John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar and Professor Emeritus at Wheaton College. He was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for 20 years.^[1] He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Genesis and its creation account, as well as interpretation of Job.

Walton espouses a view of Genesis creation narrative that resonates with ancient Near Eastern mindsets, much like a temple dedication ceremony, and not a strictly material account of cosmological origins. He uses a restaurant as an analogy, arguing that a restaurant does not begin to exist when the material building is completed, but when the owner declares the restaurant open for business.^[2] Through his book The Lost World of Genesis One he presents the Genesis creation as being functional rather than material.^[3] This view is opposed by some theologians such as Vern Poythress^[4][5] and young earth creationist Ken Ham.^[6][7]