Wednesday, April 02, 2025

Bentley Layton (1941-2025)

SAD NEWS: Bentley Layton, distinguished Coptic linguist and scholar of ancient Christianity (YaleNews).
Bentley Layton, the pre-eminent scholar of his generation of the late ancient Egyptian language, Coptic, died on March 26 at his home in New Haven from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 83.

Layton, the Goff Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies and professor of Near Eastern languages and civilizations at Yale, made immeasurable contributions to the study of major textual corpora, including the gnostic texts found at Nag Hammadi, and the writings of the Egyptian monk Shenoute of Atripe.

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Requiescat in pace.

Cross-file under Coptic Watch.

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