James Alan Montgomery

Background

James Alan Montgomery was born on June 13, 1866, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the third of nine children and the oldest of five boys. His father, Thomas Harrison Montgomery, a successful insurance executive associated with several insurance companies in the Philadelphia area, had scholarly and literary interests and did a considerable amount of writing. James's mother, Anna (Morton) Montgomery, was of a prominent Philadelphia family whose forebears had come from Ireland. His father's lineage was dominated by Episcopalian clergymen, and his mother's by physicians. There was a natural confluence of theological and scholarly interests in Montgomery's career.

Education

Montgomery graduated from the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia and went on to the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received the B. A. degree in 1887 and a Phi Beta Kappa key. He continued his studies at the Philadelphia Divinity School (Episcopal), completing the course of study in 1890.

Career

In 1890, Montgomery was appointed a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal church. Before commencing his career as a clergyman, however, he spent two years as a traveling fellow at the University of Greifswald and the University of Berlin. On his return to the United States in 1892, he was appointed curate of the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City. He was ordained a priest in the Protestant Episcopal church in 1893 and was installed as rector of St. Paul's in West Philadelphia. On August 1 of the same year, he married Mary Frank Owen of County Derry, Ireland, whom he had met in Berlin while pursuing studies at the university. In 1895, he transferred to St. Peter's in Philadelphia. In 1899 Montgomery became the first rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Germantown, and at the same time accepted a position as instructor in Old Testament studies at the Philadelphia Divinity School. While serving as both rector and teacher, Montgomery also pursued graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning the Ph. D. in 1904. His dissertation was on the Samaritans and served as the basis of his first book, which appeared in 1907. Montgomery had resigned from his post as rector of the Church of the Epiphany; he did not undertake an active ministry for the church again. The rest of his career was devoted to scholarly interests in his capacity as professor, editor, and author. He progressed rapidly to the rank of full professor at the Philadelphia Divinity School and continued to teach there until his retirement in 1935. He also taught in the Semitics department of the graduate school of the University of Pennsylvania, being appointed a lecturer in 1909 and later advancing to the rank of professor. He continued to teach there until 1939, although he retired officially in 1935. At both institutions, Montgomery trained many students who became distinguished scholars in their own right.

Montgomery's main scholarly interest was the Old Testament. His academic pursuit, however, was inspired and informed by his religious convictions a happy coalescence of interests that resulted in contributions of solid and enduring worth. In him and his work, there was no tension or conflict between the spiritual and intellectual but a harmonious interplay of rigorous intellectual probity and unwavering commitment of faith, united by a constant devotion to, and persistent quest for, the truth. In spite of this concentration of interests, and a scholarly career devoted to the analysis and exposition of the Old Testament, it was not until 1927 that he published a volume on that subject. Previously, he had written books and monographs on a variety of related topics, including The Samaritans (1907), Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur (1913), The Origin of the Gospel According to Saint John (1923), and The History of Yaballaha III (1927). Each exhibited a different aspect of his research and expertise, and the latter three mentioned show in particular his special skills and interests in Aramaic dialects.

His openness to archaeological discovery and his persistent interest in exploring new areas of research are nowhere more evident than in his enthusiastic response to the discovery of the famed Ugaritic tablets at Ras Shamrah in 1929. The impact of this discovery on biblical studies has been of major proportions, both in the realm of ideas (since the tablets contain substantial segments of the long-lost Canaanite mythological literature) and in the area of linguistics (with particular attention to vocabulary, morphology, and syntax). Other results of his investigations were published in The Ras Shamra Mythological Texts (1955), written in collaboration with Z. Harris. He rounded out his literary career with two semipopular works: Arabia and the Bible (1934) and The Bible: The Book of God and Man (1948). Montgomery died in Philadelphia and was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. James the Less in that city.

