
Anson Frank Rainey (January 11, 1930 – February 19, 2011) was professor emeritus of ancient Near Eastern cultures and
Semitic linguistics at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. He is known in particular for contributions to the study of the
Amarna tablets, the noted administrative letters from the period of Pharaoh
Akhenaten
Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Akhenaton or Echnaton ( ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning 'Effective for the Aten'), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eig ...
's rule during the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
[Rollston, C. (2011)]
Among the last of the titans: Aspects of Professor Anson Rainey's life and legacy (1930–2011)
(February 20, 2011); retrieved May 22, 2017 He authored and edited books and articles on the cultures, languages and geography of the Biblical lands.
Obituary (Tel Aviv University)
/ref>
Early life
Anson Rainey was born in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, in 1930. Upon the death of his father that same year, he was left with his maternal grandparents.
He attended Brown Military Academy in San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, from 1943 to 1946. After one semester of study there – as a cadet battalion commander – he served as assistant commandant at Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, for the spring semester of 1947, before transferring to John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Education
From 1948 to 1949 he worked as assistant commandant at the Brown Military Academy of the Ozarks, in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, while attending university. He took the B.A. degree there in religious education in August 1949. From 1949 to 1951, he worked as a social worker for the San Bernardino County Welfare Department in California. He went on to enroll in the California Baptist Theological Seminary in Covina, California, where he took three degrees: an M.A. in Old Testament (May 1953); a B.D. in Biblical theology (May 1954); and an M.Th. in Old Testament (May 1955).
From September 1953 until May 1954, Rainey was a teaching fellow in Hebrew, Old Testament and New Testament introduction. In 1954 he was appointed assistant professor and taught for two more years. From 1955 to 1956, he studied at the University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
and completed the B.A. with Honors in August 1956. In 1957, he began graduate study at Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
, where he earned an M.A. in June 1959. He spent a third year of residence (1959–60), studying for his Ph.D. He came to Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in June 1960, as the sole American recipient of the Government of Israel Award. From 1960 to 1961, he studied at the Hebrew University, first in an intensive Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
course and then in archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
and in the Egyptian, Coptic and Phoenician languages, all in Hebrew. At the same time, he completed the basic research for his doctoral dissertation. In 1961, he returned to Brandeis as a research assistant. Upon completion of his dissertation on the Social Structure of Ugarit, he was awarded his Ph.D. in June 1962.
However, Rainey's main activity for the academic year 1962–63 was research and study under a grant from the Warburg Fund at the Hebrew University. This award was renewed for 1963–64, and the book that resulted was translated into Hebrew and published by the Bialik Institute in August 1967. It was a revision of his earlier dissertation, expanded to include new source material that had subsequently become available. He began teaching Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...
and Akkadian at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. From 1965 to 1966, he served as acting chairman of the Ancient Near Eastern Studies Department. In 1966, his status was changed to lecturer in Semitic languages. A year later he was appointed senior lecturer. In 1970 he was elevated to associate professor of ancient Near Eastern cultures. The department was reorganized under the title, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, in which he served as coordinator for Mesopotamian studies until October 1975. A new department of Semitic linguistics was also organized, and from 1971 to 1972 he was its acting chairman. He was promoted to the rank of full professor of ancient Near Eastern cultures and Semitic linguistics effective July 1, 1981.
Scholarship
Rainey served on the editorial boards of ''Israel Oriental Studies'', an annual, and of ''Tel Aviv'', a quarterly, both publications of Tel Aviv University. He continued his connection with the American Institute of Holy Land Studies – now the Jerusalem University College – teaching Historical Geography and, for six years, from 1964 to 1969, conducting their intensive program of geographical field trips. During the 1960s and 1970s, he pursued additional studies at the Hebrew University in Akkadian, Sumerian and Egyptian. He took a sabbatical leave in 1970–71, during which time he remained in Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to study. For a second sabbatical, he was awarded a grant by the American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...
. On the basis of this award he was able to spend 1976–77 as an honorary research fellow at Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. Grants from the Research for Peace Project of Tel Aviv University made possible three visits to the Cairo Museum from 1980 to 1982 and the el-‘Amârna Tablets in the museum were all collated.
From 1982 to 1985 he began teaching part-time at Bar Ilan University in the Department of Eretz-Israel Studies. During a third sabbatical in 1983–84, he was visiting research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
. During a fourth sabbatical in 1988–89, he was again visiting research scholar at that university. During a fifth sabbatical for 1995–96, he was again visiting research scholar at the university, where he also taught a seminar in Northwest Semitic inscriptions. From 1996 until September 30, 1998, he continued to teach as full professor at Tel Aviv University. On October 1, 1998, he became emeritus professor there but taught a course in historical geography during the academic years 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–2001.
He spent July 1999 in Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
studying historical geography and archaeology. In August and September 1999 he spent the sabbatical time working at the British Museum collating el-‘Amârna tablets. Sixty-six texts were read and many substantial corrections were discovered. Four days were spent at the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin where eleven texts were collated, some with new readings and corrections. Further collations were made at the Metropolitan Museum of New York in November 1999, and at the British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
and at the Oriental Institute of 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 ...
in January and February 2000, bringing the total of collated texts up to about 100. A third visit to the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in April 2001 was made to complete the collation of texts in the British Museum and also those in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Fall 2001 was spent at the University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, where consultation began with the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative in digitizing the Amarna tablets in the Berlin Museum. During the spring 2002 semester, he was invited to teach as a visiting professor of historical geography and Ancient Hebrew at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
. In August and September 2002 he was a visiting research scholar at the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
From 2002 to 2007 he taught as adjunct professor at Bar Ilan University, Orot College and Jerusalem University College. From 2003 to 2004 he spent ten months collating the el-‘Amârna tablets at the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin and at other venues in Europe. A completely new edition of the tablets is envisioned along with photographic and internet recording. The edition of the texts and the notes derived from collations will be placed on the internet. During the 53rd Rencontre of the International Association of Assyriologists in Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in July 2007, he collated the last three el-‘Amârna tablets, at the Pushkin Museum
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...
.
Death
Anson Rainey died, aged 81, from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in Tel Hashomer, Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
His wife Zipora Cochavi-Rainey, continued his research on the el-‘Amârna tablets after his death.
References
External links
Faculty webpage
at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
List of publications
at Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Anson
1930 births
2011 deaths
Academic staff of Tel Aviv University
Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University
American historians
Israeli biblical scholars
American Egyptologists
Assyriologists
Brandeis University alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
John Brown University alumni
American Baptist Seminary of the West alumni
Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni
Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Israel