Featured Biographical Dictionary of Bibliology

Well, now, wasn't it fun looking up stuff about Ruckman on the other thread? This will be a biographical dictionary of Bibliology: writers or prominent people of the past and present in inspiration, translation, textual criticism, and the like.

Suggestion on format:
Last name, first name. Dates born and/or deceased. Contribution to bibliology. Important works (books, especially).

Try to do your research before posting, rather than having a dozen entries on the same person. However, corrections or additions are welcome.

 

Warfield, Benjamin Breckenridge. 1851-1921. Presbyterian scholar who helped lay the foundation for 20th century fundamentalist views on the Bible: verbal plenary inspiration in the original languages. Taught at Princeton. Wrote Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the NT, The Divine Origin of the Bible, and Inspiration.

 

Here's one I've mentioned before here as the first in modern times to teach verbal inspiration. Some KJV defenders believe that no one taught this doctrine until the Princeton Presbyterian conservatives, Machen and Warfield. However, Louis Gaussen taught in before them, and Turretin before him.

1688—Francis Turretin (1623-1687), was a reformed theologian living in Geneva where he pastored and was a theology professor. He wrote a systematic theology with the title Instsitutio. The second volume is The Doctrine of Scripture to teach the verbal inspiration of the Bible in the original languages, written in 1688. In it he opposed those who believed the Latin Vulgate to be the only inspired, inerrant Bible. He had a large influence on the Princeton Presbyterian fundamentalists, culminating in A. A. Hodge's Systematic Theology.

 

Gaussen, Francois Samuel Robert Louis (1790-1863), usually referred to as Louis Gaussen. This is another theologian, a Swiss pastor who taught verbal-plenary inspiration of the original documents of Scripture long before the Princeton Presbyterian theologians. His magnum opus was Theopneustia, the Plenary Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. In it he presented a dictation view of inspiration that did not rule out human action. The Bible is 100% the Word of God and 100% the word of humans, but is the God-breathed, inerrant Scriptures. He influenced the Princeton theologians and John R. Rice in his view of inspiration.

 

I'm going to throw in an early church scholar here because of his significance in textual criticism.

Lucian of Antioch (died 312). He was born in Samasota in Syria, and a friend of Paul of Samasota, but educated in Edessa and possibly Caesarea. Well known as a Bible scholar, he founded a school of exegesis based on literal interpretation. (All exegetes in the early church until Origen believed in literal interpretation.) It was claimed by Brooke Foss Westcott (and most critical text scholars since) that Lucian did a recension of the Greek NT of his day to bring it closer to the Byzantine text type: "Lucian another presbyter of Antioch 'well trained in sacred studies' devoted himself to a critical revision of the Greek text of the Bible. In carrying out this work it is said that he introduced useless corrections into the Gospels; and the copies which he had 'falsified' were pronounced Apocryphal in later times" (Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament, 6th ed., p. 392). However, Westcott went on to say, "In the absence of all evidence on the question it is impossible to determine in what respect his view differed from that commonly received; but it may be noticed that there is nothing to shew that he held any peculiar views on the Canon itself" (Ibid, 392-393).

So, there is no evidence for a recension of the early mss toward the Byzantine text type, but critical scholars continue to tout it. However, note that even if the theory were true, it takes the Byzantine back to the late 2nd century!

 

And now, the famous/infamous Westcott and Hort.

Westcott, Brooke Foss (1825-1901). An English scholar and a high church preacher in the Church of England, he is especially noted for the two volume Greek New Testament he edited with Anthony Hort, published in 1882, The New Testament in the Original Greek. This was revised and published in the US in 1886. Vol. 1 was their critical Greek text, and Vol. 2 was a textual commentary. However, this was not all he wrote in the area of bibliology. His large book (almost 600 pages), A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament, is a classic in its field. Contrary to some careless defenders of the KJV, he was not involved in witchcraft (but was a researcher in the field), and was pretty orthodox in his theology, though as already mentioned he was high church. So, he likely would not have preached in any Baptist church. His Greek NT was ground-breaking because it made textual criticism more accessible to the average student and preacher. (Please folks, if you are going to oppose their theories, as I do, at least be honest and careful in your research.)

 

Hort, Fenton John Anthony (1828-1892). Most known for collaborating with Brooke Foss Westcott on the 1882 work, The New Testament in the Original Greek, he well known as a Bible scholar in the Church of England. He and Westcott were both on the translation committee for the English Revised Version, which in the US was published as the American Standard Version, as I recall. (Some of this is being done from memory, so please feel free to correct me. ) Note that this is not the same as the Revised Standard Version, for which it is mistaken by some. This version was very literal but very accurate, though done from the new Greek text of Westcott and Hort in the NT. However, the RSV was done by liberals.

 

Wilson, Robert Dick (1856-1930). Wilson attended Princeton, Western Theological Seminary, and the U. of Berlin. He was a professor of Semitic linguistics and OT Introduction at Princeton until 1929, but then helped found Westminster Theological Seminary in 1929, just before he died. This was the conservative (some would even say fundamentalist) Presbyterian seminary founded in opposition to Princeton, which had become liberal.

Wilson was a tremendous scholar of the ancient languages, knowing them all. He wrote The Five Books of Moses to answer the higher critics, who insisted that Moses did not write the books which bear his name. His book destroyed the liberal arguments. As a former missionary, though, I do see a sad thing in his life. Early on he considered the call to be a missionary, but decided he could do more for the Lord as a scholar. But what an awesome Bible translator he could have been!

 

I messed this one up. The author of The Five Books of Moses was a different Princeton and Westminster scholar, Oswald T. Allis, also known as O. T. Allis. Allis is also the one who studied at Princeton, Western & Berlin.

 

I'd rather not.

 

Oh, that.

 

I've been incredibly busy, but still plan to keep adding to this thread. Here's an important one:

Burgon, John William (1813-1888). Since this man was “Dean of Chichester,” meaning the head of Chichester Cathedral, he is often called “Dean Burgon.” He was a major figure in late 19th century bibliology, having written books on both inspiration and textual criticism. He is invoked by many in both the King James Only camp and what might be called in general the Textus Receptus camp. His writings also have influence in Majority/Byzantine preferred/priority camps. His main emphasis in textual criticism was his invoking the church fathers for their quotes of scripture, though he had a coherent position on the subject in his writings otherwise. He was known for his strong opposition to the critical Greek text of Westcott and Hort, and the English Revised Version of Scripture.

His books include:

Inspiration and Interpretation (1861)
The Last Twelve Verses of Mark (1871)
The Revision Revised (1883)
The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels (1896