Merrill Unger

Merrill Frederick Unger (1909–1980) was a Bible commentator, scholar, archaeologist, and theologian. He earned his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees at Johns Hopkins University, and his Th.M and Th.D degrees at Dallas Theological Seminary. For a time, he attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, before transferring to the Evangelical Theological College, later Dallas Seminary. At Dallas he was a protege of Lewis Sperry Chafer, noted bible teacher and founding president of the Seminary. Unger's Th.M. thesis was published as The Baptizing Work of the Holy Spirit (1953), and his Th.D. dissertation was published as Biblical Demonology (1952). The evangelist Billy Graham considered this work an authority on the subject. He later received the Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins under the esteemed Near Eastern historian and archaeologist, William Foxwell Albright. Unger's Johns Hopkins dissertation was published as Israel and the Arameans of Damascus (1957). After serving as a pastor at several churches (e.g. Buffalo, New York), Unger taught for a year at Gordon College. For the next 19 years, 1948-1967 – at which time he became professor emeritus, Unger was professor of Old Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. After retiring from Dallas Seminary due to health concerns and the loss of his first wife, Unger returned to his native Maryland where he and his second wife, Pearl, bought "Birdhaven," an arboretum estate on the Magothy River near Severna Park in Anne Arundel County. In retirement Dr. Unger led bible conferences and wrote on Old Testament, theological and practical topics. He became again interested in demonology and a Christian response to the occult and Bishop James Pike, publishing Demonology in the World Today (1971). He was a prolific writer who authored some 40 books, many of which are well received in Christian colleges and seminaries. Unger was also a well known Biblical archaeologist and encyclopedist. Early in his career he was identified as a Baptist, but later was credentialed by the Independent Fundamentalist Churches of America (IFCA). He was survived by two adopted children, a son, Clark, and a daughter, Shelley.

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