Eugene Haines Merrill is an Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 scholar who has served as a distinguished professor of Old Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary located in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system known as Dispensationalism...

 and 2010 president of the Evangelical Theological Society

Evangelical Theological Society

The Evangelical Theological Society is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students with the stated purpose of serving Jesus and his church by advancing evangelical scholarship. It was established in 1949 in Cincinnati. The number of members in 2005 was over 4,200...

.

Early life, family, and education

Merrill was born in Anson, Maine. He attended Bob Jones University

Bob Jones University

Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...

, where he earned his B.A. (1957), M.A. in Bible (1960), and Ph.D. in Old Testament interpretation (1963). He married Janet (née Hippensteel) in December 1960. After moving to New York for his wife to complete her doctorate, Merrill earned an M.A. in Jewish Studies at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

 (1970), and his M.Phil. (1976) and Ph.D. (1985) in Middle East languages and culture at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He also completed post-doctoral research (1989–1990) at Tyndale House

Tyndale House (Cambridge)

Tyndale House is an independent biblical studies library with a Christian foundation. Founded in 1944, it aims to provides specialist resources in support of research into the Old Testament, New Testament and relevant historical backgrounds.-Description:...

 in Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

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Academic career

Merrill taught at Bob Jones University from 1963 until 1966, then at Berkshire Christian College from 1968 until 1975. He joined the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary in 1975, where he remains active in teaching and writing. He is a member of the American Oriental Society, the Near East Archaeological Society, the Society of Biblical Literature

Society of Biblical Literature

The Society of Biblical Literature, founded 1880, is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies , with the stated mission to "Foster Biblical Scholarship"...

, and serves as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Selected publications

Merrill has published seven books, contributed to several other collaborative projects, served as a translator in three biblical text projects, and written nearly 200 scholarly articles, mostly for Bibliotheca Sacra. Significant titles include:

• Qumran and Predestination: A Theological Study of the Thanksgiving Hymns (1975)
• The Accession Year and Davidic Chronology (1986)
• Genesis Debate (1986)
• 1, 2 Chronicles: Bible Study Commentary (1988)
• Israel's Apostasy and Restoration (1988)
• Royal Priesthood: An Old Testament Messianic Motif (1991)
• An Historical Survey of the Old Testament (1991)
• A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament (1991)
• Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Exegetical Commentary (1994)
• Deuteronomy (1994)
• The Old Testament Explorer: Discovering the Essence, Background, and Meaning of Every Book in the Old Testament (2001)
• Die Geschichte Israels: Ein Königreich Von Priestern (2001)
• The Bible Knowledge Key Word Study: Genesis--Deuteronomy (2003)
• Everlasting Dominion: A Theology of the Old Testament (2006)
• Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel (2008)