David John Alfred Clines (21 November 1938 – 8 December 2022) was a biblical scholar. He served as professor at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Firth C ...

Education

Clines was born in Sydney, Australia, and studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

and

St John’s College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

Career

He served as president of the Society for Old Testament Study, as well as president of the

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

. In 2003, 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 ...

'' was published in his honour. ''Reading from Right to Left: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of David J.A. Clines'' () included contributions by James Barr, John Barton,

Joseph Blenkinsopp Joseph Blenkinsopp (3 April 1927 – 26 March 2022) was an academic theologian and Old Testament scholar. He was the John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. His research ...

Walter Brueggemann Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...

Brevard Childs Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American Old Testament scholar and Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), who is considered one of the most influe ...

Patrick D. Miller Patrick D. Miller, Jr. (24 October 1935 – 1 May 2020) was an American Old Testament scholar who served as Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1984 to 2005. He was an ordained minister in t ...

Rolf Rendtorff Rolf Rendtorff (10 May 1925 – 1 April 2014) was Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg. He has written frequently on the Jewish scriptures and was notable chiefly for his contribution to the debate over the origins o ...

Hugh Williamson Hugh Williamson (December 5, 1735 – May 22, 1819) was an American Founding Father, physician, and politician. He is best known as a signatory to the U.S. Constitution, and for representing North Carolina at the Constitutional Convention. Wi ...

, and Ellen van Wolde. In 2013, he was honoured with another Festschrift, ''Interested Readers: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honor of David J. A. Clines'', which included contributions from

Marc Zvi Brettler Marc Brettler (Marc Zvi Brettler) is an American biblical scholar, and the Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University. He earned his B.A., M.A., and PhD from Brandeis University, where he previously served as Dora Gold ...

Norman C. Habel Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

, and

Athalya Brenner Athalya Brenner-Idan (born 17 July 1943 in Haifa, Israel) is a Dutch-Israeli biblical scholar known for her contribution to feminist biblical studies. Academic career Brenner studied at Haifa University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem be ...

. Clines served as president of the

in 2009. Together with

David M. Gunn David Miller Gunn is an academic and religious scholar. He is the A. A. Bradford Professor of Religion at Texas Christian University. Education Gunn studied at the University of Melbourne, the University of Otago, and Newcastle University. Ca ...

, Clines made the University of Sheffield a pioneer in literary readings of the final form of the biblical text. Followers of this approach are sometimes referred to as the " Sheffield school". Clines died on 8 December 2022.

Honours

In 2015, Clines was awarded the

Burkitt Medal The Burkitt Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy "in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies". Awards alternate between Hebrew Bible studies (odd years) and New Testament studies (even years). It was established in 1923 and h ...

by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

"in recognition of his significant contribution to the study of the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew lexicography".

Selected works

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * :sources of bibliography

Edited by

* * *

Chapters

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Journal articles

* * * * *

Festschrift

References

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clines, David J. A. 1938 births 2022 deaths Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Arminian theologians Australian biblical scholars Bible commentators Old Testament scholars People from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study