James Barr (30 March 1924 – 14 October 2006) was a Scottish Old Testament scholar, known for his critique of the notion that the vocabulary and structure of the Hebrew language may reflect a particular theological mindset. At the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, he was the

Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture The Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture (until 1991 the Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture) is a chair in theology, particular Old Testament studies, at the University of Oxford. Oriel College, ...

from 1976 to 1978, and the Regius Professor of Hebrew from 1978 to 1989.

Biography

Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland (although one obituary claims he was born in Edinburgh on 20 March 1924),Bartsad, Hans (11 November 2006
The Rev Professor James Barr, Semitist whose technical approach to the Hebrew Bible changed the methods of biblical exegesis
The Independent. Retrieved 23 September 2014 educated at Daniel Stewart's college in Edinburgh and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, Barr was ordained to the ministry of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1951.Williamson, HGM (8 November 2006
James Barr, Radical academic whose incisive critiques challenged the orthodoxies of biblical theology
''The Guardian''. Retrieved 23 September 2014 He held professorships in New College in the University of Edinburgh,

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

, in

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 ...

and at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in the United States. He was

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

from 1976 to 1978 and Regius Professor of Hebrew from 1978 to 1989. Following service in World War II in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy where he was a pilot of torpedo bombers and took part in air-sea rescue missions, he studied at Edinburgh University, obtaining a first-class honours degree (Scottish MA) in Classics (1948) and the BD with Distinction in Old Testament (1951). After ordination (1951) and service as minister in the Church of Scotland in Tiberias, Israel (1951–53), during which time he acquired fluency in modern Hebrew and Arabic, he was appointed Professor of New Testament in the Presbyterian College, Montreal (1953–55). Then he was appointed Professor of Old Testament Language, Literature & Theology in Edinburgh University (New College, 1955–61). He then moved to the US as Professor of Old Testament in Princeton Theological Seminary (1961–65), followed by appointments in the University of Manchester (1965–76) as Professor Semitic Languages and Literatures, and in Oxford University, initially as Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture (1976–78) and then as Regius Professor of Hebrew (1978–89). After his retirement from Oxford, he was appointed Professor of Hebrew Bible in Vanderbilt University (1989–98). Barr received many honours. He served as President of the Society for Old Testament Study (1973) and of the British Association for Jewish Studies (1978), and was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

and a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1993. He was a member of the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Unive ...

from 1977.

Biblical scholarship and theology

His '' The Semantics of Biblical Language'' (1961), in which he criticised the tendency of many scholars to rely on linguistically flawed arguments, such as arguments from

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

or based upon misconceptions about the relation between

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

thought and language was very influential. Much of the critique was built upon the work of French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. In turn, Barr's student Moisés Silva built on Barr's work in ''Biblical Words and Their Meaning'' (1983). In another important study, ''Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament'' (1968), he criticised the tendency to ascribe meanings to difficult Hebrew words based on words in other Semitic languages (e.g., Ugaritic). This study has been described as having "put comparative Semitic philology on a new and firmer footing.""Barr, James," ''Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation'', ed. J. H. Hayes (Nashville: Abingdon Press), 1:98–99. He edited ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' 1965–76, and served as editor of the ''Oxford Hebrew Dictionary'' project. He was also an outspoken critic of

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

evangelicalism, which he attacked in his 1977 book ''Fundamentalism''. In particular he criticised evangelical scholars such as

J. I. Packer James Innell Packer (22 July 192617 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions. He was considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North Amer ...

for affirming the doctrine of scriptural inerrancy, the teaching that the Bible is without error. Barr's other works about fundamentalism include ''The Scope and Authority of the Bible'' (1980) and ''Escaping Fundamentalism'' (1984). He was often invited to appear in BBC religious programming.

Personal life

Barr married Jane Hepburn in 1950 and had two sons and a daughter. He was the grandson of the minister and politician James Barr. He died in Claremont, California, on 14 October 2006, aged 82.

Selected works

*1961: '' The Semantics of Biblical Language'' *1968: ''Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament'' *1973: ''The Bible in the Modern World'' *1977: ''Fundamentalism'' *1980: ''The Scope and Authority of the Bible'' *1984: ''Escaping from Fundamentalism'' (titled ''Beyond Fundamentalism'' in the United States) *1989: ''The Variable Spellings of the Hebrew Bible'' (

Schweich Lectures Schweich is a town in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Moselle, approx. northeast of Trier. Schweich is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schweich an der ...

for 1986) Oxford: for the British Academy by the Oxford University Press *1992: ''Biblical Faith and Natural Theology'' (

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in o ...

for 1990–91) Oxford: Clarendon Press
online
*1999: ''The Concept of Biblical Theology: an Old Testament perspective'' *2004: he contributed the article "Of Metaphysics and Polynesian Navigation" to the anthology ''Seeing God Everywhere'' (

World Wisdom World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Bu ...

) *2005: ''History and Ideology in the Old Testament: biblical studies at the end of a millennium'' *2013: ''Bible and Interpretation: The Collected Essays of James Barr, Volumes I-III''. Oxford University Press,

References

External links

Statement from Vanderbilt University on Barr's death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, James (biblical scholar) 1924 births 2006 deaths British biblical scholars Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy Fleet Air Arm aviators Writers from Glasgow Scottish Christian theologians 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Vanderbilt University faculty Christian Hebraists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Old Testament scholars Academic journal editors People educated at Stewart's Melville College Oriel and Laing Professors of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture Regius Professors of Hebrew (University of Oxford) Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II British expatriates in the United States Clergy from Glasgow Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study