Christiaan Hendrik Jacobus van der Merwe was born on 21 March, 1957.
He passed matric with distinction in 1974 and studied at the University of
Stellenbosch (BA, BTh 1981, BA Honns cum laude1980 and MA (Semitic Languages)
cum laude and Licentiate in theology cum laude in 1982, MTh (Old Testament) cum
laude 1983). He also studied at the University of Oxford. He continued his
doctoral research at the University of Munich, Germany, in 1987 and, n 1988,
he obtained a D Litt in Semitic Languages at the University of Stellenbosch
with the dissertation: The Old Hebrew particle gam; a syntatic-semantic description of gam in Genesis
to 2 Kings.
Christo studied General linguistics in1991 and attended the Center for
Electronic
Texts in the Humanities in 1995.
He is married and has three children.
Awards and Bursaries:
1985/86: Abe Bailey bursary by the University of Stellenbosch for study at Oxford University
1996/87 : Harry Crossley bursary for overeseas' study
1986/87: HSRC bursary for doctoral studies overseas
1988: Scholarship by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for
study in Germany
1994: Harry Crossley bursary for overeseas' study (in 1995/96)
1994: Senior research grant by the HSRC for overseas study (in 1995/96)
1997: Research fellowship by the Dutch Research Foundation for research at the
Amsterdam Vrije Universiteit
2013 University of Stellenbosch Rector's Award for General Performance
2014 University of Stellenbosch Rector's Award for General Performance
Professional career:
In 1978, Christo van der Merwe was student assistant in the Department of
Semitic Languages, University of Stellenbosch, acting lecturer in 1980 and
technical assistant in 1982. He joined the University of the Western Cape as
acting lecturer in the Department of Semitics in 1982.
1983: Acting lecturer in the Department of Semitic Languages at the
University of the North, 1985 Lecturer and Senior lecturer, 1986 - 1988
He joined Stellenbosch University in 1989 as a senior researcher in the SU/CSD
(HSRC) - Research Unit for
Computer Applications th the Language and the Text of the Old Testament, became
acting lecturer in the Department of Semitic Languages and Cultures in 1991, a
year later senior lecturer in the Eric Samson chair for Biblical Hebrew
grammar in the Department of Ancient Studies (formerly the Department of
Semitic Languages and Department of Ancient Near Eastern Studies)
part-time lecturer in 1996 and Associate professor in the Department of Ancient
Studies since 2001.
Presently he acts as Director of the Center for Bible Translation in Africa,
since 1997 and co-editor of the Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages, since
2001. His research includes current models for Bible translation, the Bible as
hypertext and deixis in Biblical Hebrew.
Membership of Academic Societies:
1983 - Member of the Old Testament Society of South Africa
1988 - Member of the Southern African Society of Semitics
Aug 1994 - Member of the Association Internationale Bible et Informatique
1996-1998 Member of the African Association for Lexicography
1997- Member of the Society for Biblical Literature
1998- Member of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew
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