In Memoriam: Fuller Seminary Senior Professor Leslie C. Allen

With sadness yet also deep gratitude for a life well-lived, Fuller Seminary announces the passing of Leslie C. Allen, senior professor of Old Testament. He joined Fuller’s faculty in 1983 and served as professor of Old Testament until 2004, continuing as senior professor. He died in Alhambra, California, on April 10, 2025, at the age of 89.

Dr. Allen was a globally esteemed scholar of the Old Testament, particularly of the Hebrew Prophets and also of the Writings. His numerous publications include his commentaries Jeremiah, in the Old Testament Library; Psalms and Ezekiel in The World Bible Commentary; and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (with T. S. Laniak) in the New International Biblical Commentary; among others. A prolific author, he also wrote A Liturgy of Grief: A Pastoral Commentary on Lamentations, along with dozens of other books, chapters, and articles.

Allen was a graduate of Cambridge University, where he received his BA in 1958 and his MA in 1961. He later earned his PhD in Hebrew (1968) and his DD in Old Testament (1991) from London University. Before moving from England to California to take his position at Fuller, he was a lecturer in Old Testament language and exegesis at London Bible College from 1960 to 1979. Allen had also been a lecturer and visiting professor in seminaries and colleges in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Russia, and Spain. He was involved in multiple associations in both the UK and US, including the Society for Old Testament Study, Tyndale Fellowship, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the Society of Biblical Literature. In 1988, he was the recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities Travel to Collections grant.

Fellow English expat and Old Testament scholar Dr. John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, shared of Allen: “Professor Allen welcomed me to Fuller, helped me to understand how it worked, gave me tips on teaching, set me an example of Christian gentleman-ness, and wrote many things that instructed and edified me.” In 2007, Dr. Goldingay edited Uprooting and Planting: Essays on Jeremiah for Leslie Allen, a Festschrift in Allen’s honor.

Over his tenure at Fuller, Allen taught courses on the Hebrew Prophets and the Writings, as well as exegesis courses on Psalms and Lamentations. As faculty for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, he also mentored PhD students. Over his many years at the seminary, he walked with countless students who will remember his wisdom and passion for the Bible, his kindness to those around him, and his signature look of a suit and tie.

Christopher Hays, D. Wilson Moore Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, said of Allen, “Leslie was an erudite scholar, an unfailingly gracious colleague, a caring teacher, and a profoundly committed disciple of Christ. All of us at Fuller were blessed to have worked with him.”