{"id":65267,"date":"2021-02-06T10:11:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T15:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?page_id=65267"},"modified":"2025-03-20T12:37:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T16:37:03","slug":"obituary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/obituary\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memory of Hershel Shanks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Biblical Archaeology Society remembers the life and achievements of\u00a0Biblical Archaeology\u00a0Review<\/em>\u2019s founder and Editor Emeritus, Hershel Shanks, who passed away February 5, 2021<\/a> at the age of 90.<\/p>\n

In 1974, Hershel envisioned BAR<\/strong>,\u00a0creating a\u00a0modest publication that reflected his\u00a0deep personal interest in\u00a0the biblical past. Over the following\u00a0four decades, until his retirement in 2017, he transformed BAR<\/strong> into the world\u2019s best-selling and most widely read\u00a0biblical archaeology\u00a0magazine, enjoyed by millions.\u00a0He was firmly committed to making the latest\u00a0archaeological\u00a0discoveries\u2014and scholarly controversies\u2014accessible to the\u00a0broader public, through well-written, beautifully presented, and engaging\u00a0content\u00a0that brought the biblical world to life.\u00a0BAS is honored to carry on the tremendous legacy left to us by our friend, colleague, and mentor, Hershel Shanks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hershel Shanks: March 8, 1930\u2014Feb 5, 2021<\/p><\/div>\n

We have collected tributes from Hershel\u2019s family and close friends, current and former BAS staff members, and scholars and colleagues from across the world. Please enjoy these memories and celebrate Hershel\u2019s contributions to the fields of biblical archaeology and biblical studies. We also invite you to leave your own remembrances of Hershel\u2019s life and legacy in the comments section below.<\/p>\n

Additionally, you can read his obituaries (which may be behind paywalls) in The\u00a0Washington Post<\/a> and \u00a0The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Hershel\u2019s Family<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy Companion\u201d
\nJudith Shanks
\nHershel\u2019s wife<\/p>\n

\u201cA Father and a Colleague\u201d
\nElizabeth Alexander
\nHershel\u2019s daughter<\/p>\n

\u201cA Healthy Dose of Mischief\u201d
\nJulia Shanks
\nHershel\u2019s daughter<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BAS Staff, Contributors, and Associates<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Giant\u2019s Shadow\u201d
\nSusan Laden
\nBAS, Publisher & President<\/p>\n

\u201cA Hero to His Readers\u201d
\nJohn Merrill
\nBAS, Chairman Emeritus & Contributing Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Before There Was BAR\u201d
\nSuzanne Singer
\nBAR, Contributing Editor & Former Managing Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cBreathing Biblical Archaeology\u201d
\nJanet Bowman
\nBAS, Administrative Assistant<\/p>\n

\u201cA Showstopping Act\u201d
\nRobert R. Cargill
\nBAR, former Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Unexpected Mentor\u201d
\nGlenn J. Corbett
\nBAR, Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cLessons of the Red Pen\u201d
\nMarek Dosp\u011bl
\nBAR, Associate Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cSweet Memories\u201d
\nJennifer Drummond
\nBAS, Circulation Manager<\/p>\n

\u201cChallenging Norms\u201d
\nSteve Feldman
\nBAR, former Managing Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cExpanding Knowledge of the Bible\u201d
\nJanice Krause
\nBAS, former Travel\/Study Manager<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking the Arcane Accessible\u201d
\nMolly Dewsnap Meinhardt
\nBible Review, former Managing Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Armchair Adventure\u201d
\nHeather Witte Metzger
\nBAS, Production Manager<\/p>\n

\u201cEnthusiastic Doer\u201d
\nBonnie Mullin
\nBAR, former Administrative Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lone Red Pen\u201d
\nRobin Ngo
\nBAS, former Web Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning from a Legend\u201d
\nMegan Sauter
\nBAR, Managing Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Longest Client\u201d
\nRobert Sugar
\nAURAS Design, Inc.<\/p>\n

\u201cA World Without Hershel\u201d
\nEllen White
\nBAR, former Senior Editor<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting and Interested\u201d
\nSarah K. Yeomans
\nBAS, Contributing Editor & former Educational Programs Director<\/p>\n

Scholars and Colleagues<\/strong>
\nNote: These tributes originally appeared in Festschrift: A Celebration of Hershel Shanks<\/a>, the special double issue of Biblical Archaeology Review that was published in 2018 on occasion of Hershel\u2019s retirement as Editor of BAR.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cA Man for the People<\/a>\u201d
\nChristopher Rollston
\nThe George Washington University<\/p>\n

\u201cBorn in Our Living Room<\/a>\u201d
\nEric and Carol Meyers
\nDuke University<\/p>\n

\u201cLarger than Life<\/a>\u201d
\nEric H. Cline
\nThe George Washington University<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Archaeological Evangelist<\/a>\u201d
\nAmy-Jill Levine
\nVanderbilt University<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Face of BAR<\/a>\u201d
\nAndr\u00e9 Lemaire
\n\u00c9cole Pratique des Hautes \u00c9tudes at the Sorbonne University<\/p>\n

\u201cScaling Ivory Towers<\/a>\u201d
\nAlan Millard
\nUniversity of Liverpool<\/p>\n

\u201cUnwavering and Obstreperous<\/a>\u201d
\nWilliam G. Dever
\nUniversity of Arizona<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Hershel Shanks\u00a0founded the Biblical Archaeology Society in 1974 and published the first issue of\u00a0Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>\u00a0in 1975. He served as the editor of\u00a0BAR<\/strong>\u00a0until his retirement in 2017. In the very first issue, Hershel\u00a0wrote,\u00a0\u201cThe aim of\u00a0The Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em>\u00a0is to make available in understandable language the current insights of professional archaeology as they relate to the Bible.\u201d In his 43 years as editor, he did not deviate from this mission.<\/p>\n

Hershel\u2019s family requests that donations in memory of Hershel be made to the Biblical Archaeology Society.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Please share your memories of Hershel in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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