Thomas Newberry
Encyclopedia
Thomas Newberry was an English
Bible
scholar and writer, most well-known for his interlinear
Englishman's Bible, which compared the Authorised Version of the Bible with the Hebrew and Koine Greek
of the original texts, first published in 1883 by Hodder and Stoughton, 27 Paternoster Row, London.
household in 1811. Although little is known about his upbring, it is reported that through the witness of his older sister and mother, both believers
, he was born again at a young age. He eventually came into fellowship
with other Christians at the Plymouth Brethren
assembly on Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare
, Somerset
, UK. He based his decision to join with the Brethren based on his studies of Scripture, and from 1840 had devoted himself to studying the Bible not just in English but in its original languages of Hebrew and Greek. He found himself unable to agree with many of the practices and ordinances of the established churches of the day.
After a number of years of serious study, Newberry published The Englishman's Bible in 1886, and it's this amongst his many other works that became his most famous legacy. He also taught alongside Robert Chapman
, Henry Dyer
and George Muller
, and contributed Bible teaching articles to The Witness and other Christian magazines, as well as conducting an extensive correspondence with Bible students across the world. Frederick Tatford tells us that Newberry was 'used by God in establishing an assembly in Nice
, France
, among many Italian-speaking residents in 1895'.
according to the Codex Sinaiticus
, in which he made copious handwritten notes, and two years later commenced work on The Englishman's Study Bible, later more commonly known as the Newberry Study Bible. The finished work, with its unique use of signs and symbols to aid understanding of the tenses, and alternative translations, was much admired by the likes of William Kelly, FF Bruce and CH Raven.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
scholar and writer, most well-known for his interlinear
Interlinear
In linguistics and pedagogy, an interlinear gloss is a series of brief descriptions or definitions placed between a line of original text and its translation in another language, so that each line of the original text acquires multiple lines of transcription known as an interlinear text or...
Englishman's Bible, which compared the Authorised Version of the Bible with the Hebrew and Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
of the original texts, first published in 1883 by Hodder and Stoughton, 27 Paternoster Row, London.
Life
Newberry was born into a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
household in 1811. Although little is known about his upbring, it is reported that through the witness of his older sister and mother, both believers
Religious belief
Religious belief is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. Such a state may relate to the existence, characteristics and worship of a deity or deities, divine intervention in the universe and human life, or values and practices centered on the teachings of a...
, he was born again at a young age. He eventually came into fellowship
Communion (Christian)
The term communion is derived from Latin communio . The corresponding term in Greek is κοινωνία, which is often translated as "fellowship". In Christianity, the basic meaning of the term communion is an especially close relationship of Christians, as individuals or as a Church, with God and with...
with other Christians at the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
assembly on Meadow Street, Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, UK. He based his decision to join with the Brethren based on his studies of Scripture, and from 1840 had devoted himself to studying the Bible not just in English but in its original languages of Hebrew and Greek. He found himself unable to agree with many of the practices and ordinances of the established churches of the day.
After a number of years of serious study, Newberry published The Englishman's Bible in 1886, and it's this amongst his many other works that became his most famous legacy. He also taught alongside Robert Chapman
Robert Chapman (Plymouth Brethren)
Robert Cleaver Chapman , known as the "apostle of Love", was a pastor, teacher and evangelist.-Early days:Chapman was born in Helsingor, Denmark, in a wealthy Anglican merchant family from Whitby, Yorkshire....
, Henry Dyer
Henry Dyer
Henry Dyer was a Scottish engineer who contributed much to founding Western-style technical education in Japan and Anglo-Japanese relations.- Early life :...
and George Muller
George Müller
George Müller , a Christian evangelist and Director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England, cared for 10,024 orphans in his life...
, and contributed Bible teaching articles to The Witness and other Christian magazines, as well as conducting an extensive correspondence with Bible students across the world. Frederick Tatford tells us that Newberry was 'used by God in establishing an assembly in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, among many Italian-speaking residents in 1895'.
The Englishman's Bible
Newberry is most famous for his study Bible. In 1863, he was given a copy of Tischendorf's transcription of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
according to the Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
, in which he made copious handwritten notes, and two years later commenced work on The Englishman's Study Bible, later more commonly known as the Newberry Study Bible. The finished work, with its unique use of signs and symbols to aid understanding of the tenses, and alternative translations, was much admired by the likes of William Kelly, FF Bruce and CH Raven.
Selected other works
- Notes on the TempleTempleA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
- Notes on the TabernacleTabernacleThe Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
- Outlines of the RevelationRevelationIn religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
- Solar Light as Illustrating TrinityTrinityThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
in Unity - The Expected One
- The ParableParableA parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
s of Our Lord - The Perfections and Excellencies of Scripture
- The Song of SolomonSong of SolomonThe Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
- The Temples of SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
and EzekielEzekielEzekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet... - Types of the LeviticalLeviticusThe Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
Offerings
Quotations
"Thomas Newberry, the editor of The Newberry Study Bible, was born in 1811 and died in 1901. For most of his life he belonged to the OpenOpen BrethrenThe Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren or "Plymouth Brethren", are a group of Protestant Evangelical Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement...
wing of the Brethren movement. He resided for many years at Weston-super-Mare, England, and from there he exercised a long and fruitful expository ministry, both oral and written. He was a careful student of the Bible in Hebrew and Greek. Evidence of his minute attention to the sacred text lies before me as I write, in a beautiful copy of Tischendorf's transcription of the New Testament according to the Codex Sinaiticus, presented to him by friends in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1863, which is annotated throughout in his neat handwriting. It was after twenty-five years devoted to such study that he conceived the plan of putting its fruits at the disposal of his fellow-Christians in The Newberry Study Bible." - F.F. Bruce
"As the result of a careful examination of the entire Scriptures in the originals, noticing and marking where necessary every variation of tense, preposition, and the signification of words, the impression left upon my mind is this: not the difficulty of believing the entire inspiration of the Bible, but the impossibility of doubting it....The godliness of the translators, their reverence, the superiority of their scholarship, and the manifest assistance and control afforded to them by the Holy Spirit in their work, is such that the ordinary reader can rely upon the whole as the Word of God." - Thomas Newberry
"Newberry had no axe to grind. He was a careful and completely unpretentious student of Hebrew and Greek texts, whose one aim was to make the fruit of his study available as far as possible to Bible students whose only language was English. His procedure tended to make the Biblical text self-explanatory as far as possible; he had no thought of imposing on it an interpretive scheme of his own."- F.F. Bruce
"This slender quarto consists of eleven chapters, meant to illustrate and explain the value of his Englishman's Hebrew O.T.Old TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, and Greek N.T.New TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, as far as can be for those who do not know the original tongues. The reader will find in the work not a few profitable hints conveyed in a clear and compact manner. Mr. N. is not a little attached to the Text. Rec.Textus ReceptusTextus Receptus is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and for most other...
and the A.V., and indisposed to go with the Revisers in their admiration of their own work." - William Kelly on The Englishman's Bible