History of the Institute for Biblical Research

Something took me to the Institute for Biblical Research’s website yesterday, and I was delighted to see that back issues of the Bulletin for Bibilcal Research are online through 2005. I’ll link to some of my favorite BBR articles from years past in a subsequent post, but this post is on a most interesting essay from the founder of IBR.

At the twentieth anniversary of the society in 1993, Earle Ellis recounted the history of IBR and his hopes for its future:

E. EARLE ELLIS, “Institute for Biblical Research 1973-1993 Prologue and Prospects,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 4 (1994) 35-40. [© 1994 Institute for Biblical Research]

This is a fascinating window into the history of the organization from the persepective of its founder, and an appendix to Ellis’s remarks gives his original letter from 1970 inviting people to meet together at SBL that year to discuss what has become the Institute for Biblical Research.

For those who, like me, did not live this history (I was in college in 1993) but are now Fellows of IBR, this essay gives us insight into the intentions and aims of its founders.

Praise God for the work of Earle Ellis!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *