The Journal of Semitic Studies was set up in 1954 to publish scholarly articles in the field of Semitic studies. The Journal was originally funded by an endowment from the Isaac Wolfson Foundation. An Advisory Committee, appointed by Council, advised on all matters relating to the Journal. The Committee's members included over the years, the vice-chancellor (or representative) as chair, University professors working in germane fields, the editor of the Journal, the Librarian of the University Library (John Rylands University Library of Manchester), the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, the chairman of the University Press Committee, and a representative of Manchester University Press. In 1985, responsibility for publishing the Journal was transferred to Oxford University Press. It is now edited by members of Middle Eastern Studies and Religions and Theology subject areas of the University. The Committee appears to have been discharged as a sessional committee in 1995.
Minutes are not signed. They include some minutes of the editorial committee of the Journal, 1991-1993.