George Ernest Wright was a leading Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 scholar and biblical archaeologist

Biblical archaeology

For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....

. Expert in Ancient Near Eastern archaeology, he was especially known for his work in the study and dating of pottery

Pottery

Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...

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Biography

He was born in Ohio, son of a Presbyterian minister. He received his B.A. from the College of Wooster (Ohio) and his Bachelor of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in 1934. The same year he was ordained in the Presbyterian church.
Wright was a staunch defender of the relevance of Old Testament study to the Christian faith.

He studied with William Foxwell Albright at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

, where he received his M.A. (1936) and PhD. (1937). He taught Old Testament History and Theology at McCormick Seminary from 1939-1958. He joined the faculty of Harvard Divinity School

Harvard Divinity School

Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...

 in 1958, where he was Parkman Professor and the Curator of the Semitic Museum (the latter beginning in 1961) until his death in 1974.

Professor Wright published numerous monographs and articles on subjects ranging from biblical theology to Palestinian archaeology.
He was also the founder of the periodical The Biblical Archaeologist, a magazine now known as Near Eastern Archaeology Magazine

Near Eastern Archaeology Magazine

Near Eastern Archaeology is an American magazine dedicated to the publication of art, archaeology, history, anthropology, literature, philology, and epigraphy of the Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds from the Palaeolithic through Ottoman periods. The magazine is written for a general audience...

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Archaeological expeditions

During his teaching career, professor Wright directed three archaeological expedition

Exploration

Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...

s:

• (1956–1974) Drew-McCormick Archaeological Expedition to Shechem;
• (1964–1965) Hebrew Union College Biblical and Archaeological School Expedition at Tell Gezer;
• (1971–1974) Joint American Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus (1971–1974).