Ernest Wilson Nicholson, (26 September 1938 – 22 December 2013) was a British scholar of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (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 and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priest. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

from 1979 to 1990 and served as Provost of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, from 1990 to 2003.

Early life

Nicholson was born on 26 September 1938 in

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

, Northern Ireland. Having failed the

Eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

exam to attend grammar school, he attended the local Secondary Technical School. He later transferred to a grammar school, Portadown College, following the advice of a priest during a

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

holiday. In 1956, he matriculated into

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

to study Hebrew and Semitic languages. He graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1960, which was promoted to

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) in 1964. He then undertook postgraduate study at Glasgow University. He completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1964 under the supervision of

Cecil Weir Cecil James Mullo Weir (4 December 1897 – 4 March 1995) was a Scottish academic and theologian, who was Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages, Glasgow, Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages at the University of Glasgow from 1937 until ...

. He later trained for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

, completing it in 1969.

Career

Academic career

Nicholson began his academic career in 1962 when he returned to his alma mater

as a lecturer in Hebrew and Semitics. In 1967, he moved to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he became a university lecturer in Old Testament Studies and a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

. In 1969, he changed colleges and became a fellow of Pembroke College. In 1979, he moved to the

. He was granted a

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

as Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture and became a Fellow of Oriel College. In 1990, he became the 50th Provost of Oriel College; he was installed by the college's

Visitor A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can interve ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. He served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1993 to 2003. He retired from academia in 2003 and was appointed

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

of the University of Oxford.

Ordained ministry

Nicholson had been a choirboy while at school in Northern Ireland. In 1969, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

the following year. When he joined

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

, he served as a college chaplain and dean of its chapel between 1973 and 1979. In retirement, Nicholson held Permission to Officiate in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...

from 2010 until his death in 2013.

Later life

After his retirement in 2003, he remained living in Oxford. In November 2012, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He died on 22 December 2013 at the age of 75. His funeral was held on 10 January 2014 at St Peter's Church, Wolvercote, Oxford. A memorial service was held on 29 March 2014 at the

University Church of St Mary the Virgin The University Church of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary's or SMV for short) is an Anglican church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost excl ...

in Oxford.

Personal life

In 1962, Nicholson married Hazel Jackson. They had met while at the same school and, after she tutored him in Latin for his university entrance exam, they entered a relationship. Together they had four children; Rosalind, Kathryn, Jane, and Peter. His son predeceased him, having died from an epileptic seizure in 2011.

Honours

In 1987, Nicholson was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

(FBA). in 1988 was president of the Society for Old Testament Study. In 1994, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by St Peter's College, Oxford. He was awarded the 2009

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

for Biblical Studies by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...

. In 2010, he was elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA). He was appointed Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Works

*''Deuteronomy and Tradition'' (1969) *''Preaching to the Exiles'' (1971) *''Exodus and Sinai in History and Tradition'' (1973) *''God and His People: Covenant and Theology in the Old Testament'' (1986) *''The Pentateuch in the 20th century: the legacy of Julius Wellhausen'' (1998) *''A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in Britain, 1902–2002'' (2003), editor *''Deuteronomy and the Judaean Diaspora'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Ernest Wilson 1938 births 2013 deaths British biblical scholars People from Portadown People educated at Portadown College Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Academics of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of University College, Cambridge 20th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Deaths from liver cancer in England Members of the Royal Irish Academy Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Oriel and Laing Professors of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture Anglican biblical scholars Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study Scholars and academics from County Armagh Alumni of the University of Glasgow