Donald Bruce Redford (2 September 1934 – 18 October 2024) was a Canadian

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

archaeologist 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 Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

; he retired in 2024. Redford directed a number of important excavations in Egypt, notably at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

and

Mendes Mendes (, ''Genitive case, gen''.: ), the Greek language, Greek name of the ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in ancient Egypt as Per (hieroglyph), Per-Banebdjedet ("The Domain of the Ram Lord of Djedet") and Anpet, is known today as Te ...

Biography

Redford received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, and was an Assistant/Associate Professor (1962–1969) and full Professor (1969–1998) at the latter. He moved to

in 1998, where he retired in July 2024. He was trained in semitics by Wilfred G. Lambert, James Kinnier Wilson, and Abraham Sachs. He learned the Egyptian language under the professors, Richard Anthony Parker, Hans Jakob Polotsky and Ricardo Caminos. From 1964 to 1967 he participated in the Old Jerusalem excavations led by

Kathleen Kenyon Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon, (5 January 1906 – 24 August 1978) was a British archaeologist of Neolithic culture in the Fertile Crescent. She led excavations of Tell es-Sultan, the site of ancient Jericho, from 1952 to 1958, and has been called ...

. Redford was the winner of the 1993 "''Best Scholarly Book in Archaeology''" awarded by the Biblical Archaeology Society for his work ''Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times''. In the book he argues that the experiences of the

Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...

in Egypt became a central foundation of

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

s in

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

ite culture, leading to the story of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

. He further argues that almost all the toponymic details in the Exodus story reflect conditions in Egypt not earlier than the

Twenty-sixth Dynasty The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26) was the last native dynasty of ancient Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although other brief periods of rule by Egyptians followed). T ...

, the Saite period, namely the 7th century BC. Whoever, Redford argues, provided the author of Exodus with these details had no access to Egyptian material earlier than that date. This view was expounded upon in '' The Bible Unearthed'' by

Israel Finkelstein Israel Finkelstein (; born March 29, 1949) is an Israelis, Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. Finkelstein is active in the a ...

and Neil Silberman. Redford's work in editing ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt'', published in 2001, earned the American Library Association's

Dartmouth Medal The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year. The Medal was designed by Rudolph Ruzicka. History Dartmouth Co ...

for a reference work of outstanding quality and significance. Since 2006 he was also in the editorial board of ''RIHAO''. His work in uncovering the foundation of one of Akhenaten's temples was the subject of a one-hour 1980

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary, ''The Lost Pharaoh: The Search for Akhenaten''. Redford was married to Susan Redford, also an Egyptologist. Donald B. Redford died at his home on 18 October 2024, at the age of 90.

Akhenaten Temple Project

The Akhenaten Temple Project is a project encompassing four archaeological expeditions to Egypt and north-east Africa. It has been in operation since 1972. The project was directed by Donald and Susan Redford and is part of

. It has excavated at

(in the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

, Tel Kedwa (in North Sinai) and in the Theban

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

(mainly investigating the tomb of Parennefer). Along with his wife Susan Redford, he was the director of the Akhenaten Temple Project.

Publications

* ''History and Chronology of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt: Seven Studies''. Toronto University Press, 1967. * ''A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Gen 37-50)''. Leiden: Brill, 1970. * ''

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 ...

: the Heretic King''. Princeton University Press, 1984. * ''Pharaonic King-Lists, Annals, and Day-Books: a Contribution to the Study of the Egyptian Sense of History''. (SSEA Publication IV) Mississauga, Ontario: Benben Publications, 1986. * ''Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times''. Princeton University Press, 1992. * ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt'' (editor). Oxford University Press, 2001. * ''The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III''. (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 16) Leiden: Brill, 2003. * ''Slave to Pharaoh: the Black Experience of Ancient Egypt''.

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

, 2004. * ''City of the Ram-Man: the Story of Ancient Mendes''. Princeton University Press, 2010. *''The Oxford Guide: Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology'' (editor), Berkley, 2003,

References

External links

Professor Donald B. Redford
- Penn State University department page
Home page of the Akhenaten Temple Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redford, Donald B. 1934 births 2024 deaths Canadian Egyptologists University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto Pennsylvania State University faculty Canadian expatriate academics in the United States McGill University alumni