Allan Macdonald Harman, (born 7 June 1936)Douglas J. W. Milne (ed.), ''Israel and the Church: Essays in Honour of Allan Macdonald Harman'' (2001). is an Australian Presbyterian theologian and

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 ...

scholar. He has been described as a "well-known and highly regarded figure in Christian and especially

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

circles within Australia and overseas."

Early life and education

Harman was born in

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area, it is also a regional centre in the Northern River ...

, son of Rev Joseph Harman, minister of the

Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (PCEA) is a small Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder. As of December 2024 it consists of 11 pastoral charges with a total of ...

and Jessie Harman. Educated at

Taree High School Taree High School (abbreviated THS) is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school in Taree, a regional centre of the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1908, THS is the oldest of ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, Harman graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1957. He then studied overseas, at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, gaining a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

in 1960, and

Master of Letters A Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland's ...

in Hebrew and

Semitic Languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

, before going on to

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...

where he achieved a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

in 1961 and later a

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

. In 2003, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Theology from the

Australian College of Theology The Australian University of Theology (AUT), formerly known as the Australian College of Theology (ACT), is an Collegiate university, collegiate Theology, theological university based in Sydney, New South Wales. The university delivers awards i ...

Career

After a pastorate of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (ordained and inducted 21 March 1962) and studies in Philadelphia 1964–66, Harman was Professor of Old Testament at Free Church of Scotland College, Edinburgh, from 1966 to 1974, at

Reformed Theological College The Reformed Theological College (RTC) is the theological college supported by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia, the Reformed Churches of New Zealand, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Australia. It is located in the Melbourne ...

, from 1974 to 1977 and at

Presbyterian Theological College The Presbyterian Theological College (PTC) is the theological college of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. It provides theological education for candidates for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, as well as for members of o ...

(PTC),

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, from 1978 until his retirement in 2001. He also served as Principal of PTC from 1982 to 2001, and is currently Research Professor at that institution. He has also lectured at

Tyndale University College and Seminary Tyndale University is a Canadian Private university, private Interdenominationalism, interdenominational Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian university in Toronto, Ontario, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Tyndale students co ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Churc ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

and

Kosin University Kosin University () is a private Christian university in Busan, South Korea. The name "Kosin" is derived from the name of a denomination of Presbyterian churches in Korea that had organized actions against the Empire of Japan. This university ...

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. Harman served as Moderator of the

in 1978, transferring his ministry to the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1981, Moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Victoria __NOTOC__ The Presbyterian Church of Victoria is one of the constituent churches of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It was established in 1859 as a union of Church of Scotland, Free Presbyterian and United Presbyterian congregations. The ...

in 1989–90 and Moderator-General of the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

from 1994 to 1997. He was a member of the board of directors of the

World Reformed Fellowship The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Protestant Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world. History The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed in 1994 by ...

, and has been an editor of the ''

Reformed Theological Review The ''Reformed Theological Review'' is Australia's longest-running Protestant theological Academic journal, journal. It was founded in 1942, with Arthur Allen, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, as its first editor. It st ...

'' since 1989. He has been chairman of

St Andrews Christian College St Andrews Christian College is an independent, co-educational school situated in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Wantirna South, Victoria, Wantirna South. The school was founded in 1983 by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and takes studen ...

, Tyndale Fellowship (Australia) and the Australian Institute of Archaeology, and chairman of the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

's Religious Advisory Committee to the Services. He is a recipient of the

Reserve Force Decoration The Reserve Force Decoration (postnominal RFD) is an Australian Military award given for long service by officers of the Reserve Forces. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also included the Defence ...

. Harman has written commentaries on Psalms (), Daniel (), Deuteronomy () and Isaiah (). He was also one of the translators of the

New King James Version The New King James Version (NKJV) is a translation of the Bible in contemporary English, working as a revision of the King James Version. Published by Thomas Nelson, the complete NKJV was released in 1982. With regard to its textual basis, the ...

. Harman's wife Mairi was the stepdaughter of A. M. Renwick, and Harman has updated and expanded Renwick's book ''The Story of the Church''. In 2001, 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 compiled in Harman's honour, on the occasion of his retirement and 65th birthday. Contributors included

Richard Gaffin Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (born 1936) is a Calvinist theologian, Presbyterian minister, and was the Charles Krahe Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1999 to 2008. He b ...

and Peter Jensen. In June 2010, Harman received a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

for services to the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Allan 1936 births Academic journal editors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Australian biblical scholars Australian Christian theologians Australian military chaplains Bible commentators Editors of Christian publications Living people Old Testament scholars People from the Northern Rivers Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Royal Australian Air Force officers Translators of the Bible into English University of Sydney alumni Westminster Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 21st-century Australian Presbyterian ministers Historians of Christianity