All things considered, therefore, Johns Hopkins under German-born and -educated Paul Haupt, expert in the Gilgamesh epic, was the best place at this particular point in time for student Albright to arm himself with some of the tools of the trade and weapons of war he needed to achieve his goal of illuminating religion through science. On that subject, “[founding JHU President] Gilman believed that research in Semitic languages would significantly aid in the reconciliation of science and religion by clarifying sacred texts.” He was an orientalist who served for many years as the President of the American Oriental Society. Both this organization and “reconciliation” of science and religion would prove to be important in the scholarship of Albright.I noted the first three posts in this series on Willam Foxwell Albright (the twentieth century's "dean of biblical archaeologists"), with background, here and links.
Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.
