Motyer, John Alexander (Alec)

b Dublin 1924. d 2016. The High School, Dublin and Trinity Coll, Univ of Dublin; MA, BD, with several prizes, and Lambeth DD (1997). Ordained (CofE) in 1947, he served curacies in Penn Fields (Wolverhampton) and at Holy Trinity Ch, Bristol; he was Tutor, then Vice-principal of Clifton Theol Coll Bristol 1950–65. After a period back in parish life as Vicar of St Luke W Hampstead he returned to Bristol as Deputy Principal of Tyndale Hall 1970–71, and Principal of the new (amalgamated) Trinity Coll 1971–81. He was also a visiting Prof in OT at the Reformed Theological Seminary at Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He then became the Minister at Westbourne (Bournemouth, 1981–89) until retirement at Bishopsteignton, Teignmouth, Devon in 1990, moving later to Poynton, Ches. Few men of his generation have taught so many Anglican ordinands while also having parish experience and academic distinction; of a clearly Reformed stamp, for more than 40 years he has also been an occasional speaker at the Keswick Convention and some of its overseas equivalents. The author of an early ‘Tyndale monograph’ on Exod 6, The Revelation of the Divine Name (1959), a ‘Hodder Christian paperback’ After Death (1965), and a major commentary on Isaiah (1993), he has also contributed to Bible and Theological Dictionaries and written on Amos, James, Philippians, Zephaniah and Haggai, Psalms, Exodus, (‘A scenic route through the OT’ and ‘The days of our pilgrimage’), on the OT in general (Discovering the Old Testament) and (with his son Stephen) on Thessalonians. Nos.404, 655, 1021, 1022.