author
John P. (John Punnett) Peters
1852–1921
An Episcopal clergyman, biblical scholar, and archaeologist, he helped lead one of the first major American excavations in Mesopotamia. His work at Nippur and his wide-ranging writing brought the ancient Near East closer to English-speaking readers.
1 Audiobook
The Animals' Christmas Tree
by John P. (John Punnett) Peters
About the author
Born in New York City in 1852, John Punnett Peters studied at Yale, where he earned his B.A. and Ph.D., and later continued his studies in Berlin and Leipzig. He was ordained in the Episcopal Church and built a career that combined parish ministry with scholarship, teaching Old Testament languages and literature and serving as a professor of Hebrew at the University of Pennsylvania.
Peters is especially remembered for his role in the University of Pennsylvania's Babylonian Expedition to Nippur in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Those expeditions became an important early chapter in American archaeology in the ancient Near East, and his firsthand accounts helped introduce a broader public to the history and material culture of Mesopotamia.
Alongside his church work, he wrote extensively on biblical history, religion, and archaeology. His life reflects a moment when clergy, scholars, and explorers often moved between the pulpit, the classroom, and the excavation field, helping shape how many readers first encountered the ancient world.