The name D(onald) J(ohn) Wiseman appears as an editor of standard publications, such as the New Bible Dictionary (1962, 1982, 1996), The Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1980) and the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries.
These are a few of the Christian projects and publications he energetically fostered that continue to serve God’s church. As a member of the NIV translation panel and as organiser of the NIV Anglicisation committee his knowledge and experience has its widest impact.
Babylonian antiquities
When Wiseman’s father, Air Commodore P.J. Wiseman, served in Iraq, he brought home Babylonian antiquities which intrigued the young Donald. After beginning a course in History in London, he was persuaded that studying the biblical world would be more useful to the church, so turned to Hebrew and Assyriology. After distinguished war service (OBE military, American Bronze Star), he studied at Oxford and was appointed to the British Museum in 1948. There, cataloguing cuneiform tablets, he published a significant discovery, part of the Babylonian chronicle giving the precise date when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and young king Jehoiachin, March 15-16, 597 B.C.
