Raymond Bryan Dillard (January 7, 1944 – October 1, 1993) was a professor of Old Testament language and literature at Westminster Theological Seminary.
Life
Dillard was born on January 7, 1944, in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Raymond and Ruth Dillard. After graduating from high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1962, he went to study at Bob Jones University (B.A. 1966), Westminster Theological Seminary (B.D. 1969), and Dropsie University (Ph.D. 1975). He did postdoctoral research at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Tel Aviv University. He taught at Westminster Theological Seminary as professor of Old Testament language and literature from 1971 until his death in 1993.
Dillard was a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, where he worked in the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemia section. He also held memberships in the Evangelical Theological Society and in the Institute for Biblical Research.
Among his major academic publications were an extensive commentary on 2 Chronicles published as part of the Word Biblical Commentary , a commentary on the Book of Joel , and his magnum opus, An Introduction to the Old Testament, which he wrote together with Tremper Longman and which was published posthumously, three months after his death .
To his students and colleagues, he was known as a "master of classroom drama" who "captivated mind and hearts".
Dillard died of a heart attack on October 1, 1993, in the woods near Zionsville, Pennsylvania.