Who do you admire (in the historical field)?

Opinion

This is a fun question to ask. For some it may be a fictional Indiana Jones type of character. For others, it may be a mentor or similar. For me, well, it is someone I wish I would have reached out to before he passed 13 years ago. It is the late Frank Moore Cross.

Most of you may be unfamiliar with the name. He was a scholar and professor of Hebrew and Semitic language studies. He is best known for his work in editing / translating some of the Dead Sea Scrolls from the site of Qumran. His career was quite extensive and I am doing an extremely poor job at emphasizing the importance of his contributions to Biblical and general Canaanite studies.

As some of you may know, I am fascinated by the history surrounding the Old Testament. I stumbled onto Cross’s work early on with his books: Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic and From Epic to Canon. His research just made sense to me.

There are others who come close (for me), such as Eric H. Cline. I have always admired Cline’s work and research. And I have always appreciated the professional relationship we have. But my biggest regret is not have reached out to Cross before it was too late.

Now, I am asking you: Who, in the historical field, do you admire or look up to?