Donald W. Parry: Mormon Scholar

Donald W. Parry is a professor of Hebrew Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls at Brigham Young University where he holds the Abraham O. Smoot Professorship.

Parry was born in Nampa, Idaho, to Atwell and Elaine Parry. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Near Eastern Studies and his master’s degree in Ancient Near East, both from the Kennedy International Center at BYU. He received his PhD from the University of Utah.

He has served as a member of the International Team of Translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls since 1994. He is also a member of several other professional organizations, including the Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Society, the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, the Society for Biblical Literature, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew.

In 2013, he published Angels: Agents of Light, Love, and Power. He has authored or edited thirty-three books, ten of which pertain to the Dead Sea Scrolls and five deal with the writings of Isaiah. Parry has also published articles in journals, festschrifts, conference proceedings, and encyclopedias. He is assigned to the book of Isaiah for the new edition of the standard Hebrew Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Quinta.

He has coauthored with his brother, Jay A. Parry, several books for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member. Those titles include Understanding Isaiah, Understanding the Signs of the Times, and most recently, Symbols and Shadows: Unlocking a Deeper Understanding of the Atonement. He is a contributing editor to The Interpreter Foundation.

Parry served as a member of the Board of Directors of FARMS from 1988 until its dissolution in 2007.

Parry and his wife, Camille, are the parents of six children.