Paul D. Hanson
Encyclopedia
Paul D. Hanson is an American
biblical scholar who taught for 40 years at the Harvard Divinity School
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
He spent his whole career at Harvard Divinity School, starting out in 1971 as an Assistant Professor of Old Testament. He was appointed the Florence Corliss Lamont Professor of Divinity (1988–2009) and Bussey Professor of Divinity (1981–1988). Since his retirement from the active faculty in 2009 he has been the Florence Corliss Lamont Research Professor of Divinity.
from Gustavus Adolphus College
in 1961 after which he received a Fulbright to study at the University of Heidelberg. In 1965 he received a Bachelor of Divinity
from Yale University
and in 1970 he completed a Ph.D.
at Harvard's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
, and he has spent sabbatical years in Israel and Germany
and most recently at Princeton University
. In his courses he focuses on Hebrew prophecy, Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period
, the religion of the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia
and Egypt
, and Biblical Theology
.
He is a member of the Old Testament editorial board for the commentary series Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (published by Fortress Press). As a member of that board, Hanson has acted as the volume editor of the following commentaries: Hosea (by Hans Walter Wolff, 1974), Ezekiel 2 (by Walther Zimmerli, 1983), Micah (by Delbert Hillers, 1984), Jeremiah 1 & 2 (by William L. Holladay, 1986, 1989), and Zephaniah (by Marvin A. Sweeney, 2003).
Hanson is currently working to complete a book examining the interplay between religion and politics, with emphasis on American faith communities rooted in Biblical tradition.
He is a member of University Lutheran Church (Cambridge, MA) and a member of the Council for Lutheran Theological Education in the Northeast.
and has written numerous books on theological interpretations. His titles include:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
biblical scholar who taught for 40 years at the 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 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
He spent his whole career at Harvard Divinity School, starting out in 1971 as an Assistant Professor of Old Testament. He was appointed the Florence Corliss Lamont Professor of Divinity (1988–2009) and Bussey Professor of Divinity (1981–1988). Since his retirement from the active faculty in 2009 he has been the Florence Corliss Lamont Research Professor of Divinity.
Education
Hanson received a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
in 1961 after which he received a Fulbright to study at the University of Heidelberg. In 1965 he received a Bachelor of Divinity
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and in 1970 he completed a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Harvard's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Career
After receiving his doctoral degree, he spent a year doing archaeological research in IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and he has spent sabbatical years in Israel and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and most recently at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. In his courses he focuses on Hebrew prophecy, Jewish literature of the Second Temple Period
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period , in Jewish history, is the period between 530 BCE and 70 CE, when the Second Temple of Jerusalem existed. It ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Temple's destruction....
, the religion of the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and Biblical Theology
Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament...
.
He is a member of the Old Testament editorial board for the commentary series Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (published by Fortress Press). As a member of that board, Hanson has acted as the volume editor of the following commentaries: Hosea (by Hans Walter Wolff, 1974), Ezekiel 2 (by Walther Zimmerli, 1983), Micah (by Delbert Hillers, 1984), Jeremiah 1 & 2 (by William L. Holladay, 1986, 1989), and Zephaniah (by Marvin A. Sweeney, 2003).
Hanson is currently working to complete a book examining the interplay between religion and politics, with emphasis on American faith communities rooted in Biblical tradition.
He is a member of University Lutheran Church (Cambridge, MA) and a member of the Council for Lutheran Theological Education in the Northeast.
Scholarship Contributions
Hanson is considered an expert on Biblical hermeneuticsBiblical hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics which involves the study of principles for the text and includes all forms of communication: verbal and nonverbal.While Jewish and Christian...
and has written numerous books on theological interpretations. His titles include:
- The Dawn of Apocalyptic: The Historical and Sociological Roots of Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology (1975; rev. ed. 1979)
- Dynamic Transcendence: The Correlation of Confessional Heritage and Contemporary Experience in a Biblical Model of Divine Activity (1978)
- The Diversity of Scripture: A Theological Interpretation (1982)
- (editor) Visionaries and Their Apocalypses (1983)
- The People Called: The Growth of Community in the Bible (1986; 2d ed. 2001)
- Old Testament Apocalyptic (1987)
- Isaiah 40-66 (1995)