the earliest times to the eighteenth century BC, 1937.
• Iron: the date of its introduction into common use in Palestine, 1939.
• The Old Testament: Impediment or bulwark of the Christian faith? (McCormick Seminary addresses) 1945.
• God Who Acts, Biblical Theology as Recital, 1952.
• The faith of Israel, 1952.
• The Biblical doctrine of man in society (Ecumenical biblical studies), 1954.
• The pottery of Palestine from the earliest times to the end of the early Bronze Age, 1962.
• Archeology, history, and theology, 1964.
• The challenge of Israel's faith, 1956.
• The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible, 1956.
• Biblical Archeology, 1957.
• Bringing Old Testament times to life, 1957.
• with Reginald H. Fuller: The Book of the Acts of God: Christian Scholarship Interprets the Bible , 1957 full text .
• A hiding place of sinners: An exposition of Jeremiah 7.1-15… A sermon delivered in the McCormick Seminary Chapel, Feb. 3; to the pre-Lenten conference ... of Harvard Divinity School on Feb. 12. (1958).
• An introduction to Biblical archeology (Studies in theology), 1960.
• The Bible and the ancient Near East: Essays in honor of William Foxwell Albright , 1961.
• Isaiah, 1964.
• Biblical Archeology, 1962.
• The Old Testament Against Its Environment, 1962.
• Shechem, Biography of a Biblical City, 1965.
• The Book of the acts of God: Modern Christian scholarship interprets the Bible, 1965.
• The Old Testament and Theology, 1969.
• The thousand years before Christ, 1969.
• The book of Isaiah; The Layman's Bible commentary, 1972.

literature

• R. Lansing Hicks: Wright, George Ernest . In: Donald K. McKim (Ed.): Dictionary of major biblical interpreters , 2nd. Edition, IVP Academic, Downers Grove, Ill. 2007, ISBN 978-0-8308-2927-9 , pp. 1060-1065.