Ronald Ernest Clements (27 May 1929 – 2 April 2024) was a British Old Testament scholar. Clements was a fellow of

Fitzwilliam College Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...

and Lecturer in Old Testament Literature and Theology at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, before becoming Samuel Davidson Professor of Old Testament at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Life

Clements was born on 27 May 1929. He wrote commentaries on

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

(),

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

() and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

(). He was an evangelical who practiced a "moderate

higher criticism Historical criticism (also known as the historical-critical method (HCM) or higher criticism, in contrast to lower criticism or textual criticism) is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts to understand "the world b ...

", and has been described as "one of the most prolific British writers in the field of Old Testament". Clements died on 2 April 2024, at the age of 94.

Books

* ''Prophecy and Covenant'', 1965 * ''God and Temple'', 1965 * ''Abraham and David'', 1967 * ''Exodus'' (Cambridge Bible Commentary), 1972 * ''A Century of Old Testament Study'', 1976 * ''Old Testament Theology: A Fresh Approach'', 1978 * ''Isaiah 1–39'' (New Century Bible Commentary), 1980 * ''Wisdom in Theology'', 1992 * ''Deuteronomy'' (Epworth Commentaries), 2001

Honours

In 1999, 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 his honour. ''In Search of True Wisdom: Essays in Old Testament Interpretation in Honour of Ronald E. Clements'' included contributions from John Barton,

Walter Brueggemann Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...

Brevard Childs Brevard Springs Childs (September 2, 1923 – June 23, 2007) was an American Old Testament scholar and Professor of Old Testament at Yale University from 1958 until 1999 (and Sterling Professor after 1992), who is considered one of the most influe ...

Rolf Rendtorff Rolf Rendtorff (1925–2014) was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg from 1963 to 1990. He was one of the more significant German Old Testament scholars from the latter half of the twentieth-century and published extensive ...

, and R. N. Whybray. In 2013, Clements was awarded the

Burkitt Medal The Burkitt Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy "in recognition of special service to Biblical studies, Biblical Studies". Awards alternate between Hebrew Bible studies (odd years) and New Testament studies (even years). It was establi ...

by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

'in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies'.

References

1929 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Anglican theologians 20th-century British male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century Christian biblical scholars 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century Anglican theologians 21st-century British male writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century Christian biblical scholars 21st-century evangelicals Academics of King's College London Anglican writers Bible commentators British biblical scholars British evangelicals British male non-fiction writers British religious writers Evangelical Anglican biblical scholars Evangelical Anglican theologians Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Old Testament scholars People educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School Place of birth missing Presidents of the Society for Old Testament Study {{UK-theologian-stub