Lester L. Grabbe (born November 5, 1945) is an American-born scholar of
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures.
Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period or post-exilic period in Jewish history denotes the approximately 600 years (516 BCE – 70 CE) during which the Second Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It began with the return to Zion and subsequent reconstructio ...
. He serves as professor of religion at the
University of Hull
The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
, England, teaching on the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Early Judaism, although he has since taken emeritus status. He is among the most distinguished and prolific historians of ancient Judaism, and is the author of several standard treatments for both students and scholars of the topic. He founded and convenes the ''European Seminar on Methodology in Israel's History'', and published the proceedings in the sub-series "European Seminar in Historical Methodology" from 1997 to 2018.
Life
Grabbe was born in Texas in 1945. He studied at
Ambassador College
Ambassador College (1947–1997) was a four-year liberal arts college run by the Worldwide Church of God. The college was established in 1947 in Pasadena, California, by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, leader of what was then the Radio ...
in Pasadena, a Bible college where he earned his bachelor's and MA. He learned Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic there. He then attended the School of Theology at
Claremont Graduate University
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...
(CGU), where he earned his PhD, specializing in the Old Testament and expanding into other ancient languages including Ugaritic, Akkadian, and Coptic. At CGU, he was a student of William H. Brownlee. He earned a
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
(DD) at the
University of Hull
The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...
in
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...
, UK, and became a professor of religion there where he spent the majority of his career. He took emeritus status at some point in the 2010s.
Grabbe delivered the 2008 Brownlee Memorial Lecture at CGU on the topic ''Exit David and Solomon? The Current Debate on the History of Ancient Israel.'' He is a frequent guest on both Viking Radio and BBC Radio Humberside.
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 published in Grabbe's honor in 2010 for his 65th birthday.December 2010 Festschrift notice "Lester Grabbe turned 65 on Nov 5 (which dates him, contrary to popular rumor, well after the Persian period)." (Birth date: 5 November 1945)Philip Davies and Diana Edelman edited the collection, offering "reflections on the practice and theory of history writing, on the current controversies and topics of major interest". The thirty included essays by his colleagues and friends also attest to Grabbe's influence on the field of biblical studies and history.
Selected works
Grabbe has published a huge number of works, including books, journal articles, and chapters of larger commentaries. He has also served as editor on many scholarly article and essay collections.
Works as author
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Works as an editor
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* (a posthumous ''
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 ...