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John Robert McRay (1931 - 2018) was an archaeologist, and professor emeritus of New Testament at Wheaton College (Illinois).[1] He directed archaeological excavations in Israel, and "his articles have appeared in [several] encyclopedias and dictionaires". He "has lectured widely on archaeology and the Bible at various colleges, universities, professional meetings and churches in the United States".
McRay was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma.[2] His wife's name is Annette and they had three children: Rob, David, and Barrett, and they also had eight grand children and two great-grandchildren.
He died at age 86 on August 24, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee.[2]
In 1956 McRay earned a M.A. at Harding College, with the thesis The fact and nature of eternal punishment in the New Testament. He completed his Ph.D. in New Testament at the University of Chicago in 1967.[3] He also studied at the Hebrew University, at the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, and at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.[4] [5]
From 1956 to 2002, McRay had taught at four colleges: Harding University, Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University and Wheaton College.[6] After McRay got his PhD, he went on to teach at Middle Tennessee State University, David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University), and Harding Graduate School.[3] From 1980 McRay joined the Wheaton's faculty, and until 2002 (for more than fifteen years), he taught in biblical studies at Wheaton College.[7] When he retired, he was awarded emeritus status.[7]
McRay supervised excavating teams in the Holy Land for almost 8 years in Caesarea, Sepphoris, and Herodium in Israel.[4] He also was an expert in the languages, cultures, geography, and history of Israel-Palestine.[3]
McRay was associate to the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, American Schools of Oriental Research, and a member of the editorial boards of Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin, Archaeology in the Biblical World and the Bulletin for Biblical Research, published by Institute for Biblical Research.[4]