John Merlin Powis Smith (28 December 1866 – November 1932) was an English-born, American orientalist and biblical scholar.

After finishing school, Smith passed an examination for entrance to Cambridge, but was unable to secure funding for his studies and migrated to America in 1883.

During his time at the Divinity School he studied Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, Akkadian and Sumerian.

[3] Smith also served as an editorial secretary of the Biblical World and was made the editor of the American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures in 1915.

Smith thereby laid the foundations, along with James Henry Breasted, for the formation of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.