Raymond Bryan Dillard (January 7, 1944 – October 1, 1993) was a professor of
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 ...
language and literature at
Westminster Theological Seminary.
Life
Dillard was born on January 7, 1944, in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, the son of Raymond and Ruth Dillard. After graduating from high school in
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
, in 1962, he went to study at
Bob Jones University (
B.A. 1966),
Westminster Theological Seminary (
B.D. 1969), and
Dropsie University (
Ph.D.
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 a ...
1975).
He did
postdoctoral research at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
, 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 ...
, and
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
. He taught at Westminster Theological Seminary as professor of
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 ...
language and literature from 1971 until his death in 1993.
Dillard was a member of the
Society of Biblical Literature
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...
, where he worked in the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemia section. He also held memberships in the
Evangelical Theological Society and in the
Institute for Biblical Research
The Institute for Biblical Research established in 1973 is "an organization of evangelical Christian scholars with specialties in Old and New Testament and in ancillary disciplines". It describes its vision as "to foster excellence in the pursuit ...
.
[
Among his major academic publications were an extensive commentary on '']2 Chronicles
The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...
'' published as part of the Word Biblical Commentary
The Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) is a series of commentaries in English on the text of the Bible both Old and New Testament. It is currently published by the Zondervan Publishing Company. Initially published under the "Word Books" imprint, t ...
, a commentary on the Book of Joel
The Book of Joel is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament.
Content
After a superscription ascribing the prophecy to Joel (s ...
, and his magnum opus, ''An Introduction to the Old Testament'', which he wrote together with Tremper Longman
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''.
Biography ...
and which was published posthumously, three months after his death .
To his students and colleagues, he was known as a "master of classroom drama" who "captivated mind and hearts".
Dillard died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
on October 1, 1993, in the woods near Zionsville, Pennsylvania
Zionsville is a village mostly in Upper Milford Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania with parts of the village located in Lower Milford Township. The West Branch Hosensack Creek forms its natural southeastern boundary and drains it via the H ...
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Publications
Books and book chapters
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Articles
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Audio
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillard, Raymond Bryan
1944 births
1993 deaths
20th-century biblical scholars
American biblical scholars
American Calvinist and Reformed theologians
American Presbyterian ministers
Bob Jones University alumni
Dropsie College alumni
Dropsie College faculty
Old Testament scholars
Orthodox Presbyterian Church members
Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers
Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky
Academic staff of Tel Aviv University
Temple University faculty
University of Pennsylvania faculty
Westminster Theological Seminary alumni
Westminster Theological Seminary faculty
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American clergy