Meredith George Kline (December 15, 1922 – April 14, 2007) was an American theologian and

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. He also had degrees in

Assyriology Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia''), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing. The fie ...

and

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

Academic career

Kline received his AB from Gordon College, Th.B. and Th.M. 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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and PhD in

and

from Dropsie College. He enjoyed a long and fruitful professorial career spanning five decades and two coasts, teaching

(1948–77), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1965–93), the

Claremont School of Theology Claremont School of Theology (CST) is a private graduate school focused on religion and theology and located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the thirteen official theological schools of the United Methodist Church, and also has close r ...

(1974–75),

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Churc ...

(1979–83), and

Westminster Seminary California Westminster Seminary California is a Reformed and Presbyterian Christian seminary in Escondido, California. It was initially a branch campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia until 1982 when it became fully independent. It has 1 ...

(1981–2002). Kline was a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at Westminster Seminary California and Gordon-Conwell until his death. He was an ordained minister in the

Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyte ...

Work

Building on the legacy of Geerhardus Vos, Kline was an influential voice for

covenant theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dis ...

in the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

tradition, providing both new insights into biblical accounts and critical engagement with contemporary biblical scholarship. He is, perhaps, best known for his contributions on the subject of ancient

suzerain 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 and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...

–

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 ...

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, specifically on the relationship of treaties from the

2nd millennium BC File:2nd millennium BC montage.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: Hammurabi, Babylonian king, best known for his Code of Hammurabi, code of laws; The gold Mask of Tutankhamun, funerary mask of Tutankhamun has become a symbol of ancient Egypt ...

to covenants found in the Bible. Kline is also well known for propounding the framework interpretation of the

creation account A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Crea ...

found in the first chapter of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

in the New King James Version. Theologian John Frame has called Kline "the most impressive biblical theologian of my lifetime," adding that Kline's work "is orthodox, yet often original, and it always provides rich analysis of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

." In 2000, 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 Kline's honor: ''Creator Redeemer Consummator: A Festschrift for Meredith G. Kline'', ed. H. Griffith and J. R. Muether (Greenville, SC: Reformed Academic Press), featuring scholars (and former students) such as

Tremper Longman Tremper Longman III (born 8 September 1952) is an Old Testament scholar, theologian, professor and author of several books, including 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award winner ''Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings''. Biograph ...

and Charles Lee Irons.

Publications

Some of Kline's many publications include:

Books

* * * * * * * * *

Articles and chapters

* * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Meredith Kline Online
– a website with a comprehensive collection of Kline's writings
- a website with a comprehensive collection of Kline's writings-->
The Upper Register
– a website with publications by and about Kline from his former student and collaborator Lee Irons
Audio lectures
by Kline

by Jeong Koo Jeon, in '' Kerux: The Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary'', vol. 16, no. 1
A Glossary of Klinean Terminology'The Feast of Cover-Over' (JETS 1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Meredith G. 1922 births 2007 deaths American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American biblical scholars Dropsie College alumni Gordon College (Massachusetts) alumni Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary faculty Orthodox Presbyterian Church ministers Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Westminster Theological Seminary faculty 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Old Testament scholars Westminster Seminary California faculty 20th-century American clergy