Dr. Taylor grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and received his BA in theology from Avondale College/PUC in 1966, after which he pastored for 12 years in New Zealand and Australia, completing a Hebrew major at Sydney University during the last three years. His random selection of a term paper on the Septuagint his second year led directly to his choice of a major in this field. In 1978 the family moved to Andrews University where he completed an MA (1979, biblical languages). The same year he was accepted into Hebrew Union College, the home of Reform Judaism in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he earned an MPhil, and a PhD in OT Texts and Versions. After he completed the 3 years of course work, he tutored the second-year rabbinic students in biblical Hebrew for 3 years, the first non-Jew to do so. His dissertation was published in the Harvard Semitic Monographs.
Dr Taylor is a senior scholar in his field, having been a regular contributor over the years via the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature, and the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. For five years each he edited the Septuagint and Cognate Studies (SCS) book series; and the Bulletin of IOSCS, the leading journal in the field. He has served on numerous committees and boards both for SBL and IOSCS. He has written or edited 8 academic books, including The Analytical Lexicon of the Septuagint, first with Zondervan in 1994, and later an expanded version with Hendrickson. As a byproduct, he has been drawn into the field of lexicography where he has served on the SBL lexicography steering committee since its inception in 1993, later co-chairing it first with John Lee (Macquarie U., 2004–05), and then with James Aitken (Cambridge U., 2005–2007). He has written 16 academic articles; and been a translator for 3 Bible versions: A New English Translation of the Septuagint (Oxford, 2007; 61 chapters in 1–3 Reigns/1 Sam.–1 Kgs); English Standard Version Apocrypha (Oxford, 2009; Judith, Tobit, Esther, Additions to Daniel: Susanna, Bel, and the Dragon); and the Common English Bible (2011, Additions to Daniel).
He was a research professor at Loma Linda University School of Religion , having been a contract teacher since the early 90s at both LLU and LSU, while Scholar in Residence at LLU Church for 23 years.
