Norman Porteous as I Remember Him

Abstract

This paper describes the period (1960-67) the author spent working with Norman Porteous in the department of Old Testament at New College, Edinburgh. He describes this as a time when Porteous was at the peak of his reputation as the foremost scholar of Old Testament Theology in Great Britain. However, the magnum opus that he might have been expected to produce at this point never appeared, in particular because the publication of von Rad’s Old Testament Theology made him realise that, with an already crowded schedule, he would not be able to devote sufficient time to be able to engage properly with such a major departure from the established ways of working in biblical theology. The paper does however give us insights into Porteous’ thinking on the subject around this time, based on a report of his Stone Lectures and from one-to-one interaction with the author.