William F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright (
May 24,
1891â€"
September 19/
September 20,
1971) was an American Orientalist, pioneer
archaeologist,
biblical scholar,
linguist and expert on
ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement. His student,
George Ernest Wright, followed in his footsteps as the leader of that movement. Others among his students, notably
Frank Moore Cross and
David Noel Freedman, became international leaders in the study of the Bible and the ancient Near East, including Northwest Semitic epigraphy and paleography. Albright's religious background was evangelical
American Methodist.
He was born in
Coquimbo,
Chile to
Protestant missionaries Wilbur Finley and Zephine Viola Foxwell Albright, the eldest of six. He married Dr. Ruth Norton in
1921 in
Jerusalem. The couple had four sons.
Albright received his
Ph.D. in 1913 from
Johns Hopkins University, where he later taught from 1929 to 1959 and was director of the American school of Oriental Research at Johns Hopkins. One of his major achievements was confirming the authenticity of the
Dead Sea Scrolls following their discovery.
Albright argued that the
Abraham,
Isaac, and
Jacob were real historical figures, and he believed that
Joshua's exploits were historical as well. He insisted that "as a whole, the picture in
Genesis is historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details."
In 1923 he made the first significant excavation of a
tumulus near
Jerusalem--possibly the site where an ancient king of
Judah was memorialized. Another noteworthy contribution he made to the field of
Biblical archaeology was his study of the
LMLK seals and the impact it had on other researchers from 1925-1960 (Grena, 2004, pp. 149-78).
He also excavated a mound named
Tell Beit Mirsim near
Hebron from 1926 to 1932. He identified this site with the
Canaanite city of
Debir, mentioned several times in the
Hebrew Bible, although this identification has since been challenged. Together with other finds, this seemed to confirm that the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites was historical. Although some have challenged his conclusions, the majority of biblical scholars and archeologists concur with Albright.
He edited the
Anchor Bible volumes on
Jeremiah,
Matthew, and
Revelation; his books include
Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, The Archaeology of Palestine: From the Stone Age to Christianity, and
The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra.
The W. F. Albright institute of Archaeological research, a branch of the
American Schools of Oriental Research is located in
Jerusalem.
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* "Papers delivered at the Symposium 'Homage to William Foxwell Albright', the American Friends of the Israel Exploration Society, Rockville, Maryland, 1984."
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Biblical archaeology*
Official AIAR website*
Resources on Biblical Archaeology
