Donald Wiseman
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Donald John Wiseman (25 October 1918 – 2 February 2010) was a biblical scholar,
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
Assyriologist Assyriology (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logy, -logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cune ...
. He was Professor of Assyriology at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
from 1961 to 1982.


Early life and beliefs

Wiseman was born in Walderton, a hamlet just northeast of
Emsworth Emsworth is a town in the Borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England near the border with West Sussex. It lies at the north end of an arm of Chichester Harbour, a large and shallow inlet from the English Channe ...
, Hampshire in 1918. His father, Air Commodore P. J. Wiseman had travelled in the Middle East with the RAF and that had led to him writing a number of books on archaeology and the Bible. P. J. Wiseman formulated what is known as the
Wiseman hypothesis The Wiseman hypothesis, sometimes called the tablet theory, is a theory of the authorship and composition of the Book of Genesis which suggests that Moses compiled Genesis from tablets handed down through Abraham and the other patriarchs. Original ...
, which suggests that many passages used by
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 ...
or other authors to compose the
Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...
originated as histories and genealogies recorded in Mesopotamian
cuneiform script Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
on baked
clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian language, Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay t ...
s, handed down through Abraham to later Hebrews. His mother Gertrude May, née Savage (1888–1971), was the daughter of a naval officer. Donald was the third of five children. The Wiseman family belonged to the
Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...
.Martin J. Selman, "Donald J. Wiseman," in Walter A. Elwell and J. D. Weaver (eds.), ''Bible Interpreters of the 20th Century'' (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999) p. 300. Wiseman came under the influence of the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
, an evangelical Christian youth organisation, and professed faith at the age of nine, being baptised by full immersion in 1932. He taught himself the
Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...
from the section headings of
Psalm 119 Psalm 119 is the 119th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is in the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the ...
. Martin Selman has pointed out that Wiseman was "first and foremost an
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Christian" and that his vision was "based on a deep Christian conviction about the Bible's reliability and relevance." Selman suggests that Wiseman's "basic thesis" regarding the Old Testament was that "the Bible makes most sense when it is interpreted in the light of its own Near Eastern cultural context."Selman, p. 306.


War record

Wiseman served in the RAF in
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 ...
. Initially serving as personal assistant to Air Vice-Marshal
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group RAF, No. 11 Group was pivotal to t ...
during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
, he later transferred to
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
and in 1942 he became senior intelligence officer of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Forces and accompanied the First Army in the race for Tunis, providing General Alexander with daily briefings on German military planning. He finished the war as
group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...
, was twice
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
and received an
OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
and a
Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...
. His citation recorded that "the intelligence material gathered through his selfless and earnest work" had enabled the Allied commanders to plan and launch the air operations which brought victory to the Allied armies in Italy.


Studies

Wiseman studied at
Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...
and
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, where he won the
McCaul McCaul, also spelt MacCawell is an Irish surname, derived from the Gaelic '' Mac Cathmhaoil'', meaning the "son of Cathmhaol", ''descendant of'' being implied. The name ''Cathmhaoil'' itself is derived from ''cath mhaol'' meaning "battle chief" ...
Hebrew prize. After World War II, he read Oriental Languages at
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...
, studying Hebrew under Godfrey Driver and Akkadian under
Oliver Gurney Oliver Robert Gurney (28 January 1911 – 11 January 2001) was an English Assyriologist from the Gurney family and a leading scholar of the Hittites. Early life Gurney was born in London in 1911, the son of Robert Gurney, a zoologist, and a ...
and obtaining a
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. He joined the
Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union The Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as OICCU ( ), is the world's second oldest university Christian Union and is the University of Oxford's most prominent student Christian organisation. It was formed in 1879. Due to the ...
and became its president in 1947. He married Mary Ruoff in 1948, and they had three children.


Archaeological work

Wiseman worked for four years 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 ...
deciphering
cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...
tablets excavated by
Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...
at
Alalakh Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished as an urban settlement in the Middle and Late Bronze Age ...
in Syria. He also made several trips to
Nimrud Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...
in modern-day
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, compiling a catalogue of the cuneiform tablets unearthed there. Wiseman served at different times as director, chairman, president of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, and editor of the school's journal, ''Iraq''. He was also a trustee of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, and a founding member of the British Institute in Amman for Archaeology and History.


Academic contributions


Ancient Near Eastern treaties

Wiseman published a
suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
treaty that
Esarhaddon Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon (, also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 681 to 669 BC. The third king of the S ...
had made with his
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s, and recognised the connection between this political treaty and biblical covenants. In 1948, he presented a paper to the Society of Old Testament Study on the relationship between Old Testament treaties and those of the
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
ns and
Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...
. Selman suggests that Wiseman anticipated "by some years an influential article by George Mendenhall, who is usually credited with establishing such a connection."


Abraham

Wiseman suggested that
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
be viewed as a
prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
or governor, rather than as a seminomad. Selman suggests that this perspective indicates "Wiseman's ability to approach a long-standing problem in a creative manner."


Nebuchadnezzar

From his work on
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
ian texts, Wiseman established the date of Nebuchadnezzar's first capture of Jerusalem as 15/16 March 597 BC.Selman, p. 302.


Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Wiseman questioned the traditional location of the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. They were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of tree ...
, suggesting that the site lay further west, by the river Euphrates, where the foundations of a massive tower had been discovered.


Identity of Darius the Mede

In 1957, Wiseman proposed the identification of
Darius the Mede Darius the Mede is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as King of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the Great, but he is not known to secular history and there is no space in the historical timeline between those two verified rulers. Belshazzar, w ...
in the
Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...
with
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...
. Daniel 6:28 says "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian" ( NIV). This could also be translated, "So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian." Brian Coless suggests that in doing this Wiseman "cut the
Gordian knot The cutting of the Gordian Knot is an Ancient Greek legend associated with Alexander the Great in Gordium in Phrygia, regarding a complex knot that tied an oxcart. Reputedly, whoever could untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. In 33 ...
" of "the intractable problem of identifying King Darius the Mede."


Organisational involvement

Wiseman was Professor of Assyriology at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
from 1961 to 1982. On his retirement, he was made an honorary member of the
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
and elected a fellow of
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
. He served as chairman of
Tyndale House Tyndale House (also known by its sister organization Tyndale House Foundation) is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles ...
from 1957 to 1986 and president of the Society for Old Testament Studies. He had a variety of roles with the
Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF; also UCCF: The Christian Unions) is an evangelical Christian student movement with affiliate groups on university campuses in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the International Fellowsh ...
, including two terms as president, in 1965–66 and 1973–74. He was chairman of the
Scripture Gift Mission Lifewords (formerly Scripture Gift Mission) is a Christian mission based in London, but with offices worldwide. It exists to promote the positive influence of the Bible on everyday life. This has been done traditionally through literature distr ...
from 1978 to 1992,Selman, p. 309. and served for a time on the
New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released on October 27, 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies ...
Committee on Bible Translation. Wiseman also maintained a close connection with the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...
organisation. He was leader of the class at
Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...
, which included
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
. Richard has publicly spoken about the "significant role played by Crusader leaders in his early Christian journey."


Recognition

Wiseman was elected a fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies 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 sa ...
in 1969 and served as vice-president in 1982 under Sir
Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
. In 1983, he gave the Academy's Schweich Lecture on Biblical Archaeology, on the subject "Nebuchadrezzar and Babylon". In 1993, 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 compiled in Wiseman's honour, and presented to him on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Contributors included
Kenneth Kitchen Kenneth Anderson Kitchen (1932 – 6 February 2025) was a British biblical scholar, Ancient Near Eastern historian, and Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology and honorary research fellow at the School of Archaeology, Classics and ...
, Alan Millard and
Gordon Wenham Gordon J. Wenham (; 21 May 1943 – 13 May 2025) was a Reformed British Old Testament scholar and writer. He authored several books about the Bible. Tremper Longman called him "one of the finest evangelical commentators today." Early life and ...
.


Writings

Wiseman wrote a commentary on the 1 and 2 Kings (), and served as general editor of IVP's Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series. He was one of the editors of the ''New Bible Commentary'' and the ''New Bible Dictionary''. Selman notes that he wrote 152 articles in this latter work, since there were so few "evangelicals in the United Kingdom at that time qualified to write such material".Selman, p. 304.


Personal life

On 18 September 1948 Donald John Wiseman married Mary Catherine Ruoff (1921–2006), a health visitor, and daughter of his father's friend Percy Otto Ruoff, bank official. They had three daughters, Gillian, Mary, and Catherine Jane.


Publications

A full bibliography of Wiseman's work, compiled by Rob Bradshaw, is availabl
here
*''The Alalakh Tablets'', Occasional Papers, No.2 (London: British School of Archaeology at Ankara, 1953) *''Chronicles of the Chaldean Kings (626–556 BC) in the British Museum'' (1956) *''Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis: A Case for Literary Unity'' (1985), a republished work of P. J. Wiseman, ''New Discoveries in Babylonia about Genesis'' (1936) *''The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon'' (1958) *''Illustrations from Biblical Archaeology'' (1958) *''Archaeological Confirmation of the Old Testament'' (1958) *''Peoples of Old Testament Times'' (1973) *''Nebuchadrezzar and Babylon'' (1985) *''1 and 2 Kings''
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (or TOTC) is a series of commentaries in English on the Old Testament. It is published by the Inter-Varsity Press. Constantly being revised since its first being completed, the series seek to bridge the gap bet ...
(1993) *''Life Above and Below'' (2003) * *


References


External links

*Donald J. Wiseman,
Rahab of Jericho
''
Tyndale Bulletin The ''Tyndale Bulletin'' is an academic journal published by Tyndale House in Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county tow ...
'' 14 (1964): 8–11. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiseman, Donald 1918 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Officers of the Order of the British Empire Academics of the University of London English biblical scholars People from Emsworth British Plymouth Brethren English evangelicals Christian Hebraists English orientalists Employees of the British Museum English Assyriologists English archaeologists People associated with SOAS University of London Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of King's College London Fellows of King's College London People educated at Dulwich College Bible commentators Old Testament scholars Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London