Archibald Thomas Robertson (November 6, 1863 – September 24, 1934) was a
Southern Baptist preacher and biblical scholar whose work focused on the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
and
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
.
Biography
Robertson was born at Cherbury near
Chatham, Virginia. He was educated at
Wake Forest (N. C.) College (
M. A., 1885) and at the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS),
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
(
Th. M., 1888), where he was thereafter instructor and
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
interpretation, and remained in that post until one day in 1934, when he dismissed his class early and went home and died of a stroke.
Robertson's books are still consulted today, particularly his ''Word Pictures in the New Testament'' and his landmark volume ''A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research''. In all, he published 45 books, several of which are still in print today. Robertson helped found the
Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...
in 1900. He was an important Southern Baptist and a well-respected scholar in his day. Robertson sought to equip his students with the proper tools for good preaching.
He was the son-in-law of the famous preacher,
John Albert Broadus
John Albert Broadus (January 24, 1827 – March 16, 1895) was an American Baptist pastor and President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Early life
Born in 1827 in Culpeper County, Virginia, Broadus was educated at home and at a priv ...
— Robertson's grave lies in the shadow of Broadus' — one of the SBTS co-founders. His wife was Ella Broadus Robertson (19 April 1872 — 5 December 1945) and she wrote such books as ''The Ministry of Women'', ''Worship in the Home'', ''The Art of Motherhood'', and ''These Things Remain''. She was also the editor of ''The Child's Bible''. They are buried next to one another in
Cave Hill Cemetery
Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...
in Louisville. The epitaph on his tombstone "To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
[p. 73. ''Christianity Today'' 59.6, July/August 2015.]
Works
* ''Syllabus for New Testament Greek Syntax'' (1900)
*
* ''Bibliography of New Testament Greek'' (1903)
* ''Teaching of Jesus Concerning God the Father'' (1904)
*
* ''Short Grammar of the Greek New Testament'' (1908; Italian translation, 1910; German translation, 1911; French translation, 1911; Dutch translation, 1912)
*
* ''John the Loyal, or Studies in the Ministry of the Baptist'' (1911; new edition, 1915)
* ''The Glory of the Ministry'' (1911)
* ''A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research'' (1914)
* ''Practical and Social Aspects of Christianity'' (1915)
*
* ''Studies in the New Testament'' (1915)
* ''The New Citizenship'' (1919)
* ''Luke the Historian in the Light of Historical Research'' (1920)
*
* ''Types of Preachers in the New Testament'' (1922)
* ''The Minister and His Greek New Testament'' (1923)
* ''An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament'' (1925)
* ''Word Pictures of the New Testament'' (1927)
* ''Some Minor Characters in the New Testament'' (1928)
* ''Paul and the Intellectuals: The Epistle to the Colossians'' (1928)
* ''A Harmony of the Gospels For Students of the Life of Christ'' (1922) (
Revised Version, 1885, significant reference to traditional readings)
* ''Passing on the Torch and Other Sermons'' (1934)
References
*
External links
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*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Archibald Thomas
1863 births
1934 deaths
People from Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Baptists from Virginia
American Baptist theologians
Wake Forest University alumni
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni
Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
Grammarians of Ancient Greek
Scholars of Koine Greek
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty
Southern Baptists
Baptist biblical scholars