Bruce Metzger, 93, Authority On New Testament Texts
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Bruce Manning Metzger, professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and an authority on Greek manuscripts of the Bible, died Tuesday. He was 93.
At the time of his death, he was the George L. Collord Professor Emeritus of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Metzger earned a bachelor’s degree from Lebanon Valley College in 1935, a bachelor of theology degree from Princeton Seminary in 1938 and a doctorate in classics from Princeton University in 1942. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1939.
Metzger began teaching at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1938, and stayed in the New Testament department for 46 years. During his time at the seminary, he developed 25 courses on the New Testament.
Metzger was also involved with committees in the production of three new editions of the Scriptures: the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (1966), the Reader’s Digest condensed Bible (1982) and the New Revised Standard Version (1990).
In 1986, Metzger was elected to the American Philosophical Society, and in 1994 he was awarded the F.C. Burkitt Medal by the British Academy for his contributions to biblical studies.
