Vale Bill Dumbrell

I’ve just heard reports of the passing of William J. Dumbrell, an Australian biblical scholar known for his work in the area of biblical theology.

Bill Dumbrell (Th.D., Harvard University) taught at Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia, Regent College in Vancouver, the Presbyterian Theological Hall in Sydney, Macquarie University in Sydney, and Trinity Theological College in Singapore. He is the author of several works including Covenant and Creation, The Search for Order, The End of the Beginning, The Faith of Israel, The New Covenant: The Synoptics in Context, plus commentaries on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and John. He received a festschrift back in 2010. I blogged on Dumbrell’s bibilical theology many years ago here. If you are into biblical theology, then you should be familiar with his work, he and Graeme Goldsworthy were responsible for developing and popularizing the Australian tradition of biblical theology.

A central theme in Dumbrell’s writings has been “covenant”, especially the “new covenant” which is why he was very fondly disposed towards the New Perspective on Paul back in the 1990s and 2000s. You can read his Churchman article on Justification and the New Covenant as a sample, or else, see the blog post he wrote for me some ten years ago on the new covenant, which is a very good starting point for his thought.

May he rest in peace and rise in glory!