Achievements

• Montgomery was director of the school in Jerusalem during the critical year 1914-1915, the first editor of the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1919 - 1930), and president of the American Schools of Oriental Research from 1921 to 1934. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was to recognize, encourage, and promote the brilliant young Semitist William Foxwell Albright, who ultimately succeeded Montgomery as editor of the Bulletin. He was elected an honorary member of the British Society for Old Testament Study and for years was the only American scholar so honored. He was also elected to the American Philosophical Society (1925). In addition to his academic duties, Montgomery accepted a full share of administrative and editorial responsibilities in the major professional societies to which he belonged. He was invited in 1892 to join the Society of Biblical Literature, of which he was president in 1918, and served as editor of the prestigious Journal of Biblical Literature (1909 - 1913). He was a member of the American Oriental Society, edited its Journal (1919 - 1921, 1924), and was elected president for the year 1926-1927. Of at least equal importance was his long association with the American Schools of Oriental Research.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Samaritans; The Earliest Jewish Sect: Their History, Theology, and Literature (Classic Reprint)

    (John Bohlen, who died in Philadelphia on the 26th day of ...)

  • Religions of the Past and Present: A Series of Lectures Delivered by Members of the Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Apology and Polemic in the New Testament: The Bohlen Lectures, 1915

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • The Holy City and Gehenna

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur (Cambridge Library Collection - Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge)

    (In 1888 the University of Pennsylvania sponsored the firs...)

  • The Samaritans, the Earliest Jewish Sect; their History, Theology, and Literature

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • The Ras Shamra Mythological Texts

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • A critical and exegetical commentary on the Books of Kings

    (A critical and exegetical commentary on the Books of King...)

Views

From the first, Montgomery recognized in Albright a man of extraordinary abilities and became his advocate and defender. It was characteristic of the older man that he encouraged the younger one in every possible way.

His commentary on the Book of Daniel was part of the International Critical Commentary, undoubtedly the most ambitious and important series ever undertaken in the English-speaking world. This commentary on Daniel is widely regarded as a model for the series; it has not been superseded in the half-century since its publication. New discoveries and new insights have altered the picture somewhat, but Montgomery's work remains nearly indispensable for scholar and student alike. His double mastery of Hebrew and Aramaic shows to special advantage in the study of Daniel, since half of it was written in Hebrew and half in Aramaic.

Membership

an honorary member of the British Society for Old Testament Study, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the American Oriental Society

Personality

James Alan Montgomery was a man of distinction and integrity. He was an aristocrat in the best sense of that much abused term. As a scholar, his skills were primarily linguistic, and his strong points, accuracy and good judgment. His work was solid, not sensational. Much of it was occasional and belongs to the ongoing history of scholarship, but a substantial amount is part of the permanent repository of hard-won knowledge of the Bible.

Quotes from others about the person

• Albright's estimate of his mentor and sponsor is especially significant in view of their lifelong relationship: "Eminent as scholar and teacher, Montgomery was first and last an exceptionally kind, humane, and broad-minded person, and a Christian of profound piety and dignity. It is impossible to imagine him as guilty of a breach of the severest code of conduct or of any unkind or uncouth act. The qualities denoted by the words 'gentleman' and 'scholar' have probably never been combined more harmoniously in a single man than in James Alan Montgomery".

Connections

Montgomery's first marriage ended tragically with the death of his wife on March 24, 1900. There were no children. Two years later, on June 17, 1902, he married Edith Thompson, a member of a local family. From this union came five children, all boys: James Alan, Jr. ; Newcomb Thompson; George Morton; and two others who died in infancy.

Father:

Thomas Harrison Montgomery

Mother:

Anna (Morton) Montgomery

Wife:

Edith Thompson Montgomery

7 August 1873 - 24 April 1947

Wife:

Mary Frank Montgomery

1864 - 1900

Son:

John Montgomery

1906 - 1909

Son:

James Alan Montgomery, Jr

18 August 1904 - 31 January 1980

Son:

Thomas Montgomery

24 February 1906 - 5 April 1909

Son:

Newcomb Thompson Montgomery

26 February 1907 - 15 May 1986