John Henry Stek (March 7, 1925 – June 6, 2009) was an American pastor, biblical scholar and translator, and Old Testament professor.

Background and education

Stek was born in

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a List of cities in Iowa, city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U ...

, to William and Gertie Stek. His studies at

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

were interrupted for a tour of duty with the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in the

Pacific Ocean theater of World War II The Pacific Ocean theater of World War II was a major theater of the Pacific War, the war between the Allies and the Empire of Japan. It included the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas (command). which included most of the Pacific Ocean and its isl ...

from 1944 to 1946, but he returned to marry Nadine Ruth De Bruin in 1948 and earn his A.B. in 1949. He went on to earn his B.D. (1952) from

Calvin Theological Seminary Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board. History The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purpose ...

, and his Th.M. (1955) from

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian theology, theological seminary in the Reformed theology, Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Prince ...

. Stek was ordained as a minister in the Christian Reformed Church in Raymond, Minnesota. He pursued further post-graduate studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

from 1965 to 1966, and doctoral work at the

Free University of Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...

from 1973 to 1974.

Career

Stek joined the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary in 1961 as a professor of

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 ...

, continuing until his retirement in 1990. He joined the Committee on Bible Translation in 1965, and later served as Chairman for 15 years. He was a member of the team that translated 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 ...

(1978) and

Today's New International Version Today's New International Version (TNIV) is an English translation of the Bible which was developed by the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). The CBT also developed the New International Version (NIV) in the 1970s. The TNIV is based on the N ...

(2003). In 1978, he began work as editor of the

NIV Study Bible The NIV Study Bible is a study Bible originally published by Zondervan in 1985 that uses the New International Version (NIV). Revisions include one in 1995, a full revision in 2002, an update in October 2008 for the 30th anniversary of the NIV, a ...

, published in 1985 and fully revised in 2002. Stek also served his denomination on several synodical study committees: Infallibility (1959-1961), Neo-Pentecostalism (1971-1973), Revision of the Form of Subscription (1974-1976), and Interchurch and interdenominational Relations (1975-1981). In 2008, Stek was presented with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Calvin Theological Seminary.

Background and education

Career

References

Further reading