Reflections on Al Groves II
A few days ago I offered some personal reflections on Al, and now I’d like to offer some further reflections on the academic side of things.
One thing worth mentioning is that it is very artificial for me to separate the two, because so many of our interactions involved some type of academic issue, whether teaching, grading, writing, scheduling classes, why I wasn’t doing what I was told, etc.
Back in the mid-80’s Al was already hard at work in an office specially set up for him. I was new to WTS, taking Hebrew, and was friends with a PhD student, John Marcott, who was helping Al in some project. I remember it having to do with something like “tagging” the Hebrew text, computers, a lot of big, noisy machines, and stacks of books and papers.
I am probably the last person at the seminary qualified to explain what Al did, exactly. Several colleagues have tried to explain it to me, but it is like explaining PCA politics to a newly converted homeless person. I do remember John taking a stab at it, and, apparently reacting to my blank stare, just saying, “Al is a smart cookie.” But I already knew that.
It wasn’t until I joined the faculty that someone (I can’t remember who) boiled it down for me in a way that even I could understand: “Whenever you open up your computer and see Hebrew, Al did that.” Of course, some of you under-enthusiastic Hebrew students may not be very happy with that, but remember this includes not just the text but the parsing aids, dictionaries, etc. See, Al was watching out for you. (I would have said, in Soup Nazi fashion, “No parsing aid for you.”)
I don’t think that means Al did absolutely everything, but it does mean that he got it started and a lot of people who sell Bible software with the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, in one way or another, owe it all to Al, who, in the early 80’s, realized that (1) he has an engineering degree, (2) he reads Hebrew, (3) computers are likely going to get more popular rather than less popular. To this day I don’t quite understand why Al did not become a billionaire, with several houses, robot servants, and part ownership in the Boston Celtics. (Actually, I know something about that story, but it is complex and beside the point here.)
All kidding aside, Al had a truly international reputation as a result of his work in Hebrew and computing. In fact, Al’s reputation was stronger in Europe than it was here. One need only hang around with Al at the national SBL conference (a yearly conference for biblical scholars, also known as the “Sea of Tweed” conference). A lot of people would be there looking for Al, coveting his time to query him on matters related to Hebrew computing. He ran special sessions at SBL where he would teach the teachers.
Al never received his PhD, but that was because he was too busy changing the face of the study of the Hebrew Bible.
Now—and this is where the professional and personal merge—it is simply startling to me to know how much time Al could put into other matters and still be able to pull off what he did academically. He was a committed and patient teacher; he was well-read in numerous fields of study, including Deuteronomy, the Deuteronomistic Historian and Isaiah (which included an intimate control of the Hebrew text); he supervised more than his share of doctoral and ThM dissertations, and Al’s level of supervision was above and beyond the call of duty; he spent loads and loads of time with students and colleagues; he was the department head from the time Tremper Longman left Westminster until he took up is duties as VP for Academic Affairs—the latter adding a considerable burden to his already full plate. And amid all this, he battled cancer for just over a year.
In all these things, I know that Al occasionally struggled with the lack of recognition he received in his own back yard, but that concern was raised only rarely and privately. His demeanor was consistently humble, self-effacing, directed towards servanthood rather than power, as lesser people in his position might have sought after.
Al had enough to do, but I still wish he could have written more. But, alas, you can’t do everything. But you know, the Lord does not call us to do everything, just to do what we do in his name faithfully and for his honor. In that respect, Al’s list of accomplishments could fill my thumb drive.
May we honor and remember Al Groves, he of blessed memory, for his long and faithful service to the risen Lord.
