Morton Smith
Morton Smith ( * May 29, 1915 in Philadelphia, † July 11, 1991 in New York City ) was an American historian, theologian and professor. He taught, inter alia, at Columbia University 's ancient history. He was known especially for his discovery of the controversial Secret Gospel of Mark.
Life
Smith earned bachelor's degrees from Harvard College and Harvard University, then received his doctorate in history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and in theology at Harvard Divinity School. He then taught at Brown University and Drew University and moved in 1957 to Columbia University. In 1958 he discovered during a sabbatical at the Mar Saba monastery near Bethlehem, a fragment of the controversial Secret Gospel of Mark, issuing in 1960 a work on magical elements of early Christianity. The establishment of strict monotheism in Judaism he dated to a relatively late stage. After his retirement as a professor in 1985, he held until 1990 lectures in theology.
Smith died in Manhattan of heart failure and left no direct relatives.
Selected publications
- Tannaitic Parallels to the Gospels (1951 )
- The Ancient Greeks (1960 )
- Heroes and Gods: Spiritual Biographies in Antiquity (together with Moses Hadas ) ( 1965)
- Palestinian Parties and Politics That Shaped the Old Testament ( 1971)
- Clement of Alexandria and a Secret Gospel of Mark (1973 )
- The Secret Gospel (1973 )
- The Ancient History of Western Civilization (together with Elias Bickerman ) ( 1976)
- Jesus the Magician: Charlatan or Son of God? (1978)
- Hope and History ( 1980)
- Studies in the Cult of Yahweh. Vol 1 Historical Method, Ancient Israel, Ancient Judaism. Vol 2 New Testament, Early Christianity, and Magic (edited by Shaye JD Cohen ) ( 1996)
- What the Bible Really Says (edited with R. Joseph Hoffmann) (1992).
In addition, numerous articles in journals and other publications.
Awards
- Lionel Trilling Book Award ( for Jesus the Magician )
- Ralph Marcus Centennial Award of the Society of Biblical Literature