Harry Meyer Orlinsky was born in 1908 in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada to Isaac Moses Orlinsky and Libby Elizabeth Ardy. After attending the University of Toronto he moved to the United States in 1931 and obtained a graduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. at Dropsie College in 1935 and did post-doctoral study at Hebrew University in Jerusalem until 1936. Orlinsky then obtained a fellowship at John Hopkins University. After his work at John Hopkins, Orlinsky taught Bible and history at Baltimore Hebrew College until 1944 when he was hired at the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Orlinsky stayed with the Jewish Institute of Religion through its merger with Hebrew Union College and remained at the New York campus until his retirement, though he was also a visiting professor at many schools such as Brandeis University, Hebrew University, John Hopkins University, and Dropsie College.
Throughout his career Orlinsky was a prominent member of several academic organizations, often taking a leadership role. He was the co-founder of the International Organization of Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) and its president from 1968-1973. He was also the founder of the International Organization for Masoretic Studies and the chairman of the Society of Biblical Literature in 1969-1970. Orlinsky co-founded the American Friends of Israel Exploration Society and was its president.
Orlinsky is best known for his work on the American Standard Bible Committee's Revised Standard Version's new translation of the Old Testament in 1952. He was the only Jewish scholar to be consulted on this translation. He participated in the Jewish Publication Society's New Jewish Version of the Pentateuch in 1962. Orlinsky was co-translator of a five volume translation of Rashi's commentary on the Pentateuch. Orlinsky also wrote many articles and books regarding philology and biblical and archaeological history. His most famous book, Ancient Israel, written in 1954, is still in print today.
Orlinsky married Donya Fein in 1934 and they had two sons, Walter (Velvel) and Seymour (Zeke). Harry Meyer Orlinsky died in 1992.
From the guide to the Harry Meyer Orlinsky Papers, 1928-1991, (The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives)
