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Overview
Faculty
Majors
Courses
Conferences
Activities &
Opportunities
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| John
H. Walton
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Professor of Old Testament
On faculty since 2001
Phone: (630) 752-5276
john.h.walton@wheaton.edu
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| Education |
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Ph.D. 1981 Hebrew and Cognate Studies, Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati,
Ohio. Dissertation: The Tower of Babel
M.A. 1975 Biblical Studies: Old Testament; Wheaton
Graduate School
A.B. 1974 Economics/Accounting, Muhlenberg College,
Allentown, PA
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Professional and Personal Interests
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It was in my college years that I encountered a book by Joseph
Free, a former Wheaton professor, called Archaeology and Bible
History. It was apologetic in focus but brought to my attention
the tremendous impact that archaeology and cultural background
studies could have on our understanding of the Old Testament.
It was in the very year that I read that book that I made the
decision to pursue Old Testament studies as a vocational discipline.
Instead of training to be an archaeologist, I determined to
focus my attention on studies comparing the culture and literature
of the Bible and the ancient Near East. I have never lost my
fascination with this subject. But comparative studies only
provide one of the means by which I try to get people excited
about the Old Testament. I am saddened by how little exposure
to and understanding of the Old Testament many Christians have,
but I am passionate in doing whatever I can do to remedy this
spiritual and theological loss.
For twenty-five years I was active at South Park Church in Park Ridge, IL teaching at every
level from adults through pre-school. As I have taught high
school Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes, Introduction
to doctrine for sixth graders, or Bible stories to four-year
olds, I have been driven by the desire to offer people a greater
familiarity with God's Word and a greater confidence in understanding
God's revelation of himself in its pages. Since moving to Wheaton, I have gotten involved in the same areas of ministry at Glen Ellyn Bible Church.
I came to Wheaton after twenty years of teaching at Moody Bible
Institute. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity I had there
to train students for ministry and am no less enthusiastic about
the interaction with students here. Whether in teaching or writing,
I am constantly challenged in my own life because the material
that I am presenting stretches me as much as it stretches my
students or readers. Whatever I am writing or teaching also
has a way of infiltrating my family. My wife, Kim, was trained
as a biochemist, which has made for interesting dinner conversations-especially
when I was working on my Genesis commentary. My three kids often
have gotten involved in the discussions, and it has been fun
to respond to them and see our family grow together.
| Courses
Taught |
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- Old Testament Lit and Interpretation
- OT Book Studies: Genesis, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah,
Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Minor Prophets
- Pentateuch
- OT Historical Literature I
- OT Historical Literature II
- OT Historical Literature III
- Old Testament Wisdom Literature
- Hebrew Grammar
- Hebrew Exegesis
- Introduction to Biblical Archaeology
- History of the Ancient Near East
- Ancient Near Eastern Backgrounds
- Old Testament Criticism
- Bible Introduction
- Senior Seminar (Capstone course)
- Theories of Origin
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Membership in Professional Societies |
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- Society of Biblical Literature
- American Schools of Oriental Research
- Evangelical Theological Society (Chairman, Midwest,
1986)
- Institute for Biblical Research (Fellow)
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Research |
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Recent research has focused on comparative studies between
the Old Testament and the ancient Near East. In biblical studies
my particular interest is in Genesis. I am currently serving as the general editor
for a five volume series, The Zondervan Illustrated Bible
Backgrounds Commentary, and General Editor of a 20 vol. Baker Commentary Series, "Teach the Text."
| Publications and Presentations |
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Jonah (Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan: 2008)
Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament
(Baker: 2006)
Essential Bible Companion (Zondervan: 2006)
Old Testament Today (Zondervan: 2004)
Genesis, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001)
IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000). Co-authored with Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas
The Tiny Tots Jesus Story Book, Chariot Books, David C. Cook, 1996
Covenant: God's Purpose, God's Plan (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994).
The Tiny Tots Bible Story Book, Chariot Books, David C. Cook, 1993 Translated in Spanish and French and also produced as a video series
A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991; Third Edition, 2009). Co-authored with Andrew Hill
Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context: A Survey of parallels between biblical and ancient Near Eastern texts (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989).
Obadiah - Jonah: A Bible Study Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982/1988). Co-authored with Bryan Beyer.
Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978, Revised and Expanded Edition, 1994). Numerous foreign language translations
Additional publications
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