Mary Jean Gardner, 59, of Orkney, was a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators and was in Jerusalem studying Hebrew at The Home for Bible Translators.

She had previously served as part of a Wycliffe team in Togo that translated the New Testament into the Ife language.

Miss Gardner had been studying Hebrew in Jerusalem with a view to returning to Togo to translate the Old Testament.

Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, Eddie Arthur, described Miss Gardner as an “extremely popular and competent colleague”.

“She was a lovely lady who was very popular,” he said.

Miss Gardner died when a device went off at a bus stop near the central bus station in Jerusalem on Wednesday. The attack, which injured around 30 people, is believed to have been carried out by Palestinian militants.

In a statement last night, Miss Gardner's parents, Jean, 81, and Tony, 82, of Aberdeenshire, said they were “devastated by the sudden loss of their daughter in this tragic and unexpected way”.

Mr Gardner said: “Mary was a very special person and we thought the world of her. She was devoted to her work and was well liked wherever she went. Her loss in this way has been deeply upsetting for us all.

“We are proud of her and all that she has achieved in her life and feel truly blessed to have had her in our lives.”

The attack has been condemned “in the strongest terms” by Foreign Secretary William Hague, who called it a “shocking and despicable act of terrorism”.