Rabbi Nelson Glueck

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Dr Nelson Glueck

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, United States
Death: February 12, 1971 (70)
Cinncinnati, OH
Place of Burial: 3400 Montgomery Road, Evanston, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, 45207 , United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Morris (Moshe) Icik Glueck and Anna (Khaia) Ethel (Etta) Glueck
Husband of Dr Helen I Glueck
Father of Private
Brother of Rachael (Rae) Oscherwitz; Nathan Philip Revel; Samuel Glueck; Benajmin Glueck; Harry Glueck and 3 others

Managed by: Kevin Lawrence Hanit
Last Updated:

About Rabbi Nelson Glueck

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Glueck

Nelson Glueck (4 June 1900 – 12 February 1971) was an American rabbi, academic and archaeologist. He served as president of Hebrew Union College from 1947 until his death, and his pioneering work in biblical archaeology resulted in the discovery of 1,500 ancient sites.

Contents [show] Biography[edit] Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1900 to German Jewish parents, Glueck developed a passion for religion early in life, and was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 1923. He received his Ph.D from the University of Jena in Germany in 1926. By 1928 he was a member of the Hebrew Union College faculty, teaching at the seminary of the Reform Jewish movement. It was during this time period that he first visited the Holy Land. Over his career, he developed an intimate knowledge of the land's rich history. As an expert on ancient pottery, he was able to match small ceramic fragments to distinct time periods. He was the first to identify some ancient wares such as the Edomite pottery and Midianite ware, while he re-discovered the now-called Negevite pottery.

During World War II, Glueck used his intimate knowledge of Palestine's geography to help the Office of Strategic Services develop a contingency plan for a retreat from Rommel's advance through Northern Africa. Rommel was stopped, however, and the plan was not needed.

In the 1950s, Glueck discovered remains of the advanced Nabataean civilization in Jordan. Using irrigation, the Nabateans were able to grow crops and develop a densely populated civilization in the Negev desert, despite receiving under six inches of rainfall a year. Glueck worked with Israeli leaders to build an irrigation system modeled on that of the Nabataeans.

Glueck's scholarship led to personal relationships with many world leaders: he delivered the benediction at President John F. Kennedy's inauguration in 1961; and he was personal friends with many of the State of Israel's early leaders, including David Ben-Gurion, Abba Eban, Golda Meir, Henrietta Szold and Judah Magnes.

He was the author of several books on archaeology, religion, and the intersection of the two. They include Explorations in Eastern Palestine (4 vol., 1934–51), The Other Side of the Jordan (1940), The River Jordan (1946), Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev (1959), Deities and Dolphins (1965), and Hesed in the Bible (1968). Although he worked to develop a historical understanding of biblical events, he always maintained that his faith was not based on a literal interpretation of the bible. To do that, he once said, would be to "confuse fact with faith, history with holiness, science with religion."[citation needed] He died in Cincinnati in 1971, after having previously announced plans to step down from the HUC presidency the following year, and just four months after his final trip to Israel. He was succeeded as president of HUC by Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk.[4]

The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at the Hebrew Union College is named after him.[5]

Quote[edit] A famous quote:

"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries." - Nelson Glueck[6] References[edit] Jump up ^ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Retrieved 17 February 2008. Fee. (Fairfax County Public Library) Document Number: H1000037283 Jump up ^ "Nelson Glueck."Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC Retrieved 17 February 2008. Fee. (Fairfax County Public Library) Document Number: Jump up ^ Goldmark, Lawrence (March 20, 2008). "Obituaries: Rabbi David Lieb, Leader of Temple Beth El for 30 Years, Dies at 65". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2009-02-18. "...the late archaeologist Dr. Nelson Glueck, who was married to Dr. Helen Glueck, a renowned hematologist." Jump up ^ Alfred Gottschalk, Hebrew Union College. Accessed September 21, 2009. Jump up ^ The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology Jump up ^ Dr. Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, Strous and Cudahy, 1959), 136. Biography[edit] Nelson Glueck: Biblical Archaeologist and President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Jonathan M. Brown, Laurence Kutler, Hebrew Union College Press, 2006

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Rabbi Nelson Glueck's Timeline

1900
June 4, 1900
Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, United States
1971
February 12, 1971
Age 70
Cinncinnati, OH
????
Walnut Hills Cemetery, 3400 Montgomery Road, Evanston, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, 45207 , United States