Godfrey Rolles Driver
Encyclopedia
Godfrey Rolles Driver CBE
, FBA (20 August 1892 – 22 April 1975) was an English
Orientalist
noted for his studies of Semitic languages
and Assyriology
.
Driver was born in Oxford
, England
, son of the noted English Bible scholar
Samuel Rolles Driver
, and educated at Winchester College
and New College, Oxford
(1911-1915) where he won the Pusey and Ellerton and Senior Kennicott Hebrew Scholarships and the Gaisford Prize
for Greek prose (1913) and for Greek verse (1916).
After serving in World War I
, with tasks as varied as hospital work, postal censorship, and intelligence, in 1919, he was named Fellow and classical tutor in Magdalen College, Oxford
. He remained at Oxford for his entire career, ultimately as Professor of Semitic Philology, and produced a steady stream of scholarly articles on subjects including vocabulary of the Old Testament
, and words and texts in the Akkadian
, Arabic
, Aramaic
, Hebrew
, and Syriac language
s.
He directed the translation of the Old Testament for the New English Bible
from its inception in 1949, completed and first published in 1970.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, FBA (20 August 1892 – 22 April 1975) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
noted for his studies of Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
and Assyriology
Assyriology
Assyriology is the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of ancient Mesopotamia and the related cultures that used cuneiform writing. The field covers the Akkadian sister-cultures of Assyria and Babylonia, together with their cultural predecessor; Sumer...
.
Driver was born in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, son of the noted English Bible scholar
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
Samuel Rolles Driver
Samuel Rolles Driver
Samuel Rolles Driver was an English divine and Hebrew scholar. He devoted his life to the study, both textual and critical, of the Old Testament. He was the father of Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver, also a distinguished Bible scholar.-Biography:Samuel Rolles Driver was born at Southampton...
, and educated at Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
(1911-1915) where he won the Pusey and Ellerton and Senior Kennicott Hebrew Scholarships and the Gaisford Prize
Gaisford Prize
The Gaisford Prize is a prize in the University of Oxford, founded in 1855 in memory of Dr Thomas Gaisford . For most of its history, the prize was awarded for Classical Greek Verse and Prose...
for Greek prose (1913) and for Greek verse (1916).
After serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with tasks as varied as hospital work, postal censorship, and intelligence, in 1919, he was named Fellow and classical tutor in Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
. He remained at Oxford for his entire career, ultimately as Professor of Semitic Philology, and produced a steady stream of scholarly articles on subjects including vocabulary of the 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...
, and words and texts in the Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, and Syriac language
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
s.
He directed the translation of the Old Testament for the New English Bible
New English Bible
The New English Bible is a translation of the Bible into modern English directly from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts . The New Testament was published in 1961...
from its inception in 1949, completed and first published in 1970.
Selected works
- Letters of the first Babylonian dynasty, OECT III, 1925.
- Studies in Cappadocian Tablets, Paris, 1927.
- Semitic Writing: From Pictograph to Alphabet, 1948 (Schweich Lectures for 1944).
- The Babylonian Laws, with J. C. Miles, Oxford, 1952-1955.
- Aramaic Documents of the Fifth Century B.C., Oxford, 1954 (Abridged and Revised edition 1957).
- Canaanite Myths and Legends, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1956.
- The Judaean scrolls: The problem and a solution, Oxford: Blackwell, 1965.
Sources
- D. J. Wiseman, "Obituary: Sir Godfrey Driver", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 160–163 (1976).
- CDLI Wiki.
- F.F. Bruce, Godfrey Rolles Driver (1892–1975), The Witness, 105, No. 1255, pp. 266–267 (July 1975).