Living World of OT

January 16, 2008

Bible Scholar Bernhard Anderson, (91)

a leading scholar of the Hebrew Bible, passed away the day after Christmas.

This anecdote, about a Novice at Mount Melleray, appears in the obituary prepared by Drew University, where he served as dean of the school of Theology for many years.

“Modest in the extreme, Dr. Anderson was often surprised by the feeling with which students, teachers, and churchgoers spoke about the significance of Understanding the Old Testament in their lives. A public tribute of this kind occurred as recently as 2004, when Dr. Anderson was invited to participate in a theological school panel discussion. Dr. Anderson listened while a faculty member in New Testament, whom he had not previously met, told the story of how he stumbled on a copy of the book as a novice Cistercian monk in the Knockmealdown mountains of Ireland. Over the next six months, the professor recounted, he read it from cover to cover, as lectio divina, in the silent hours between the 3:45 wake-up call and the 6 A.M. Eucharist. Profoundly inspired in a new direction, he eventually left the monastery to pursue the historical study of the Bible and become a teacher in his own right. He added that he had told this story many times in the years since, but couldn’t resist telling it again in the presence of the author himself!”

Our Library Editions of the book have the European title, “The living Word of the Old Testament”. Fr. Thomas shies away from Fourth Edition revised for inclusive language. He thinks the Third Edition is the best version. We have used the book, on occasion, for the Night Office Readings.