Donald Wiseman

Donald John Wiseman (25 October 1918 – 2 February 2010) was a biblical scholar, archaeologist and Assyriologist. He was Professor of Assyriology at the University of London from 1961 to 1982.

Early life and beliefs Wiseman was born in Walderton, a hamlet just northeast of Emsworth, Hampshire in 1918. His father, Air Commodore P. J. Wiseman had travelled in the Middle East with the RAF and that had led to him writing a number of books on archaeology and the Bible. P. J. Wiseman formulated what is known as the Wiseman hypothesis, which suggests that many passages used by Moses or other authors to compose the Book of Genesis originated as histories and genealogies recorded in Mesopotamian cuneiform script on baked clay tablets, handed down through Abraham to later Hebrews. His mother Gertrude May, née Savage (1888–1971), was the daughter of a naval officer. Donald was the third of five children. The Wiseman family belonged to the Plymouth Brethren.

Wiseman came under the influence of the Crusaders, an evangelical Christian youth organisation, and professed faith at the age of nine, being baptised by full immersion in 1932. and that his vision was "based on a deep Christian conviction about the Bible's reliability and relevance."

Selman suggests that Wiseman's "basic thesis" regarding the Old Testament was that "the Bible makes most sense when it is interpreted in the light of its own Near Eastern cultural context."

War record Wiseman served in the RAF in World War II. Initially serving as personal assistant to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park during the Battle of Britain,

Abraham Wiseman suggested that Abraham be viewed as a prince or governor, rather than as a seminomad. Selman suggests that this perspective indicates "Wiseman's ability to approach a long-standing problem in a creative manner." The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, by Marten Jacobszoon Heemskerk van Veen. Wiseman questioned the location of the Hanging Gardens.

Nebuchadnezzar From his work on Babylonian texts, Wiseman established the date of Nebuchadnezzar's second capture of Jerusalem as 15/16 March 597 BC.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Wiseman questioned the traditional location of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, suggesting that the site lay further west, by the river Euphrates, where the foundations of a massive tower had been discovered. Daniel 6:28 says "So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian" (NIV). This could also be translated, "So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian." Brian Coless suggests that in doing this Wiseman "cut the Gordian knot" of "the intractable problem of identifying King Darius the Mede."

Organisational involvement Wiseman was Professor of Assyriology at the University of London from 1961 to 1982. On his retirement, he was made an honorary member of the School of Oriental and African Studies and elected a fellow of King's College London. He served as chairman of Tyndale House from 1957 to 1986 and president of the Society for Old Testament Studies. He had a variety of roles with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, including two terms as president, in 1965–66 and 1973–74. He was chairman of the Scripture Gift Mission from 1978 to 1992, and served for a time on the New International Version Committee on Bible Translation.

Wiseman also maintained a close connection with the Crusaders organisation. He was leader of the class at Finchley, which included Cliff Richard.

Recognition Wiseman was elected a fellow of the British Academy in 1969 and served as vice-president in 1982 under Sir Isaiah Berlin.

Writings Wiseman wrote a commentary on the 1 and 2 Kings , and served as general editor of IVP's Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series. He was one of the editors of the New Bible Commentary and the New Bible Dictionary. Selman notes that he wrote 152 articles in this latter work, since there were so few "evangelicals in the United Kingdom at that time qualified to write such material".

Personal life On 18 September 1948 Donald John Wiseman married Mary Catherine Ruoff (1921–2006), a health visitor, and daughter of his father's friend Percy Otto Ruoff, bank official. They had three daughters, Gillian, Mary, and Catherine Jane.

Publications A full bibliography of Wiseman's work, compiled by Rob Bradshaw, is available here. The Alalakh Tablets, Occasional Papers, No.2 (London: British School of Archaeology at Ankara, 1953) Chronicles of the Chaldean Kings (626–556 BC) in the British Museum (1956) Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis: A Case for Literary Unity (1985), a republished work of P. J. Wiseman, New Discoveries in Babylonia about Genesis (1936) The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon (1958) Illustrations from Biblical Archaeology (1958) Archaeological Confirmation of the Old Testament (1958) Peoples of Old Testament Times (1973) Nebuchadrezzar and Babylon (1985) 1 and 2 Kings Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (1993) Life Above and Below (2003)