Millar Burrows ( Wyoming, Ohio, October 26, 1889 – April 29, 1980) was an American

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

, a leading authority on the

Dead Sea scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

and professor emeritus at

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

. Burrows was director of

American School of Oriental Research The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, which supports the research and teaching of ...

in Jerusalem (now the William F. Albright School of Archaeological Research), and later president of the American Schools of Oriental Research. His grandson, Edwin G. Burrows (1943–2018), was an American historian and winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1999). His great-granddaughter, Kate Burrows, is a professor of public health 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 ...

Early life and education

Burrows was born on October 26, 1889, in Wyoming, Ohio. He was one of three sons born to Edwin Jones, a businessman, and Katharine Douglas (Millar) Burrows. He studied at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, graduating in 1912. He then attended the Union Theological Seminary, New York, to train for ordination, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) degree in 1915. While working as a minister, Burrows also undertook part-time

graduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

. He studied for his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

under Charles Cutler Torrey, and he graduated in 1925. His dissertation was titled "The Literary Relations of Ezekiel".

Career

Ordained ministry

In 1915, Burrows was ordained as a minister of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. Then, from 1915 to 1919, he ministered at a rural church in Texas. For the next year he supervised a survey for the Texas Interchurch World Movement. From 1920 to 1923, he was a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and taught the Bible at Tusculum College in Tennessee.

Academic career

Burrows was internationally known for his prompt editing of the Dead Sea manuscripts of Cave One, and was able to communicate the results of research in language understandable to the public. Burrows gave working names to several of the scrolls, such as the "Manual of Discipline" to 1QS. Burrows worked on the

Isaiah scroll The Isaiah Scroll, designated 1QIsaa and also known as the Great Isaiah Scroll, is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 from Qumran List of manuscripts from Qumran Cave 1, Cave 1. The scroll i ...

, pointing out its consistency with the

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

. Burrows also wrote on the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. On the Bible he once noted that it is concerned with three subjects: religion, agriculture, and war.Perspectives on war in the Bible – p. 3 John A. Wood – 1998 "Millar Burrows was correct when he observed years ago that the Bible is concerned with three subjects: religion, agriculture, and war. In noting the now-lost "Book of the Wars of Yahweh" mentioned in Numbers 21:14, Burrows goes so far ..."

Works

* Founders of Great Religions 1931 * An Outline of Biblical Theology 1946 * Palestine is Our Business 1949 * The Dead Sea Scrolls 1955 * More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls 1958 * Jesus in the first three Gospels 1977

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Millar 1899 births 1980 deaths American biblical scholars Dead Sea Scrolls Cornell University alumni Union Theological Seminary alumni 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers Tusculum University faculty People from Wyoming, Ohio