AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR

DR. J. PAUL TANNER

Paul is a retired seminary professor who also served for 26 years as the Middle East Director for BEE World Ministries (Biblical Education by Extension).  He currently lives in Tyler, TX with his wife, Linda.  He and Linda lived for five years in the Middle East, while Paul was the Academic Dean and Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies at the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary (JETS).  Originally from Abilene, Texas in the United States, Paul graduated from Texas Tech University in 1972 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering.  During his senior year as an engineering student, he received Jesus Christ as his personal savior.  Upon graduation from Texas Tech, Paul served for three years as a chaplain's assistant in the U. S. Army and grew in his love and understanding of the Word of God.

Upon completion of his military duties, he went on to earn the ThM (Master of Theology) degree with honors from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1981, majoring in Hebrew and Old Testament studies.  In the summer of 1984, he did further studies at the American Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem (now Jerusalem University College).  He went from there for further graduate studies at the University of Texas (Austin), and in 1990 he was awarded the PhD degree in Middle Eastern Studies with a concentration in Hebrew literature and culture.  His doctoral dissertation was entitled "Textual Patterning in Biblical Hebrew Narrative; A Case Study in Judges 6-8."  As a doctoral student, he was awarded the Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS Fellowship) by the United States Dept. of Education.

Prior to coming to Jordan in July of 2000, Paul previously taught on the faculty of the International School of Theology at the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ in California (1982, 1985-86), as well as being one of the initial faculty members for the International Graduate School of Leadership in the Philippines from 1983-1985.  From 1991 through 1995, he served as Dean of Academic Development at the East Asia School of Theology in Singapore.  From 1995 through 1999, he was Lecturer of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies at Singapore Bible College.  From 2000-2005, he was a professor at JETS, and served for over three years as the Academic Dean of the school.  In addition to his formal training and teaching experience in the field of Hebrew studies, he has had several professional papers published in journals such as Bibliotheca Sacra, The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin, The Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, and Trinity Journal.  [Click here to access Paul's published journal articles].  He has also written a book entitled A Walk in the Psalms, which was also published in Arabic in 2004.  He is the author of the commentary on The Book of Daniel for the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary Series (2020.  Available electronically through Logos Bible Software, and in hard-copy on Amazon.com).  More recently, he has authored the commentary, The Epistle to the Hebrews: An Enduring Faith to Gain a Great Reward (2024.  Available on Amazon.com).

You can visit his Author Page on Amazon to view more of his publications:   at the following link:   amazon.com/author/jpaultanner

Paul and Linda have been married for nearly fifty years (since June 1974).  They first met as college students at Texas Tech University and served on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ for fifteen years.  Paul and Linda have two adult children, a daughter named Brook and a son named Brandon.  In addition to their ministry in the Philippines, Singapore and Jordan, Paul and Linda have also served the Lord in West Germany and Liberia West Africa.  Paul has also made short term teaching assignments in Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Sarawak, East Malaysia, and numerous countries in the Middle East and North Africa.  In the summer of 1994, Paul and his fourteen-year-old son Brandon worked on an evangelistic project in the interior of Outer Mongolia, traveling by jeep to show the Jesus film.  Altogether, Paul has travelled to 46 countries of the world.  Today, from his home in Tyler, he continues writing and helping coordinate the ministry of the Arab Center for Biblical Studies (ACBS).  He is currently writing a new course entitled "Salvation:  The Most Incredible Gift from the Most Magnificent God."

   To contact Dr. Tanner, click the icon to the left.