Eric William Heaton (15 October 1920 – 24 August 1996) was an

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 a former

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Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

(1979–1991). Eric Heaton's father was a sheep farmer at Long Preston in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at

Ermysted's Grammar School Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys' Voluntary aided school, voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kin ...

and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

(1939–1942) and a curate in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

. He was appointed

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

in 1945. After seven years he was appointed a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

. He was Fellow, Chaplain, and Tutor in

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

(1960–1974) and Senior Tutor (1967–1973). He was Dean of Durham Cathedral (1974–1979). In 1951, he married Rachel Dodd, daughter of the eminent theologian

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (7 April 1884 – 21 September 1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting " realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant ...

whose work on the translation of the ''

New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the ...

'' Heaton much admired.

Notable works by Heaton

*''The Book of Daniel - Introduction and Commentary'' (1956) *''Everyday Life in Old Testament Times'' (1956) *''The Old Testament Prophets'' (1958) *''Commentary on the Sunday Lessons — New Lectionary Year One'' (1959) *''The Hebrew Kingdoms'' (1968) *''Solomon's New Men: The Emergence of Ancient Israel as a National State'' (1974) *''School Tradition of the Old Testament'' (1994)

External links

Hugh Rice’s Obituary for 'The Rev. Eric Heaton' from ''The Independent on Sunday'', Friday 30 August 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton, Eric William 1920 births 1996 deaths Deans of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 20th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Deans of Durham People educated at Ermysted's Grammar School