Siegfried Horn
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Herbert Horn was a Seventh-day Adventist
archaeologist
and Bible
scholar. He is perhaps best known for his numerous books and articles and for his excavations at Tell Hesban
in Jordan
. He was Professor of History of Antiquity at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
in Berrien Springs
, Michigan
(now part of Andrews University
). The Siegfried H. Horn Museum at Andrews University was named in his honor. A scholar of wide-ranging interests and abilities, he made significant contributions especially in the areas of Ancient Near East
ern chronology and archaeology
. In a 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist
lecturers, Horn tied for seventh place among the Adventist authors who had most influenced them.
, Saxony
, Germany
. His father was one of the world's earliest aviators, trained as a pilot by Louis Blériot
. Horn served as a minister and as a missionary from 1930 to 1940, first in the Netherlands
and then in the Dutch East Indies
. Because he was German, Horn spent six and a half years as a prisoner of war during World War II
, from 1940 to 1946, first as a prisoner of the Dutch in Indonesia
and then imprisoned by the English
in India
. Granted access to books, Horn made use of this time to develop his skills in Greek
and Hebrew and to teach his fellow inmates. Upon gaining his freedom at the end of World War II, Horn immigrated to the United States
and completed his education. He earned a B.A. at Walla Walla College (now a University
) in Washington State (1947), an M.A. at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
in Washington, D.C. (1948), and a Ph.D. in Egyptology
at the Oriental Institute
of the University of Chicago (1951). He studied briefly under William F. Albright
at Johns Hopkins University
.
Horn taught at the Adventist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1976. He started an archaeological museum (later named for him), was the founding editor of the journal Andrews University Seminary Studies
, started up the Seminary's doctoral programs, and initiated and directed the archaeological dig at Tell Hesban, biblical Heshbon
. The dig at Hesban eventually developed into the Madaba Plains Project, with excavations at Hesban, Umayri, and Jalul. Horn also dug at Tell Balatah, biblical Shechem
, in the early 1960's. A prolific author, he authored some 800 books and articles. Horn died of lymphoma
on November 28, 1993, in St. Helena
, California
, at the age of 85.
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
scholar. He is perhaps best known for his numerous books and articles and for his excavations at Tell Hesban
Heshbon
Heshbon was an ancient town located east of the Jordan River in the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and historically within the territories of Ammon and Ancient Israel....
in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. He was Professor of History of Antiquity at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary is the seminary located at Andrews University in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's flagship university...
in Berrien Springs
Berrien Springs, Michigan
Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,862 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township. Berrien Springs is best known for its Seventh-day Adventist community and Andrews University...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
(now part of Andrews University
Andrews University
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...
). The Siegfried H. Horn Museum at Andrews University was named in his honor. A scholar of wide-ranging interests and abilities, he made significant contributions especially in the areas of Ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
ern chronology and archaeology
Near Eastern archaeology
Near Eastern Archaeology is a regional branch of the wider, global discipline of Archaeology...
. In a 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist
North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda is officially organized as the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists...
lecturers, Horn tied for seventh place among the Adventist authors who had most influenced them.
Biography
Horn was born March 17, 1908, to Albin and Klara Horn in WurzenWurzen
Wurzen is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig on the main line to Dresden...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His father was one of the world's earliest aviators, trained as a pilot by Louis Blériot
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
. Horn served as a minister and as a missionary from 1930 to 1940, first in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and then in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. Because he was German, Horn spent six and a half years as a prisoner of war during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, from 1940 to 1946, first as a prisoner of the Dutch in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and then imprisoned by the 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...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Granted access to books, Horn made use of this time to develop his skills in Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
and Hebrew and to teach his fellow inmates. Upon gaining his freedom at the end of World War II, Horn immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and completed his education. He earned a B.A. at Walla Walla College (now a University
Walla Walla University
Walla Walla University is a University offering liberal arts, professional, and technical programs located in College Place, Washington, just a few miles from Walla Walla. The current President is John McVay. It was founded in 1892 and is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.The...
) in Washington State (1947), an M.A. at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary
The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary is the seminary located at Andrews University in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's flagship university...
in Washington, D.C. (1948), and a Ph.D. in Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at the Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute, Chicago
The Oriental Institute , established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's archeology museum and research center for ancient Near Eastern studies.- History and purpose:James Henry Breasted built up the collection of the Haskell Oriental Museum...
of the University of Chicago (1951). He studied briefly under William F. Albright
William F. Albright
William Foxwell Albright was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist and expert on ceramics. From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement...
at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
.
Horn taught at the Adventist Theological Seminary from 1951 to 1976. He started an archaeological museum (later named for him), was the founding editor of the journal Andrews University Seminary Studies
Andrews University Seminary Studies
Andrews University Seminary Studies is a refereed scholarly Christian journal published by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. It is issued twice a year from Berrien Springs, MI. The journal was founded in 1963 and currently has a circulation of 600 copies...
, started up the Seminary's doctoral programs, and initiated and directed the archaeological dig at Tell Hesban, biblical Heshbon
Heshbon
Heshbon was an ancient town located east of the Jordan River in the modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and historically within the territories of Ammon and Ancient Israel....
. The dig at Hesban eventually developed into the Madaba Plains Project, with excavations at Hesban, Umayri, and Jalul. Horn also dug at Tell Balatah, biblical Shechem
Shechem
Shechem was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel...
, in the early 1960's. A prolific author, he authored some 800 books and articles. Horn died of lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
on November 28, 1993, in St. Helena
St. Helena, California
St. Helena is a city in Napa County, California, United States. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 5,814 at the 2010 census....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, at the age of 85.
External links
- Siegfried H. Horn Museum
- Articles by Horn as catalogued in the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI)
- Madaba Plains Project
- Recent Discoveries Confirm the Bible, 1952 Bible Conference, Sept. 2 presentation, mp3 format