Brevard Childs
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Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American
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 and Professor of Old Testament at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
from 1958 until 1999 (and
Sterling Professor Sterling Professor, the highest academic rank at Yale University, is awarded to a Academic tenure in North America, tenured faculty member considered the best in their field. It is akin to the rank of distinguished professor at other universities. ...
after 1992), who is considered one of the most influential
biblical scholars Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse academic discipline, disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the Biblical canon#Jewish canons, canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Judais ...
of the 20th century.


Thought

Childs is particularly noted for pioneering the canonical approach, a way of
interpreting Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
that focuses on the text of the
biblical canon A biblical canon is a set of texts (also called "books") which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible. The English word ''canon'' comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek , meaning 'ruler, rule' or 'measu ...
itself as a finished product. In fact, Childs disliked the term, believing his work to represent an entirely new departure, ''replacing'' the entire
historical-critical method Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...
. Childs set out his canonical approach in his ''Biblical Theology in Crisis'' (1970) and applied it in ''Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture'' (1979). This latter book has been described as "one of the most discussed books of the 1980s". Childs' influences included
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...
Obituary
at Yale University
and Hermann Gunkel. Charles Scalise in his book ''From Scripture to Theology'' states that Child's ''canonical hermeneutics'' uses three of Barth's hermeneutical tools which include "(1) Barth's focus on interpreting the (Scriptural) text as it stands, (2) the 'postcritical' perspective of Barth's hermeneutics and (3) Barth's emphasis on the theological nature of canon in interpreting Scripture". Christopher Seitz argues that
Professor Childs single-handedly effected major and sustained changes in the conceptual framework of modern biblical studies through appeal to the canonical presentation of biblical books and the theological implications of attending to their final form.
Seitz has also noted that "there is a small
cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work, like a tailor. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the p ...
in evaluating the contribution of Brevard Childs." For example, John Barton writes about Childs' response to those who claimed that
historical criticism Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...
"deliberately took away the Bible's religious claims in order to subject it to analysis". In Childs' canonical approach, writes Barton, "the interpreter of the Bible should not confront the biblical text as if it were a newly discovered document." To the contrary, as Barton reads Childs, "a properly theological reading of the Bible, by contrast, would treat it just as it stands as a vehicle of a living faith."


Education

Childs' formal education was interrupted during 1943-45 while he was serving in the United States Army during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After being discharged, he continued his academic work at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. *B.A., M.A. -
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
(1947) *B.D. -
Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
(1950) *Th.D. -
University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...
(1955) In addition to his earned degrees, Childs was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Theology by the
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
in 1981 and by the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
in 1992.http://manuscripts.ptsem.edu/collection/41 "The Brevard S. Childs Manuscript Collection" at Princeton Theological Seminary.


Life

Most of Childs' professional life was spent in the United States,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the United Kingdom. From 1958-1999, he was Professor of Old Testament at Yale University. In 2007, shortly after returning from his spring residence in the United Kingdom, Childs suffered a severe fall at his home in Connecticut from which he did not recover. He had continued writing and publishing until the end. Childs was survived by his wife, Ann, and their children, Cathy and John. Ellen Davis of Duke Divinity School studied under Childs and notes:
His scholarship was very fully integrated into his character, it would be very difficult to separate those two. He was a Christian. His work was a form of discipleship.
In 1990, 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 published in his honor. ''Canon, Theology, and Old Testament Interpretation: Essays in Honor of Brevard S. Childs'' included contributions from James Barr,
John Van Seters John Van Seters (May 2, 1935 – April 9, 2025) was a Canadian scholar of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Ancient Near East. He was a University Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina, and James A. Gray Professor of Bi ...
, Ronald E. Clements, and
James Luther Mays James Luther Mays (July 14, 1921 – October 29, 2015) was an American Old Testament scholar. He was Cyrus McCormick Professor of Hebrew and the Old Testament Emeritus at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Virginia. He served as president of the Society ...
.


Works

In addition to the following books, during the 1955–2006 period, Childs wrote some eighty articles and reviews.Christopher R. Seitz, Richards Kent Harold, eds, ''The Bible as Christian Scripture: The Work of Brevard S. Childs'' (Society of Biblical Literature, 2013),


Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


See also

* Theology of crisis


References


External links


“The Life and Work of Brevard S. Childs”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Brevard 1923 births 2007 deaths People from Columbia, South Carolina American biblical scholars Old Testament scholars University of Michigan alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni University of Basel alumni Yale University faculty Yale Sterling Professors