TRIBUTE TO DANIEL PATTE

We have lost a giant among human beings, in the “field,” and in intellectual conversation and collaboration.

Daniel Patte (b. 1939), longtime professor in Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University, was for me a friend and colleague of many years. I knew him always, even as he was a sharp and critical and capacious mind, to be gentle and kind, the bearer of the soft (regional French-accented) voice and a most wonderful smile. Among the last of the influential post-WWII scholars of the Bible who were born in Europe but pursued teaching and research careers in the United States, Patte was as colleague unfailingly courteous and generous with his time and his consideration of the ideas and projects of others. I shall always remember and appreciate his membership in and support of the initiatives that are The Institute for Signifying Scriptures. ISS was not associated with popular initiatives or projects that garnered loads of financial support, media attention, or captured the attention of any elite institutions or academic fields (including biblical studies). Daniel knew we were a clan of runagates. His stature notwithstanding, he thought it was worth his while to give to and learn from what ISS seemed to him to be about or to promise. I related to him more than once how much it meant to me to have his moral support, his input, and presence in our meetings and projects. He hardly seemed to think anything be said. He remained a supportive and constructive interlocutor to the very end. He was a good friend and a gracious colleague.

Merci beaucoup et au revoir, Daniel.

Vincent L. Wimbush
Institute for Signifying Scriptures
9 September 2024

Read Daniel Patte’s essay on “The Collaborative Project on Scripturalization” (The Abeng 1/1, 2019)