Anson Rainey, one of Israel’s foremost scholars in the ancient languages, cultures and geography of the biblical world, passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was 81 years old. Rainey was professor emeritus of ancient Near Eastern cultures and Semitic languages at Tel Aviv University, where he had taught since 1964. He was an extremely productive scholar, having published more than a dozen books and well over 200 articles, on subjects ranging from comparative Semitics to the historical geography of ancient Israel.
For more on Rainey’s career, see: http://www.rollstonepigraphy.com/?p=213%3E:
Note: Dr. Rainey and ABR founder Dr. Livingston vigorously debated the location of Bethel in the 1970’s. Rainey challenged David Livingston’s conclusion that Bethel had been misidentified by scholars at Beitin. David concluded that Bethel should be at El-Bireh, while Dr. Rainey vigorously disagreed. David graciously showed that Dr. Rainey’s conclusions were in error. We extend our sympathies to the Rainey family in this time of loss.