Biblical words for time

by James Barr

JAMES BARR WAS BORN IN GLASGOW IN 1924, AND WAS EDUCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH IN CLASSICS AND IN DIVINITY. FROM 1951 TO 1953 HE WAS CHRUCH OF SCOTTLAND MINISTER IN TIBERIAS, ISRAEL. AFTER TWO YEARS AS PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT AT THE PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, MONTREAL, HE BECAME PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, WHERE HE REMAINED FROM 1955 UNTIL 1961. FROM 1961 TO 1965 HE WAS PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT AT PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. SINCE 1965 HE HAS BEEN PROFESSOR OF SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE'S AT MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY.

221 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1969

About the author

James Barr, FBA, was a Scottish Old Testament scholar. At the University of Oxford, he was the Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture from 1976 to 1978, and the Regius Professor of Hebrew from 1978 to 1989.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_B...

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Reviews

[Chris Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book does not really tell us its content and purpose. Rather than formulating a theology of time from Bible language, it is a linguistic critique of methods used by biblical theology. In this, it is quite like Barr's major work The Semantics of Biblical Language.

The warning is that philosophical-theological argument based on lexical units is fallacious, despite its appeal. A word of itself, or a word study, does not give us access to 'The Greek mind' or 'The Hebrew way of thinking'. We must attend to sentences and whole communication units - the actual use of words in context. The study of words for time, in this book, is what Barr employs to make his broader points.

For me, the final three chapters were where it all came together and were the most easy to read. So, if it seems a slog earlier on, stick with it!

[Richard Brand · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have the whole series of Studies in Biblical Theology. I promised myself that I would read them all in retirement. This is number 33. If you have any interest in the fight over the meaning of the two greek words for time in the 1960's, then this book is for you. Barr has a one pony show as he has a big book on Semantics as well. This is a 160 pages of criticism of Cullman, Marsh and Robinson and bunch of other people who are trying to make great theological statements on the basis of their translations of the two greek words. Barr is ruthless. It is also very boring because of the detail and esoteric nature of the case.