Allen Paul Wikgren (December 3, 1906 – May 7, 1998) was an American
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
scholar and professor at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
.
His work centered on the text of the New Testament and
New Testament manuscripts, but also included
Hellenistic and biblical Greek, the
deuterocanonical
The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second Biblical canon, canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be Biblical canon, canonical books of the Old ...
books (apocrypha), early Jewish literature (particularly
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
), and work on the
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation is a revision of the American St ...
English translation of the Bible.
Education
Wikgren earned his
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 ...
degree (cum laude) in Greek in 1928, his
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 ...
degree in 1929 and his
Ph.D. in 1932, all from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
.
His doctoral dissertation was entitled ''A Comparative Study of the Theodotionic and Septuagint Versions of Daniel''.
Biography
An ordained minister in the
mainline Northern Baptist Convention
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
, Wikgren then served as a minister at First Baptist Church in
Belleville, Kansas
Belleville is a city in and the county seat of Republic County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,007.
History
Belleville was founded in 1869, and incorporated as a city in 1878. It was named fo ...
and as a professor of New Testament literature at Kansas City Baptist Theological Seminary (now
Central Baptist Theological Seminary in
Shawnee, Kansas
Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh-most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311.
History
Territory of Kansas
Befor ...
) (1935-1937) and of biblical literature and classics at
Ottawa University in
Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 United ...
(1937-1940) before returning to Chicago to join the
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate professional school at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today is without ...
as the
J. M. Powis Smith Instructor in 1940.
At Chicago, Wikgren was a member of the Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature in the university's Division of the Humanities, a department which he would later serve as chair. His colleagues in New Testament studies during his long tenure administering the department (1953-1972) included figures such as
Norman Perrin
Norman Perrin (29 November 1920 – 25 November 1976) was an English-born, American biblical scholar at the University of Chicago. Perrin specialized in the study of the New Testament, and was internationally known for his work on the teaching ...
,
Robert M. Grant and
Markus Barth.
Perhaps Wikgren's most widely known contribution to the study of the New Testament was his role, together with
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland (28 March 1915 – 13 April 1994) was a German theologian and Biblical studies, biblical scholar who specialized in New Testament textual criticism. He founded the ''Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Institut für neutest ...
,
Matthew Black,
Carlo Maria Martini
Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit and Biblical scholar. He served as Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.
Martini entered the Society of Jesus in ...
and
Bruce M. Metzger
Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the ...
, on the editorial committee that established the Greek text and
critical apparatus
A critical apparatus () in textual criticism of primary source material, is an organized system of notations to represent, in a single text, the complex history of that text in a concise form useful to diligent readers and scholars. The apparatu ...
es in the standard hand editions of the Greek New Testament: the Nestle-Aland ''
Novum Testamentum Graece
(''The New Testament in Greek'') is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek published by ''Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft'' (German Bible Society), forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical crit ...
'' (26th edition, published by the
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
The Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft ("German Bible Society") is a religious foundation regulated by public law. It is involved in publishing and in spreading the message of the Bible.
The Society publishes the Bible in the original languages and in ...
first in 1979 and revised in 1983) and the
United Bible Societies' ''The Greek New Testament'' (3rd edition, published by the
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore and Nairobi. The headquarters are located in Swindon, England.
...
in 1983).
Wikgren served as president of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research in 1951–1952. He was a member of the
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version (RSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1952 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This translation is a revision of the American St ...
(RSV) committee from 1952, participating in the translation of the
deuterocanonical books
The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be canonical books of the Old Testament by the Catholic Chur ...
and the revision of the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
. And he was director of the Chicago Lectionary Project from 1958 to 1972.
[See the article on New Testament lectionaries] He also held visiting professorships at a number of universities:
Indiana University–Gary,
Pacific School of Religion
The Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is a Private university, private Protestant seminary in Berkeley, California. It maintains Covenant (religion), covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the ...
(
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
),
University of Ghana
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country.
The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...
,
Århus University,
Concordia Theological Seminary
Concordia Theological Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It offers professional, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees affiliated with training clergy and deaconesses for the Lutheran Churc ...
(
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
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Works
Thesis
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Books
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As editor
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Festschriften
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References
External links
In memoriam: Allen Wikgren, ''The University of Chicago Chronicle,'' 11 June 1998 (volume 17, number 18)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wikgren, Allen
1906 births
1998 deaths
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
20th-century American translators
Clergy from Chicago
American biblical scholars
New Testament scholars
University of Chicago alumni
University of Chicago Divinity School faculty
Ottawa University faculty
Translators of the Bible into English
American people of Swedish descent
Indiana University Northwest faculty