>Professor Donald Wiseman, a great archaeologist and Assyriologist, died on February 2, 2010 at the age of 91. Wiseman was an evangelical Christian who made several attempts at demonstrating the connection between archaeological discoveries and Old Testament stories.

Wiseman was better known for his involvement in the translation of the New International Version of the Bible (NIV) and for his excellent commentaries on the Old Testament.

The Telegraph of London has a lengthy obituary describing aspects of his life as an archaeologist and his many contributions to Biblical studies. Below is a brief excerpt from the article:

During his lunch breaks, meanwhile, Wiseman gave talks to Christian Unions on the connections between the Bible and archaeology. He wrote Illustrations from Biblical Archaeology (1958) and also appeared on BBC programmes on the subject. His paper Archaeological Confirmation of the Old Testament (1958) coolly examined the archaeological evidence for the great flood and the tower of Babel, drawing particular attention to the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. “As the story unfolds it is impossible not to be struck by the resemblances with Genesis 6-9,” Wiseman noted. “As with the creation story, it may also be argued that this ‘myth’ also reflects an historic fact.”

May his contribution to archaeology and Biblical studies continue to influence students of the Bible for years to come.

R.I.P.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Donald Wiseman

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