Oswald Thompson Allis (1880-1973)

Oswald Thompson Allis was an American presbyterian theologian and Bible scholar.

He was born on 9th September 1880 in Wallingford, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. ( His future wife- Julie Waterbury- was born on the same day.)

He was raised in the family home at 1604 Spruce Street, Philadelphia.
In 1929, nearly 50 years later, this same location was to serve as the ’ cradle’ for the newly formed Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS).

Degrees earned
AB from University of Pennsylvania 1901
BD from Princeton Theological Seminary 1905
AM from Princeton University 1907
PhD from University of Berlin 1913

Role and Places he worked
Instructor in Semitic Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary (1910-22)
Assist, Prof. of Semitic Philosophy ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ (1922-29)

(Reorganization of Princeton Seminary placed modernists in control of the school and prompted the resignations of Gresham Machen, Oswald Allis, Robert Dick Wilson and Cornelius van Til. They left the prestige of Princeton to stand for the truth of the Bible. They knew that theological compromise would harm the spiritual power of the church. In 1929 Machen founded a new school- Westminster Theological Seminary- with senior faculty members from Princeton.- classes began that autumn.)
( Read ‘The Heroic Stand of our Founder’)

Professor of Old Testament History and Exegesis at Westminster TS (1929=30)
Professor of Old Testament at ‘’ TS (1930=36)
Oswald retired from his teaching post. Independently wealthy he was able to devote the rest of his life to research and writing.
Apparently he lectured at Columbia Theological Seminary 1946

Oswald was the editor of The Princeton Theological Review from 1918-1929
and the Editorial Correspondent for The Evangelical Quarterly 1929=1973
(until his death)

He wrote several books. The most notable were Prophecy and the Church (1945) and God Spoke to Moses (1951).

It is the painstaking and thorough accuracy of Dr. Allis in whatever he does, that causes his students to marvel. We watch him unravel the intricacies of Hebrew syntax, and his patience is a constant example and inspiration to us.
(1931 promotional information for WTS)

Sources
The Princeton Theological Review
This Day in Presbyterian History
Wikipedia