John Bright (1908–1995) was an American biblical scholar and the author of several books, including the influential A History of Israel (1959), currently in its fourth edition (2000).
He was closely associated with the American school of biblical criticism pioneered by William F. Albright, which sought to marry archaeology to a defense of the reliability of the Bible, especially the earlier books of the Old Testament.
[3] In the winter of 1931–32, Bright participated in an archaeological campaign at Tell Beit Mirsim, where he met William Foxwell Albright of Johns Hopkins University, who became his mentor.
[6] He then went back to Union Theological Seminary, where he was appointed to the Cyrus H. McCormick Chair of Hebrew and Old Testament Interpretation, a position he held until his retirement in 1975.
While including new data, Bright maintained his theological conviction that "the heart of Israel's faith lies in its covenantal relationship with YHWH.