gleason leonard archer, jr.
Gleason Leonard Archer, Jr. was born on May 22, 1916, in Norwell, MA,
the third child of Elizabeth (Snyder) and Gleason Archer, Sr. His older siblings were a brother, Allen, and a sister, Marion. Gleason grew up in Boston
and attended Boston Latin School. His father founded the Suffolk University
Law School in Boston where the family lived during the school year, retreating to Norwell during the summers. Gleason's mother was a Christian, a
member of the Park Street Church, and he came to know Christ at an early
age through her influence.
Gleason attended Harvard College and received his B.A. degree in 1938,
followed in 1939 by his LL.B. degree from Suffolk University Law School in
Boston. His took his A.M. degree from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences in 1940, and his Ph.D. from the same institution in 1944. He graduated with his Bachelor of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary the
following year. There he studied Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. On May 11,
1939, Gleason married Virginia Lillian Atkinson at Park Street Church, with
H. J. Ockenga presiding.
Gleason taught languages at Suffolk University in Boston and served on
that school's Trustee Board. Gleason was also an assistant pastor at Park
Street Church in Boston and assistant dean of the Boston Evening School of
the Bible. His taste for the Old Testament came from Harold John Ockenga,
pastor of the Park Street Church. Gleason and Virginia, with their two sons,
then moved to Pasadena, CA. He served as acting dean of Fuller Theological
Seminary in 1948–49, and as professor of Biblical Languages, a position he
held for nearly two decades. His church affiliation was Presbyterian, U.S.A.
until he was removed from the Monmouth Presbytery by forces opposed to
his presence at Fuller. Dr. Archer taught New Testament Greek, biblical
Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Akkadian, Egyptian, and Syriac. Gleason's wife,
Virginia, passed away in August, 1962. Over a year later, Gleason met
Sandra Paula Larsen, who spoke in chapel at Fuller. They shortly became
engaged just before he left to teach for a six-month Sabbatical in Beirut,
Lebanon. Upon his return, they were married on March 21, 1964 at Lake
Avenue Congregational Church by Ray Ortlund. Gleason resigned from Fuller
after the school departed from its original inerrancy position regarding the
Scriptures.
From 1965–86, Gleason Archer served as professor of Old Testament and
Semitics at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, then as
Professor Emeritus from 1989–91. A number of his summers were spent in
Bible translation work for the New International Version and the New
American Standard Bible. The family accompanied Gleason on those trips214 journal of the evangelical theological society
to Scotland, Greece, Spain, and Belgium. He also was a visiting professor of
Old Testament at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands. Some
have estimated that he spoke about thirty languages. Dr. Archer collected
stamps and coins, loved archaeology, and traveled extensively in the Holy
Land.
Gleason had many articles published in such magazines as Our Hope,
Moody Monthly, Decision, Christian Life, Eternity, Lutheran Alert, and Christianity Today. Articles also appeared in such journals as Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation,
Westminster Theological Journal, and Bibliotheca Sacra. He contributed
many dictionary and encyclopedia articles over his career, and wrote chapters in works edited by others. He translated part of the Book of Psalms for
The Berkeley Bible. A Tribute to Gleason Archer: Essays on the Old Testament, a Festschrift in honor of Gleason's seventieth birthday, was edited by
Walter Kaiser and Ronald Youngblood (Moody, 1986). Dr. Archer translated
Jerome's Commentary on Daniel (Baker, 1958); wrote A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Moody, 1964; rev. 1974); "Isaiah" in The Wycliffe Bible
Commentary (Moody, 1962); The Book of Job: God's Answer to Undeserved
Suffering (Baker, 1982); Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Zondervan, 1982);
and Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament: A Complete Survey,
with Gregory Chirichigno (Moody, 1983).
Gleason's wife, Sandra, passed away October 27, 1999, and he began to
suffer more extensively from dementia after that, living with his daughter
Betsy and her family. He passed into the presence of the Lord on April
27, 2004. His funeral service was held at North Suburban Evangelical
Free Church, and he is buried beside his wife, Sandra, at the Willow Lawn
Cemetery in Mundelein, IL. Gleason lived 87 years, 11 months, and 5 days.
He was the 57th charter member of the Evangelical Theological Society,
having joined on February 28, 1950. He served as President of the Society in
1986.
Left to mourn his passing are his son, Gleason, III (Asher Keshet) and
his wife Sarah of Lexington, MA; son Jonathan Archer and his wife Joan of
Susanville, CA; daughter Heather McClaren Smith (widowed) and her children, Heather, Virginia, and David of Hesperia, CA; daughter Laurel and
her husband Dan Nicolosi of Fort Lauderdale, FL; daughter Betsy and her
husband Andrew Lambert with their daughters Hannah, Lydia, Emma, and
Sylvia of Sterling, KS; granddaughter Ma'ayam Keshet of Manhattan, NY;
grandson Yair Keshet of Cambridge, MA; grandson Jonathan Archer, Jr.
and his wife MaryAnn and children Anna and Daniel Gleason of Brawley,
CA; and grandson Luke Archer of Monterey, CA.