F. W. "Chip" Dobbs-Allsopp is a
biblical scholar,
epigrapher
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
, and
literary theorist
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mora ...
. Currently professor of
Old Testament, or
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
, he has taught and written extensively on
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 ...
, the origins of
alphabetic writing,
biblical poetry
The ancient Hebrews identified poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as "songs" or as "chants" passages such as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20; a song or chant () is, according to the primary meaning of the term ...
,
poetics, and
literary criticism.
Life
After earning a
B.A.
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 yea ...
in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
at
Furman University, in 1984, Dobbs-Allsopp attended
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...
, where he received an
M.Div.
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...
, in 1987. There, he was trained in
Semitic philology and
biblical interpretation
Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...
by the notable specialists
J.J.M. Roberts and
Patrick D. Miller. He then pursued
doctoral studies
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in Hebrew Bible and Northwest Semitic Philology at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
, which he completed in 1992. At
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, Dobbs-Allsopp served as assistant professor of Semitics (1994–1999) and director of undergraduate studies (1995–97) before returning to
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
as assistant (1999–2002), associate (2002–2014), and full (2015–present) professor of Old Testament. He has also acted as visiting assistant professor in
Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...
at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
(2001–02).
Professional Activities
An expert in
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 ...
, Dobbs-Allsopp published, inter alia, perhaps the
earliest alphabetic inscription, a
Proto-Sinaitic text from
Wadi el-Hol
Wadi el-Hol is a valley on the Farshut Road, north-west of Luxor on the Qena Bend, situated on the west bank of the river Nile in Egypt. Rock inscriptions in the valley appear to show the oldest examples of phonetic alphabetic writing discovered ...
, with
Egyptologist
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...
John C. Darnell. He also edited a major volume on
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
inscriptions with
Roberts,
Choon-Leong Seow, and Richard E. Whitaker (Yale University Press).
With respect to biblical scholarship, Dobbs-Allsopp has written two monographs on the
book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megill ...
, in addition to any number of other essays in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. His most recent volume, ''On Biblical Poetry'' (Oxford University Press), has received early accolades from other prominent figures in the field of biblical studies. For Oxford Bibliographies, he co-edited the entry on Hebrew poetry. Finally, he is slated to edit the
Megillot
The Five Scrolls or The Five Megillot ( he, חמש מגילות , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, ...
for
The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition, formerly called the Oxford Hebrew Bible.
Dobbs-Allsopp has sat on numerous editorial boards: from the
Society of Biblical Literature's Writings from the Ancient World and
Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature.
History
The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
's "Beiträge zur alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft" through the ''
Journal of Biblical Literature
The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). First published in 1881, ''JBL'' is the flagship journal of the field. ''JBL'' is published quarterly and incl ...
'' and ''Maarav'' to the Princeton Classical Hebrew Lexicon Project as well as the Ugaritic Tablets Digital Edition Project. In addition, he has held membership to the
American Oriental Society
The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship.
The Society encourages basi ...
,
American Schools of Oriental Research, the
Society of Biblical Literature, the
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Hebrew Bible Seminar, the Lenox House Colloquium, and the Oriental Club of New Haven.
Selected works
Books
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Online resource
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External links
Person Website at Princeton Theological SeminaryCV of F.W. Dobbs-Allsopp
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbs-Allsopp, FW
Living people
Date of birth missing (living people)
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Furman University alumni
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Yale University faculty
University of Pennsylvania faculty
Semitic studies
American biblical scholars
Epigraphers
American literary theorists
21st-century American writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Princeton Theological Seminary faculty