Jack Pearl Lewis (March 13, 1919 – July 24, 2018) was an American Bible scholar affiliated with the Churches of Christ.Harold Hazelip, "A Dean's Tribute to Jack P. Lewis," in Biblical Interpretation: Principles and Practices: Studies in Honor of Jack Pearl Lewis, ed. F. Furman Kearley, Edward P. Myers, and Timothy D. Hadley (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 17-18. .Eddie Cloer, "Editor's Preface," in Biblical Archaeology: A Supplement, 2 vols., ed. Eddie Cloer, Truth for Today Commentary (Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 2015-2016), 2:viii. .Don L. Meredith, "Forward," in As I Remember It: An Autobiography, by Jack P. Lewis (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 2012), 9-10. . He earned a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard University in 1953 and a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 1962. For 50 years, Lewis taught Bible and biblical languages first at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and then at Harding School of Theology in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was named professor emeritus upon his retirement. He authored over 223 articles in scholarly and church publications and published more than twenty-five books. He died in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 24, 2018, at the age of 99.Jack P. Lewis Obituary
Early life Lewis was born on March 13, 1919,Dr. Jack Lewis’s 98th Birthday! in Midlothian, Texas. He was one of four sons and one daughter born to Pearl Gaunce and Anna Elizabeth Holland Lewis. After graduation from Midlothian High School in 1936, Lewis entered Abilene Christian College (now University) where he majored in Bible and Greek.Jack P. Lewis, As I Remember It: An Autobiography (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 2012), 67-87. He spent summers selling books and Bibles for the Southwestern Company to put himself through school.Lewis, As I Remember It, 88-106. After graduating with a B.A. in 1941, Lewis began preaching in Throckmorton, Texas, and pursued the M.A. degree in English at Sam Houston Teachers College. His thesis dealt with the use of poetry in sermons comparing John Wesley, Alexander Campbell, and N. B. Hardeman.Jack P. Lewis, "A Study of the Effectiveness of Poetry in Sermon Technique." M.A. thesis, Sam Houston State Teachers College, 1944.
In September 1944, Lewis entered the Harvard Divinity School where he studied under some of the following scholars at Harvard: Robert H. Pfeiffer (Old Testament), Edwin Broome (Hebrew), Arthur Nock (History of Religion), Dean Willard Sperry (Preaching and Ministry), Henry Cadbury (New Testament), Harry AustryhnWolfson (Judaism), and George LaPiana and George H. Williams (Church History). He earned the Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1947 and immediately began a Ph.D. program in New Testament with Harvard University. He finished his degree in 1953.James E. Howard, "The Life and Work of Jack P. Lewis," in Biblical Interpretation: Principles and Practices: Studies in Honor of Jack Pearl Lewis, ed. F. Furman Kearley, Edward P. Myers, and Timothy D. Hadley (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986), 12-13. . His dissertation was "An Introduction to the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs".
In fall 1950, Lewis began work toward a Ph.D. in Old Testament at Hebrew Union College. His work involved intensive study of Hebrew, and he sat under Sheldon Blank, Elias Epstein, and Samuel Sandmel.Lewis, As I Remember It, 178-91.
In 1954, Lewis moved to Searcy, Arkansas, where he accepted a teaching position with Harding College (now University). After four years teaching in Searcy, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was a charter faculty member of the Harding Graduate School of Religion (now Harding School of Theology). During his teaching career, Lewis led over 30 tours of Bible lands.
Contributions to Academia In April 1964, Lewis published an article on the Council of Jamnia"What Do We Mean by Jabneh?" Journal of Bible and Religion 32 (April 1964): 125 32."What Do We Mean by Jabneh?" in The Canon and Masorah of the Hebrew Bible, ed. Sihnayer Z. Leiman (New York: KTAV, 1974), 254-61. . in which he largely discredited the prevalent assumption that the Council of Jamnia decided the Hebrew canon.Niels Peter Lemche, The Old Testament Between Theology and History (Louisville: Westminster, 2008), 279. Frederick E. Greenspahn, ed., The Hebrew Bible: New Insights and Scholarship (New York: University Press, 2008), 152. .See more at: https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/canon-old-testament#sthash.B2st629Z.dpuf. This article brought him academic recognition. He was invited to serve on the Bible translation committee for the New International VersionEncyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, ed. Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, and D. Newell Williams (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 89. .See the NIV Committee on Bible Translation at http://www.bible-researcher.com/niv-translators.html and to contribute the notes to Hosea and Joel in the NIV Study Bible. He was asked to write several articles on the Council of Jamnia: "Jamnia (Jabneh), Council of", in Anchor Bible Dictionary,"Jamnia (Jabneh), Council of," in Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 3:634-7. . "Jamnia after Forty Years", in Hebrew Union College Annual,"Jamnia after Forty Years," Hebrew Union College Annual 70-71 (1999-2000): 233-59. and "Jamnia Revisited", in The Canon Debate"Jamnia Revisited," in The Canon Debate, ed. Lee Martin McDonald and James A. Sanders (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 146-62. . In 1989, he edited and contributed two chapters to Interpreting 2 Corinthians 5:14-21: An Exercise in Hermeneutics,Interpreting 2 Corinthians 5:14 21: An Exercise in Hermeneutics, Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity, vol. 17 (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989). . which was a product of the Hermeneutics Project of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.
