John Punnett Peters (December 16, 1852 – November 10, 1921) was an American

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

clergyman and Orientalist.

Biography

John Punnett Peters was born in New York City on December 16, 1852. He graduated from

Hopkins School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...

in 1868 and then from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...

in 1873. He was part of the school's first football team, and continued to play while he pursued graduate studies at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. He studied at Berlin and at Leipzig. He was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Old Testament languages and literature at the Protestant Episcopal Divinity School in Philadelphia (1884–91) and professor of

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 ...

at the University of Pennsylvania (1885–93). From 1888 to 1895, he conducted excavations at

Nippur Nippur ( Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian: ''Nibbur'') was an ancient Sumerian city. It wa ...

with

John Henry Haynes John Henry Haynes (27 January 1849 – 29 June 1910) was an American traveller, archaeologist and photographer, best known for his work at the first two American archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia at Nippur and Assos ...

and

Hermann Volrath Hilprecht Hermann Volrath Hilprecht (July 28, 1859 – March 19, 1925) was a German- American Assyriologist and archaeologist. Biography Hilprecht was born in 1859 at Hohenerxleben (now a part of Staßfurt), Germany. He graduated from Herzogliches Gymnasi ...

. His public criticisms of statements made by Hilprecht in speeches and published works regarding the providence of a number of artifacts presented as discoveries made in Nippur sparked what became known as the "Peters-Hilbrecht Controversy." He became rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Manhattan) in 1893 and served in that role until he retired in 1919. From 1904 to 1910, John Punnett Peters was also canon residentiary of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He was active in promoting an intellectual approach to religion, social service, and positive relations between labor and management. Peters was an outspoken opponent of municipal corruption and was active in the Excise Reform Association's West Side branch in Manhattan. As chairman of the Committee of Fourteen in New York City from the time of its founding in 1905 to 1910, and again from 1912 to 1916, Peters worked to close down or otherwise manage

Raines law The New York State liquor tax law of 1896, also known as the Raines law, was authored by the New York State Senator John Raines and adopted in the New York State Legislature on March 23, 1896. It took effect on April 1, 1896, was amended in 1917 ...

hotels while advocating numerous reforms to law enforcement institutions and practices. Combined with his father and grandfather, the Peters served as rectors of St. Michael's for 99 years. Architect Frazier Forman Peters was his son. Another son, also named

John Punnett Peters John Punnett Peters (December 16, 1852 – November 10, 1921) was an American Episcopal clergyman and Orientalist. Biography John Punnett Peters was born in New York City on December 16, 1852. He graduated from Hopkins School in 1868 and the ...

(December 4, 1887 – December 29, 1955), initially described the cerebral salt-wasting syndrome. John Punnett Peters died from a heart attack in New York on November 10, 1921.

Works

* ''Nippur, or Explorations and Adventures on the Euphrates'' (two volumes, 1897) * ''The Old Testament and the New Scholarship'' (1901) * ''Labor and Capital'' (1902) * ''Early Hebrew Story: Its Historical Background'' (1904) * With Hermann Thiersch, ''Painted tombs in the necropolis of Marissa (Marêshah)'' (1905) * ''Annals of St. Michael's, New York, for One Hundred Years, 1807-1907'' (1907) * ''Modern Christianity'' (1909) * ''Jesus Christ and the Old Commandments'' (1913) * ''The Religion of the Hebrews'' (1914) * ''The Psalms as Liturgies'' (1921) * ''Bible and Spade'' (1922)

References

University of Pennsylvania faculty American religious writers Religious leaders from New York City 1852 births 1921 deaths American Episcopalians Hopkins School alumni Yale University alumni Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica Christian biblical scholars Biblical archaeologists {{US-reli-bio-stub