David Noel Freedman

David Noel Freedman
Born
Noel Freedman

(1922-05-12)May 12, 1922
New York City, US
DiedApril 8, 2008(2008-04-08) (aged 85)
Petaluma, California, US
FatherDavid Freedman
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity (Presbyterian)
Church
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineBiblical studies
Main interestsDead Sea Scrolls
Influenced

David Noel Freedman (12 May 1922 – 8 April 2008) was an American biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and, after his conversion from Judaism, a Presbyterian minister. He was one of the first Americans to work on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is the son of the writer David Freedman. He died of a heart ailment.[4]

Life

Freedman was born Noel Freedman in New York City on May 12, 1922, the son of to Jewish parents David and Beatrice Freedman.[5] The elder Freedman died in 1936 and Noel adopted his name as a mark of respect. Soon after, he converted to Christianity and became a member of the Presbyterian Church. The New York Times misidentified Noel as a girl in David Freedman's obituary.[6]

At the age of 13, Freedman began his college education at the City College of New York, where he studied for three years (1935-1938) before transferring to the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1938 to 1939 he studied at the UCLA and there, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern European History in 1939,[4] at the age of 17.[7] From 1941 to 1944 Freedman entered the Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned a Bachelor of Theology degree and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1944.[8][5]

In 1944 Freedman married Cornelia Anne Pryor, and they later had four children.[4] For one year, between 1944-1945, he served as pastor at Acme and Deming in Washington.[5]

He then went returned to study and in 1945 he matriculated in the Department of Semitic Languages and Literature at the Johns Hopkins University.[7] While studying at Johns Hopkins University, Freedman became acquainted with William F. Albright. This encounter began a lasting friendship and professional bond that lasted until Albright's death in 1971, playing a significant role in shaping Freedman's growth as a scholar. However, the first year of studies was demoralizing due to how demanding W. F. Albright was.[7] Fortunately, the following year a new student enrolled, Frank Moore Cross, and sharing with him helped alleviate the tribulation he was experiencing.[7]

In 1947, while he was still a graduate student, the excavation of caves near the Dead Sea was just beginning to unearth thousands of fragments of texts. He became one of the first American scholars to get access and spent twenty years painstakingly studying and translating a scroll of Leviticus, one of the books of the Torah.[9] In 1947 Freedman become member of the American Schools of Oriental Research.[7]

Freedman and Cross began working on their dissertations together. Because each thesis would only count for half the required credit with two authors, they needed to produce two separate dissertations in order to graduate:

  1. Early Hebrew Orthography. A Study of the Epigraphic Evidence, on the orthography of ancient Hebrew inscriptions they analyzed Hebrew, Moabite, Aramaic, and Phoenician inscriptions. Their thesis deals with the vocalization of ancient Hebrew inscriptions and orthographic issues (e.g. matres lectiones; diphthongs).[10]
  2. Studies in ancient Yahwistic poetry, where they identified early Hebrew poems such as Jgs 5, Exod 15 were suggested as the earliest portions of the Hebrew Bible, dating between the 12th-9th cent. BCE.[11]

Both theses were under the tutelage of W. F. Albright at Johns Hopkins University. Freedman earned his PhD in 1948 and Cross in 1950.[10]

In 1973, Freedman obtained a Doctor of Literature at the University of the Pacific (United States).[8] In 1974 he obtained a Doctor of Science at the Davis & Elkins College.[8]

His wife Cornelia died in 2005. David Noel Freedman died April 8, 2008.

Bibliography

Dissertations

  • Freedman, David Noel; Cross, Frank Moore (February 12, 2022) [1952]. Early Hebrew Orthography. A Study of the Epigraphic Evidence (PhD dual Dissertation. Johns Hopkins University. 1948). Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-6667-6655-4.
  • Freedman, David Noel; Cross, Frank Moore (1975). Studies in ancient Yahwistic poetry (PhD dual Dissertation. Johns Hopkins University 1950.). Society of Biblical Literature, Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press. ISBN 9780891300144.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.pbydetroit.org/Archives/2007%20January%2023%20-%202007%20November%2027.pdf
  2. ^ https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=180244614877
  3. ^ "Rector's Rough Draft: My Influences". September 19, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c Rourke 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Koehler & Shaw.
  6. ^ "DAVID FREEDMAN, QUIP WRITER, DIES; , Broadway Figure Succumbs in Sleep on Second Day of Cantor Suit Hearing. RISE TO FAME WAS RAPID Comedians and Radio Stars Were Among Those Buying Output of Jokester, 38". The New York Times. December 9, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e Propp & Levy 2008.
  8. ^ a b c Paul 2015, p. 85.
  9. ^ Dolbee 2008.
  10. ^ a b Freedman & Cross 2022.
  11. ^ Freedman & Cross 1975.

Sources

Further reading

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