Background

Wayne Sibley Towner was born on January 10, 1933, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He was the son of Wayne Alton and France Viola (Sibley) Towner.

Education

In 1954, W. Sibley Towner received a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Divinity in 1960, a Master of Arts in 1961, and a Ph.D. in 1965, all from Yale University.

Career

In 1960, W. Sibley Towner was ordained as United Presbyterian minister. From 1954 to 1957, he was a teacher at Gerard Institute in Sidon, Lebanon, then he became a student pastor at a Baptist church in Moosup, Connecticut from 1957 to 1958. In Princeton Theological Seminary, Towner was an instructor in Old Testament studies from 1963 to 1964. From 1964 to 1969, W. Sibley Towner worked at Yale University in New Haven. He began as a lecturer, then became an assistant professor, and then he was an associate professor of Old Testament studies, the position he held from 1969 to 1971. From 1967-70, Towner also was a fellow of Trumbull College.

From 1971 to 1975, W. Sibley Towner worked at the University of Dubuque, as a professor of Old Testament studies and dean of theological seminary. In 1975 he became a Professor of Biblical Interpretation at the Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, the position he held until 2002. He was also Dean of theological faculty from 1995 to 1998. Towner also worked at Mansfield College, Oxford University as a visiting scholar at from 1969 to 1971.

Towner authored and edited numerous publications. His latest book “Prayers that Sing & Stir the Heart,” a collection of Towner’s public prayers delivered from the heart, was published in January 2018. Other publications include “How God Deals with Evil” and “The Rabbinic Enumeration of Scriptural Examples, ” as well as “Genesis” in the Westminster Bible Companion Series. “A Gargoyle Speaks,” Towner’s widely read column of essays on life of faith, appeared in the seminary’s “Focus” magazine for decades.

Achievements

• Towner spent his life as an Old Testament scholar and educator, who represented the best of biblical pedagogy and scholarship. He was also a prolific author, who wrote and edited numerous publications, including New Interpreter's Bible.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Genesis

    (Not only does the book of Genesis begin our Bible, but it...)

    2001
  • How God Deals With Evil

    (When tragedy strikes, the victim often asks, what have I ...)

    1978
  • The Rabbinic Enumeration of Scriptural Examples 1973
  • Daniel 1984

Membership

W. Sibley Towner was a member of the Society of Biblical Literature.

Personality

Wayne Towner was valued and cherished for his wisdom, humor, and remarkable capacity to relate the Bible to the creative arts and the art of living. He was a gracious and supportive colleague with whom it was a true joy to work. A gifted and caring teacher, he is beloved by generations of Union students.

Connections

On August 11, 1956, Wayne Towner married Jane Ann Miller. The marriage produced two children - Ann Sibley and Hope Josephine.

Father:

Wayne Alton Towner

Mother:

France Viola (Sibley) Towner

Wife:

Jane Ann Miller

Daughter:

Ann Sibley Towner

Daughter:

Hope Josephine Towner