Allan Macdonald Harman, (born 7 June 1936)Douglas J. W. Milne (ed.), ''Israel and the Church: Essays in Honour of Allan Macdonald Harman'' (2001). is an Australian Presbyterian theologian and

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

scholar. He has been described as a "well-known and highly regarded figure in Christian and especially

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

circles within Australia and overseas."

Early life and education

Harman was born in

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It ...

, son of Rev Joseph Harman, minister of the

Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (PCEA) is a small Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder. As of December 2012 it consists of 13 pastoral charges with a total of ...

and Jessie Harman. Educated at

Taree High School , motto_translation = May your Sons and Daughters Crown the River , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school , educational_authority = NSW Department of Education , district = Tar ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, Harman graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1957. He then studied overseas, at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, gaining a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

in 1960, and

Master of Letters The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

in Hebrew and

Semitic Languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

, before going on to

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to t ...

where he achieved a

Master of Theology Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

in 1961 and later a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

. In 2003, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Theology from the

Australian College of Theology The Australian College of Theology (ACT) is an Australian higher education provider based in Sydney, New South Wales. The college delivers awards in ministry and theology and was one of the first Australian non-university providers to offer an a ...

Career

After a pastorate of Geelong Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (ordained and inducted 21 March 1962) and studies in Philadelphia 1964–66, Harman was Professor of Old Testament at

Free Church of Scotland College Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of t ...

, Edinburgh, from 1966 to 1974, at

Reformed Theological College The Reformed Theological College (RTC) is the theological college supported by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, the Reformed Churches of New Zealand, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia. It is located in the Melbou ...

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, from 1974 to 1977 and at

Presbyterian Theological College The Presbyterian Theological College (PTC) is the theological college of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. It provides theological education for candidates for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, as well as for members of oth ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, from 1978 until his retirement in 2001. He also served as Principal of PTC from 1982 to 2001, and is currently Research Professor at that institution. He has also lectured at

Tyndale University College and Seminary Tyndale University is a Canadian private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Toronto, Ontario, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Tyndale students come from over 40 different Christian denominations.CfAbout Tyn ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

and

Kosin University Kosin University is a private Christian university in Busan, South Korea. The name "Kosin" is derived from the name of a denomination of Presbyterian churches in Korea that had organized actions against the Empire of Japan. This university was ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Harman served as Moderator of the

in 1978, transferring his ministry to the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1981, Moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Victoria The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations. The Presbyter ...

in 1989–90 and Moderator-General of the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...

from 1994 to 1997. He was a member of the board of directors of the

World Reformed Fellowship The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical Christian organization which promotes unity between confessional Calvinist churches around the world. History The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed in 1994 by the Presbyterian ...

, and has been an editor of the ''

Reformed Theological Review The ''Reformed Theological Review'' is Australia's longest-running Protestant theological Academic journal, journal. It was founded in 1942, with Arthur Allen, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, as its first editor. It st ...

'' since 1989. He has been chairman of

St Andrews Christian College St Andrews Christian College is an independent, co-educational school situated in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria, Wantirna South. The school was founded in 1983 by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and takes studen ...

, Tyndale Fellowship (Australia) and the Australian Institute of Archaeology, and chairman of the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

's Religious Advisory Committee to the Services. He is a recipient of the

Reserve Force Decoration The Reserve Force Decoration (postnominal RFD) is an Australian Military award given for long service by officers of the Reserve Forces. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also included the Defence ...

. Harman has written commentaries on Psalms (), Daniel (), Deuteronomy () and Isaiah (). He was also one of the translators of the

New King James Version The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...

. In 2001, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was compiled in Harman's honour, on the occasion of his retirement and 65th birthday. Contributors included Richard Gaffin and Peter Jensen. In June 2010, Harman received a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Allan 1936 births Academic journal editors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Australian biblical scholars Australian Christian theologians Australian military chaplains Australian Presbyterian ministers Bible commentators Editors of Christian publications Living people Old Testament scholars People from the Northern Rivers Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Royal Australian Air Force officers Translators of the Bible into English University of Sydney alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni