Packard, Joseph

(Dec. 23, 1812-May 3, 1902). Biblical scholar, seminary professor, and dean. He was born in Wiscasset, Maine. Packard graduated from Bowdoin College in 1831. He taught for several years and was head of Brattleboro Academy in Vermont. In 1833 he entered Andover Theological Seminary, and there decided to join the Episcopal Church. In 1834 Packard became professor of Hebrew and Latin at Bristol College. In 1836 he was chosen professor of sacred literature at the Virginia Theological Seminary, where he remained until his retirement in 1895. He was ordained deacon on July 17, 1836, and priest on Sept. 29, 1837. From 1874 until 1895 Packard was dean of Virginia Seminary. He was an evangelical. He had been influenced by Calvinism at Andover. Packard wrote “The Book of Malachi,” which was published in J. P. Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (1874). He was a member of the American Committee for the revision of the English Version of the OT. Packard died in Alexandria, Virginia.