author
Elihu Grant
1873–1942
A Methodist minister and scholar who spent formative years in Palestine, he wrote vividly about everyday life in the region for American readers. His work blends firsthand observation, travel, and a deep interest in biblical lands and culture.
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About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1873, Elihu Grant was an American Methodist pastor, teacher, and writer whose career was closely tied to the Middle East. Early in the 1900s he served with the American Friends Schools in Ramallah and al-Bireh near Jerusalem, an experience that shaped much of his later writing.
After returning to the United States, he taught biblical literature at Smith College and later at Haverford College, where he remained until retiring in 1938. He became known as a scholar of Palestine who could write for general readers as well as students, drawing on direct experience rather than distant description.
Grant's books helped introduce English-speaking audiences to the landscapes, customs, and daily life of Palestine in the early twentieth century. He died in 1942, leaving behind work valued for its combination of scholarship, travel writing, and lived familiarity with the region.