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<\/a>Hershel Shanks and Christopher Rollston at the Cosmos Club.<\/p><\/div>\n
Hershel is certainly known to many as the Editor of BAR<\/strong>, and rightfully so. But he began his professional life not as an editor, but as a lawyer, trained at Harvard. Even in the practice of law, he was no ordinary lawyer. In fact, he rose to such prominence that he has argued law before the Supreme Court of the United States. However, archaeology was his true passion, so long ago he turned from law to archaeology. And we are all the beneficiaries of this fateful decision.<\/p>\n Of course, Hershel is not a field archaeologist; he is not an epigraphist; he is not a historian; and he is not a scholar of the Bible. But he has constantly kept his finger on the pulse of those fields and on the movers and shakers in those fields. He publishes articles by scholars in the pages of his magazine\u2014articles that he laboriously edits for style. Sometimes too laboriously. Indeed, upon receiving Hershel\u2019s edits on the first article I wrote for BAR<\/strong>, I phoned him and said that the edits were just too much and I preferred not to publish the article. He responded to me and said, \u201cFrank Cross once said the same thing to me.\u201d He paused and then continued, \u201cBut Frank reconsidered. So give it a couple days, look over it some more, and then let\u2019s talk.\u201d<\/p>\n I did just that. And the more I thought about the article, the more I liked his edits, and the more I came to recognize that his edits made my article more accessible and more comprehensible to the broader public. Along those lines, I am often struck by Hershel\u2019s broad reach. To be sure, the articles in BAR<\/strong>are read at universities and colleges throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and Africa, but this is certainly only a small part of Hershel\u2019s reach. I know this because at the only lumberyard in my small Michigan hometown, a learned lumberman has sometimes bent my ear about articles he has read in BAR<\/strong>. And at a Michigan barbershop near my ancestral home, BAR<\/strong>is there among the reading material on the corner table. This is emblematic of Hershel\u2019s ability to reach a broad readership.<\/p>\n In short, Hershel has done a great deal to put biblical archaeology on the map in homes and businesses throughout this country and beyond. That is not to say that I always agree with Hershel, or for that matter that he always agrees with me. We sometimes differ on substantive issues. But our friendship is deep, heartfelt, and enduring. One anecdote should suffice in this connection:<\/p>\n In August 2012, I wrote an article for the Huffington Post<\/em> about the fact that the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament often marginalize women. Within a few days of the publication of that article, I found myself in deep trouble with my (now former) institution. In December of that same year, I was forced to resign after a decade of teaching at that institution. I received many letters of support and words of encouragement. They all meant, and still mean, so very much to me. And among those supportive souls was Hershel Shanks. I distinctly remember sitting at my desk one morning in October of that year when my phone rang. It was Hershel. He said, \u201cI heard. I\u2019m sorry. This will be all right. But you need to get out of there and find someplace else to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n We chatted for a few more minutes. His words at that time are reflective of the person he is. I treasure those moments. And Hershel was right; I\u2019m now pleased to be teaching at an institution that values rigorous academic research and writing. And, as fate would have it, I\u2019m also now just a stone\u2019s throw away from Hershel, as we\u2019re both in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n To be sure, some might suggest that Hershel is bluster and bombast. But I think not. I think that Hershel has a heart of gold, that he is kind, compassionate, and considerate. Naturally, there is some chutzpah<\/em> in my treasured friend Hershel. But that is at the surface level, the public persona. The essence of the man, his very nephesh<\/em>, is generous, kind, and affirming. He has truly done so much good in the world. And so, to me, he will always be among my most precious friends.<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Biblical Archaeology Society remembers the life and achievements of Biblical Archaeology Review\u2019s founder and Editor Emeritus, Hershel Shanks, who passed away February 5, 2021<\/a> at the age of 90. Across more than four decades, beginning in 1974 until his retirement in 2017, Hershel transformed BAR<\/strong> from a relatively modest publication reflecting his deep personal interest in the biblical past into the world\u2019s best-selling and most widely read biblical archaeology magazine, enjoyed by millions.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n