John Alexander Motyer (30 August 1924 – 26 August 2016), known as J. Alec Motyer, was an Irish

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

. He was Vice-Principal of

Clifton Theological College Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...

and

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of St. Luke's,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, and Christ Church, Westbourne (Bournemouth) (1981–1989), before becoming Principal of

Trinity College, Bristol Trinity College, Bristol is an evangelical Anglican theological college located in Stoke Bishop, Bristol, England. It offers a range of full-time and part-time taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses which are validated by the University o ...

. He spent his later years in Poynton, Cheshire. Motyer was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 30 August 1924 and educated at

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 mixed, Church of Ireland, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971 and amalgamated with The Diocesan School for Girl ...

, before going to

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he received

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 ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, and

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 ...

degrees. He trained to become an Anglican minister at

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England Seminary, theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was Master (college), mast ...

Tremper Longman III Tremper Longman III (born 8 September 1952) is an Old Testament scholar, theologian, professor and author of several books, including 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award winner ''Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings''. Biograp ...

describes him as a "competent and popular expositor", while Tim Keller has said that Motyer and

Edmund Clowney Edmund Prosper Clowney (July 30, 1917 – March 20, 2005) was a theology, theologian, educator, and pastor. Early life and education Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College (Illinois), Wheaton Col ...

were "the fathers of my preaching ministry". By contrast, Motyer's own opinion of himself was, "I’m not really a scholar. I’m just a man who loves the Word of God.” He died on 26 August 2016.

Published works

* * * * * * * - reissue of the 1974 title. * * * * * - reissue of ''The Story of the Old Testament'' * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Motyer, J. Alec 1924 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Church of England clergy 21st-century Church of England clergy Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Bible commentators British biblical scholars Christian clergy from Dublin (city) Evangelical Anglican biblical scholars Evangelical Anglican clergy People educated at The High School, Dublin Seminary presidents Staff of Trinity College, Bristol