Harold Henry Rowley (24 March 1890 – 4 October 1969) was an English Old Testament scholar from the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

tradition.

Biography

H. H. Rowley was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on 24 March 1890 to Richard Rowley and Emma (née Saunt) Rowley. The family Baptist church was Melbourne Hall, Leicester, previously led by F. B. Meyer and William F. Fullerton. These beginnings profoundly affected and formed Rowley's churchmanship, theology and missional interests. His childhood education was at Wyggeston School, Leicester. He studied at the

Bristol Baptist College Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptists, Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didc ...

, gaining a B.D. (overseen by

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

) and B.A. and at

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

, earning a B.Litt. Initially starting his career in 1916 as church minister at

Wells, Somerset Wells () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, south-east of Weston-super-Mare, south-west of Bath, Somerset, Bath a ...

, he then became a missionary to China with the

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission, officially Baptist Missionary Society, is a Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. The headquarters is in Didcot, England. History The BMS was formed in 1792 as the ''Particular Baptist Societ ...

. His academic career started with a position in 1935 as Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages at

University College, Bangor Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

, serving from 1935 to 1945. He saw out his formal academic career with the chair of Semitic languages at

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, eventually retiring in 1956. He was the editor of the ''

Journal of Semitic Studies The ''Journal of Semitic Studies'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1955. It covers research of the modern as well as the ancient Near East, with a special focus on Semitic languages The Semitic languages ...

'' from 1956 to 1960. From 1946 he led the

Society for Old Testament Study The Society for Old Testament Study (SOTS) is a learned society, based in the British Isles, of professional scholars and others committed to the study of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. History SOTS was inaugurated at King's College, London on ...

as its Secretary (1946–60) and served as its president for the year 1950. He lived in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

, Gloucestershire, until his death on 4 October 1969.

Works

* * * – Repr. 1959 * * – 2nd ed. (1947) – 3rd ed. (1953) * * * * * * * * * * (2nd edition 1961) * * * *

References

External links

*
H.H. Rowley (1890–1969)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, H. H. English biblical scholars Old Testament scholars 20th-century English theologians 1890 births 1969 deaths People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Alumni of University College London Alumni of Mansfield College, Oxford Academics of Bangor University Academics of the University of Manchester British academic journal editors English Baptists Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study