David John Alfred Clines (21 November 1938 – 8 December 2022) was a biblical scholar. He served as professor at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

Education

Clines was born in Sydney, Australia, and studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

and St John’s College, Cambridge.

Career

He served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, as well as president of the Society of Biblical Literature. In 2003, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honour. ''Reading from Right to Left: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of David J.A. Clines'' () included contributions by James Barr, John Barton, Joseph Blenkinsopp,

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, Patrick D. Miller, Rolf Rendtorff,

Hugh Williamson Hugh Williamson (December 5, 1735 – May 22, 1819) was an American Founding Father, physician, and politician. He is best known as a signatory to the U.S. Constitution, and for representing North Carolina at the Constitutional Convention. Wi ...

, and Ellen van Wolde. In 2013, he was honoured with another Festschrift, ''Interested Readers: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honor of David J. A. Clines'', which included contributions from

Marc Zvi Brettler Marc Brettler (Marc Zvi Brettler) is an American biblical scholar, and the Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University. He earned his B.A., M.A., and PhD from Brandeis University, where he previously served as Dora Gold ...

, Norman C. Habel, and

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. Clines served as president of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2009. Together with David M. Gunn, Clines made the University of Sheffield a pioneer in literary readings of the final form of the biblical text. Followers of this approach are sometimes referred to as the " Sheffield school". Clines died on 8 December 2022.

Honours

In 2015, Clines was awarded the

Burkitt Medal The Burkitt Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy "in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies". Awards alternate between Hebrew Bible studies (odd years) and New Testament studies (even years). It was established in 1923 and h ...

by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

"in recognition of his significant contribution to the study of the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew lexicography".

Selected works

Books

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Edited by

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Chapters

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Journal articles

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Festschrift

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clines, David J. A. 1938 births 2022 deaths Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Arminian theologians Australian biblical scholars Bible commentators Old Testament scholars People from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study