William Sanford LaSor (October 25, 1911 – 1991) was an American academic who worked as a professor emeritus of Old Testament at

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an interdenominational Evangelical Christian seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller consistently has a student body that compr ...

in Pasadena, California.LA Sor, William Sanford et al, ''Old Testament survey: the message, form, and background of the Old Testament'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996, backflap

Early life and education

LaSor was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Ordained in the United Presbyterian Church, he served churches in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and Pennsylvania prior to World War II and served in

United States Navy Chaplain Corps The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and personal well-being of the mem ...

chaplain from 1943 to 1946 in the

Asiatic-Pacific Theater The Asiatic-Pacific Theater was the theater of operations of U.S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941–1945. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, two U.S. operational commands were in the Pacific. The Pacific ...

. LaSor held six degrees, ranging from chemistry to Oriental languages and literature. He earned a

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a three- to five-year undergraduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, denomination, or parachurch organization. ...

from the

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 ...

in 1934 and was awarded the first place Scribner Prize for New Testament literature. In 1949, he received the Doctor of Philosophy degree from

Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning or Dropsie University, at 2321–2335 N Broad St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was America's first degree-granting institution for post-doctoral Jewish studies. Funded by the will of Moses Aaron D ...

in Philadelphia. In addition, he held the Doctor of Theology degree from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

.Los Angeles Times (CA), January 17, 1991

Career

LaSor began his career as a professor of religion at

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

. Joining Fuller Theology Seminary in 1949 as an associate professor of Old Testament, he retired in 1980 with emeritus status. The William Sanford LaSor memorial library was left to Oral Roberts University. The library is held on the 4th floor of the Learning Resource Center.

Personal life

LaSor died on January 11, 1991, at his home in Altadena, California.

Publications

He authored and edited seventeen books. A minor sample follows: * LaSor, William Sanford. "The Messiahs of Aaron and Israel." ''

Vetus Testamentum ''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international ...

'' 6, no. 4 (1956): 425-429. * ________. "Secondary Opening of Syllables Originally Closed with Gutturals (in Hebrew)." Journal of Near Eastern Studies 15, no. 4 (1956): 246-250. * ________. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1972. * ________. Israel : A Biblical View. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1976. * ________. Handbook of Biblical Hebrew : (An Inductive Approach Based on the Hebrew Text of Esther, 2 Vols. in 1). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989. . * ________. The Truth About Armageddon : What the Bible Says About the End Times. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1987. . * LaSor, William Sanford, Peter Hintzoglou, and Eric N. Jacobsen. Handbook of New Testament Greek: An Inductive Approach Based on the Greek Text of Acts. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1973. * LaSor, William Sanford, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush. Old Testament Survey : The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 2/ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1996. . * LaSor, William Sanford, and Gary A. Tuttle. ''Biblical and near Eastern Studies : Essays in Honor of William Sanford LaSor''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Sor, William Sanford Christian writers 1911 births 1991 deaths American biblical scholars University of Pennsylvania alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni University of Southern California alumni Lafayette College faculty Fuller Theological Seminary faculty Educators from Philadelphia Educators from Pennsylvania People from Altadena, California