Notes on the New Translation of the Torah

Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Harry Orlinsky was a prolific biblical scholar who maintained an interdisciplinary approach that considered archaeology, comparative linguistics, and comparative religion all at once. After graduating from the University of Toronto, Orlinsky received his doctorate from Dropsie College in Philadelphia (now the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania). Orlinsky was also the only Jewish member of the committee that produced the Revised Standard Version of the Bible in 1952. Two years later, the Israeli government recruited him covertly to authenticate four Dead Sea Scrolls then up for sale.