David Noel Freedman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Noel Freedman (1922-05-12)May 12, 1922 New York City, US |
| Died | April 8, 2008(2008-04-08) (aged 85) Petaluma, California, US |
| Father | David Freedman |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity (Presbyterian) |
| Church | |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Biblical studies |
| Main interests | Dead Sea Scrolls |
| Influenced | |
David Noel Freedman (12 May 1922 – 8 April 2008) was an American biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and, after his conversion fromJudaism, aPresbyterian minister. He was one of the first Americans to work on theDead Sea Scrolls. He is the son of the writerDavid Freedman. He died of a heart ailment.[4]
Freedman was bornNoel Freedman inNew York City on May 12, 1922, the son of to Jewish parents David and Beatrice Freedman.[5] The elder Freedman died in 1936 and Noel adopted his name as a mark of respect. Soon after, he converted to Christianity and became a member of the Presbyterian Church.The New York Times misidentified Noel as a girl in David Freedman's obituary.[6]
At the age of 13, Freedman began his college education at theCity College of New York, where he studied for three years (1935-1938) before transferring to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles. From 1938 to 1939 he studied at the UCLA and there, he completed hisBachelor of Arts degree in Modern European History in 1939,[4] at the age of 17.[7] From 1941 to 1944 Freedman entered thePrinceton Theological Seminary, where he earned aBachelor of Theology degree and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1944.[8][5]
In 1944 Freedman married Cornelia Anne Pryor, and they later had four children.[4] For one year, between 1944-1945, he served as pastor at Acme and Deming in Washington.[5]
He then went returned to study and in 1945 he matriculated in the Department of Semitic Languages and Literature at theJohns Hopkins University.[7] While studying at Johns Hopkins University, Freedman became acquainted withWilliam F. Albright. This encounter began a lasting friendship and professional bond that lasted until Albright's death in 1971, playing a significant role in shaping Freedman's growth as a scholar. However, the first year of studies was demoralizing due to how demanding W. F. Albright was.[7] Fortunately, the following year a new student enrolled,Frank Moore Cross, and sharing with him helped alleviate the tribulation he was experiencing.[7]
In 1947, while he was still a graduate student, the excavation of caves near theDead Sea was just beginning to unearth thousands of fragments of texts. He became one of the first American scholars to get access and spent twenty years painstakingly studying and translating a scroll ofLeviticus, one of the books of theTorah.[9]
In 1947 Freedman become member of theAmerican Schools of Oriental Research.[7]
Freedman and Cross began working on their dissertations together. Because each thesis would only count for half the required credit with two authors, they needed to produce two separate dissertations in order to graduate:
Both theses were under the tutelage of W. F. Albright at Johns Hopkins University. Freedman earned his PhD in 1948 and Cross in 1950.[10]
After receiving his doctorate in 1948, Freedman was appointed professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Literature atWestern Theological Seminary (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).[5]
From 1952 to 1959, Freedman was editor of theJournal of Biblical Literature (JBL) of theSociety of Biblical Literature.[5]
His most ambitious endeavor has been his continuous role as editor of theAnchor Bible, a position he took on in 1956 in partnership with his mentor Albright.[4] In 1971 with the death of Albright, Freedman assumed the total responsibility and held the position as editor until his death.[12] ThisAnchor Bible series features translations accompanied by detailed commentary on different books of the Bible. It is distinguished by its collaboration among Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish scholars and is notable for its impartial, scholarly examination of biblical texts.[5]
From 1960 to 1964, as a member of the faculty, he taught at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.[5]
From 1964-1971 Freedman was professor of the Old Testament at theGraduate Theological Union at Berkeley.[5] During that same timeframe, he lectured on the Old Testament and Hebrew exegesis at San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he also held the position of Dean of the Faculty from 1966 to 1970, and served as Acting Dean of the Seminary during 1970-1971.[5]
In 1971, the University of Michigan recruited him as a professor of Near Eastern Studies and appointed him as the director of the Program on Studies in Religion;[5] he taught there until 1992.[8]
Freedman was director of theAlbright Institute of Archaeological Research from 1969 to 1970. From 1970 to 1982 Freedman was vicepresident of the American Schools of Oriental Research.[7] From 1976 to 1977 he again was director of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.[7]
In 1973, Freedman obtained aDoctor of Literature at theUniversity of the Pacific (United States).[8] In 1974 he obtained aDoctor of Science at theDavis & Elkins College.[8]
From 1974 to 1978 Freedman was editor of theBulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR).[13] From March 1976 to 1982 he was editor of theThe Biblical Archeologist.[14]
In 1976, Freedman was president of the Society of Biblical Literature.[15]
In 1987 he was the Endowed Chair at the University of California.[8]
His wife Cornelia died in 2004 after 60 years of marriage.[9] David Noel Freedman died on April 8, 2008, at the age of 85, and was still active in teaching.[16][9]
