Hugh G. M. Williamson

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Hugh Godfrey Maturin Williamson OBE FBA (born 15 July 1947) is a theologian and academic. He was Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford from 1992 to 2014, [1] a position he now holds as Emeritus. [2]

Contents

Career

Williamson has authored major commentaries on Ezra/Nehemiah in the Word Biblical Commentary series and a multi-volumed commentary of Isaiah 1-27 for the International Critical Commentary series. For the latter, volume 1 was published in 2006 and volume 2 in 2019. [2]

He has been chairman of the British Academy’s Humanities Group and also chairman of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society. [3]

He remains secretary to the executive committee of the Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database project. [2]

Williamson remains active in his research interests, which include the Book of Isaiah and the Achaemenid Period history and literature. [3]

A festschrift was published in 2012 for H. G. M. Williamson on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. [4]

Honours

He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to scholarship and theology. [5] [6]

Works

Books

Chapters

Festschrift

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra</span> Figure in early Jewish history

Ezra or Esdras, also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (sofer) and priest (kohen). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras. According to the Hebrew Bible he was a descendant of Seraiah, the last High Priest to serve in Solomon's Temple, and a close relative of Joshua, the first High Priest of the Second Temple. He returned from Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem. According to 1 Esdras, a Greek translation of the Book of Ezra still in use in Eastern Orthodox Church, he was also a High Priest. Rabbinic tradition holds that he was an ordinary member of the priesthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Friedrich Keil</span> German Lutheran Old Testament commentator (1807–1888)

Johann Friedrich Karl Keil or Carl Friedrich Keil was a conservative German Lutheran Old Testament commentator. Keil was appointed to the theological faculty of Dorpat in Estonia where he taught Bible, New Testament exegesis, and Oriental languages. In 1859 he was called to serve the Lutheran church in Leipzig. In 1887 he moved to Rödletz, where he died. Keil was a conservative critic who reacted strongly against the scientific biblical criticism of his day. He strongly supported Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. He maintained the validity of the historico-critical investigation of the Bible only if it proved the existence of New Testament revelation in the Scriptures. To this aim he edited his principal work, a commentary on the Bible, Biblischer Kommentar über das Alte Testament. The work remains his most enduring contribution to biblical studies. He also published commentaries on Maccabees and New Testament literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah</span> Central figure of the biblical Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia. The name is pronounced or in English. It is in Hebrew נְחֶמְיָה‎, Nəḥemyāh, "Yah comforts".

Ezra–Nehemiah is a book in the Hebrew Bible found in the Ketuvim section, originally with the Hebrew title of Ezra. The book covers the period from the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE to the second half of the 5th century BCE, and tells of the successive missions to Jerusalem of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and their efforts to restore the worship of the God of Israel and to create a purified Jewish community. It is the only part of the Bible which narrates the Persian period of biblical history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yehud Medinata</span> Province of the Achaemenid Empire

Yehud, also known as Yehud Medinata or Yehud Medinta, was an administrative province of the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the region of Judea that functioned as a self-governing region under its local Jewish population. The province was a part of the Persian satrapy of Eber-Nari, and continued to exist for two centuries until its incorporation into the Hellenistic empires following the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Paul R. House is an American Old Testament scholar, author, and seminary professor who served as 2012 president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, an interdenominational seminary in Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Blenkinsopp</span> American scholar (1927–2022)

Joseph Blenkinsopp was an academic theologian and Old Testament scholar. He was the John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. His research focused on the Old Testament Prophets and on the Pentateuch.

David John Alfred Clines was a biblical scholar. He served as professor at the University of Sheffield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob L. Wright</span>

Jacob L. Wright is a biblical scholar currently serving as associate professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University, and sits as chair of Hebrew Bible in the Graduate Division of Religion. Prior to his Emory appointment, Wright taught at the University of Heidelberg (Germany), one of the foremost research-oriented public universities in Europe, for several years. His areas of expertise include Biblical Archaeology, warfare in the Ancient Near East, and the literary and redaction history of the Hebrew Bible canon. He has published extensively throughout his career, authoring several books and dozens of articles which span topics such as Ezra-Nehemiah, the Persian period, warfare in the Ancient Near East; as well as the material culture of the ancient Levant, the unique role of women in the Hebrew Bible, and larger themes such as defeat, peoplehood, and national identity in the Hebrew Bible. Areas of concentration in war studies include war commemoration, urbicide and ritual violence, and feasting and gift-giving.

Iain William Provan is a British Old Testament scholar, now living in Canada. He is Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College.

The International Critical Commentary is a series of commentaries in English on the text of the Old Testament and New Testament. It is currently published by T&T Clark, now an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 1</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

Nehemiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 11th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter describes Nehemiah's position in the Persian court and his piety.

Peter Runham Ackroyd was a British Biblical scholar, Anglican priest, and former Congregational minister. From 1961 to 1982, he was the Samuel Davidson Professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of London. He was also President of the Society for Old Testament Study in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra 1</span> First chapter of the Book of Ezra

Ezra 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the book of Ezra–Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally believe that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra 9</span> Chapter in the biblical Book of Ezra

Ezra 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The section comprising chapters 7 to 10 mainly describes the activities of Ezra the scribe and the priest. This chapter and the next deal with the problem of intermarriage, starting with the introduction of the crisis, then Ezra's public mourning and prayer of shame. J. Gordon McConville suggests that this chapter is central to the Book of Ezra because it draws a sharp contrast between what the people of God ought to be and what they actually are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 2</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

Nehemiah 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 12th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. From the time he hears about Jerusalem during the month of Kislev (November/December), Nehemiah waited until the month of Nisan (March/April) to petition Artaxerxes I of Persia to be allowed to go and help the rebuilding of Jerusalem. His petition is granted by the king, and although with less authority than Ezra over the officials of "Beyond-the-River", Nehemiah was given an official position with an escort of officers and cavalry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 3</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

Nehemiah 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 13th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter records in detail the rebuilding of the walls and gates of Jerusalem, starting from the north to west sections, continued to south and east sections until reaching the Sheep Gate again, the initial starting point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 4</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

Nehemiah 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 14th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter recounts how the Jews had to militarize the building of the wall due to the constant threat from their enemies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 11</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 21st chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The chapter describes the repopulation of Jerusalem. Judahites (4-6), Benjamites (7-9), priests (10-14), Levites (15-18), gatekeepers (19) and "the rest of Israel" (20-21). Roles in relation to leadership, maintenance and prayer in the Temple are allocated. The people cast lots and 1 of 10 are to volunteer to live in the city whilst the remainder repopulate the surrounding areas.

References

  1. "Hugh WILLIAMSON". Debretts. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Hugh G.M. Williamson - faculty page". University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "New Year Honours 2015". University of Oxford. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  4. "Prof. Susan Gillingham - faculty page". Faculty of Theology and Religion - University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  5. "No. 61092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N16.
  6. 2015 New Year Honours List Archived 2 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
Academic offices
Preceded by Regius Professor of Hebrew, Oxford
1992–2014
Succeeded by