Lewis's teaching career included nearly fifty years of teaching a course in History of the English Bible. His book on The English Bible from KJV to NIVGrand Rapids: Baker, 1981. . 2nd ed. (1991). . is one of the important works on the history of the English Bible. He maintained an interest in this area throughout his career. In 2004 in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version, at the invitation of the American Bible Society and its Eugene A. Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship, Lewis presented a paper on the history of the printing of the KJV. This was published in Translation that Openeth the Window."The King James Editions: Their Character and Revision History," in Translation That Openeth the Window: Reflections on the History and Legacy of the King James Bible, ed. David G. Burke, Biblical Scholarship in North America, 23 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009), 97-117. . He also published Questions You Have Asked about Bible Translations.Questions You've Asked about Bible Translations (Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 1991). . Lewis's most recent release, The Day after Domesday: The Making of the Bishops Bible,The Day after Domesday: The Making of the Bishops Bible (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016). . is a study of the Bishops Bible, least known of the Tudor period Bibles and predecessor to the King James Version.Lewis, The Day after Domesday, preface. At age 93, Jack Lewis published his autobiography, As I Remember It.Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 2012. .
Lewis taught a variety of courses in the Old and New Testament and a number of his books grew out of these classes: A Study of the Interpretation of Noah and the Flood in Jewish and Christian LiteratureA Study of the Interpretation of Noah and the Flood in Jewish and Christian Literature (Leiden: Brill, 1978, c1968). . (published version of his dissertation at Hebrew Union), Historical Backgrounds to Bible People,Historical Backgrounds to Bible People (Henderson, TN: Hester Publications, 2008). ISBN B003K1SZ5I. Historical Backgrounds of Bible History,Historical Backgrounds of Bible History, University Christian Student Center Annual Lectureship, 1969 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1971). . a two-volume commentary on The Gospel According to Matthew,The Gospel According to Matthew, 2 vols., The Living Word Commentary (Austin, TX: Sweet, 1976). . The Minor Prophets,The Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1966). . Exegesis of Difficult Passages,Exegesis of Difficult Passages (Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 1988). . and Hebrew Wisdom and Poetry.Hebrew Wisdom and Poetry (Henderson, TN: Hester Publications, 2004).
Lewis read papers at the meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Evangelical Theological Society. He published at least 84 articles in eight different encyclopedias and dictionaries on a wide range of topics: Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary,Herbert Lockyer, Sr. ed., Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1986). . Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,R. Laird Harris, ed., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2 vols. (Chicago: Moody, 1980). . Baker's Dictionary of Theology,Everett F. Harrison, ed. Baker's Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1960). . Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia,Charles F. Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John Rea, eds., Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago: Moody, 1975). . Anchor Bible Dictionary,David Noel Freedman, Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992). . Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics,Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973). . Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible,Merrill C. Tenney, ed. Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 5 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975). . and Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement.Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, and D. Newell Williams, eds., The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004). .
Honors and awards In 1967 and 1968, Lewis received a fellowship grant from the American Schools of Oriental Research to study as a Thayer Fellow in Jerusalem. He participated in an archaeological excavation at Aran. In 1968, he received the Twentieth Century Christian Education award in recognition of his "scholarly research, profound writing, and inspirational teaching".Howard, "The Life and Work of Jack P. Lewis," 14.
In 1983, he was chosen Senior Fellow at the W. F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem. He served on the editorial boards of the Restoration Quarterly and Journal of Hebraic Studies. He served as president of the Southern section of the Evangelical Theological Society in 1969-70.Howard, "The Life and Work of Jack P. Lewis," 15.
In 1994, Lewis was invited to be the commencement speaker at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. At the graduation ceremonies there in 2006, Lewis was awarded a Graduate Medallion as an outstanding alumnus.See http://huc.edu/news/2006/04/03/national-graduation-ordination-and-investiture-advisory.
In 2011, Heritage Christian University established the annual Jack P. Lewis lectures in his honor.See http://www.hcu.edu/event/jack-p-lewis-lectures-2/.
Selected works Archaeological Backgrounds to Bible People. University Christian Student Center Annual Lectureship, 1969. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981. . Archaeology and the Bible. Way of Life Series. Abilene, TX: Biblical Research, 1975. . As I Remember It: An Autobiography. Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate, 2012. . Basic Beliefs. Nashville: 21st Century Christian, 2013. . Between the Testaments. Nashville, TN: 21st Century Christian, 2014. . Biblical Archaeology: A Supplement. 2 vols. Edited by Eddie Cloer. Truth for Today Commentary. Searcy, AR: Resource Publications, 2015-2016. . The Day after Domesday: The Making of the Bishops Bible. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016. . Early Explorers of Bible Lands. Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2013. .