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William L. Holladay papers

 Collection
Call Number: RG 302

Scope and Contents

The papers comprise the professional and personal correspondence, teaching files, writings, and public talks that document Holladay's career as a scholar of the Old Testament, his teaching career at both the Near East School of Theology and the Andover Newton Theological School, and his work as a minister for the United Church of Christ. The papers include Holladay's study of ancient languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, as well as his interest in archaeology. Of particular note are the collected materials that provide a snapshot of the concerns of the American academic community living in the Middle East during the 1960s and the tensions between Israel and Palestine.

Dates

  • 1873-2012
  • Majority of material found within 1960-1997

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials in the collection are primarily in English. German, Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Aramaic, French, and Dutch are also represented in the collection.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research with the exception of student grades in Series II. Professional and teaching files, which is restricted until January 1, 2060.

Access to original born-digitial materials is restricted until processed.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright to materials authored or otherwise produced by William L. Holladay is retained by Patricia Applebaum. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Patricia Appelbaum, 2016.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged into four series: I. Correspondence, 1945-2008, II. Professional and teaching files, 1873-2012, III. Writings, speeches, and editorial work, 1946-2007, and IV. Personal papers, 1945-2002.

Extent

15 Linear Feet (36 boxes)

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.302

Abstract

The papers comprise the professional and personal correspondence, teaching files, writings, and public talks that document William L. Holladay's career as a scholar of the Old Testament, his teaching career at both the Near East School of Theology and the Andover Newton Theological School, and his work as a minister for the United Church of Christ.

Biographical / Historical

William L. Holladay was born June 23, 1926 in Dallas, Texas. He studied Greek and mathematics at the University of California at Berkeley before being drafted into the army in 1946 following World War II. In the army, he served as a chaplain's assistant until his discharge in 1947. Holladay returned to UC Berkeley and graduated summa cum laude in 1948.

Holladay then attended the Pacific School of Religion, studying with John Herbert Otwell and Georgia Harkness, and earning a bachelor of divinity degree in 1951. Holladay entered the Congregational ministry and was ordained in 1952, becoming the pastor of Murphys and Angels Camp until 1955.

Holladay attended the University of Leiden in the Netherlands where he studied under P. A. H. (Pieter Arie Hendrik) de Boer. His dissertation was titled "The Root subh in the Old Testament." After earning his doctorate in theology in 1958, Holladay and his family returned to the United States and spent two years in Colorado where Holladay served as the campus minister for the United Church of Christ (UCC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder. From 1960 to 1963, Holladay served on the faculty at Elmhurst College, teaching biblical studies and world religions, before accepting a position at the Near East School of Theology located in Beirut, Lebanon. Holladay was also commissioned as a missionary under the United Church Board for World Ministries. Occasionally, Holladay taught at the American University of Beirut. He was also involved in archaeology, working on a dig at Shechem with G. Ernest Wright in the summer of 1964 and leading archaeological tours for students to Jerusalem and Jordan in 1966 and 1967.

In 1970, Holladay and his family returned to the United States after he accepted a professorship as the Samuel Edgar Lowry Professor of Old Testament at the Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts. Holladay retired in 1997, but continued to publish, teach, and give public lectures. He died on May 6, 2016.

Processing Information

The collection was arranged and described according to national and local standards. Processing staff have removed publications and duplicate materials from the collection.

Title
Guide to the William L. Holladay Papers
Status
Completed
Author
compiled by Michelle Peralta
Date
February 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Yale Divinity Library Repository

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