Henry Craik (8 August 1805 – 22 January 1866) was a Scottish

hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

Life

Craik grew up in

Kennoway Kennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil. It had an estimated population of in . It is about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth, north of Leven. This position gave it i ...

, where his father was the schoolmaster of a church-run school. He had two notable older brothers:

George Lillie Craik George Lillie Craik (1798–1866) was a Scottish writer and literary critic. Life Born at Kennoway, Fife, he was the eldest of three illustrious brothers to the local schoolmaster, his younger brothers including Henry Craik and James Craik. ...

and

James Craik James Craik (; 17276 February 1814) was Physician General (precursor of the Surgeon General) of the United States Army, as well as George Washington's personal physician and close friend. Biography Education and emigration to America Born on ...

(who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1863/64). From 1820 he joined his brothers at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

and did well at literature, language, philosophy, and religious studies. By his own admission, he was “a religious man without God” but drifted back to Christianity in 1826 at the age of 21. In July 1826 he was invited to become the family tutor for

Anthony Norris Groves Anthony Norris Groves (1 February 1795 – 20 May 1853) was an English Protestant missionary, who has been called the "father of faith missions". He launched the first Protestant mission to Arabic-speaking Muslims, and settled in Baghdad, and la ...

in Exeter where he spent the next two years. He left their employ to return to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 3 May 1828, but a few weeks later he returned to Exeter, to become the tutor to the two sons of John Synge, formerly of Glanmore Castle in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

but then living at Buckridge House, near

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...

. During his three-year tenure with Synge, Craik made a detailed examination of the original languages of the Bible, publishing a book “Easy introduction to the Hebrew Language” (London: Sealey and Burnside) in 1831, which was funded by Synge. In 1829 he made the acquaintance of

George Müller George Müller (born Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller, 27 September 1805 – 10 March 1898) was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren m ...

, a Prussian who had come to Teignmouth to convalesce from an illness. The two became lifelong friends. Müller moved down from London in January 1830 to become pastor of the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church in Teignmouth, while Craik took a similar post in

Shaldon Shaldon is a village and civil parish in South Devon, England, on the south bank of the estuary of the River Teign, opposite Teignmouth. The village is a popular bathing place and is characterised by Georgian architecture. At the United Kin ...

in April 1831. On 30 March 1832, Craik accepted an invitation from Mr A Chapman to take over the pastorate of Gideon Chapel in Newfoundland Street,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Shortly afterwards he wrote to George Müller asking him to join him in this work, and Müller moved to Bristol in the second half of April 1832. As well as the Gideon Chapel, they also led the Bethesda Chapel (neither building remains, having been destroyed during the Second World War), and led many to faith in

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

Family

In 1831 Craik married Mary Anderson. She died on 1 February 1832 from

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

, and he remarried on 30 October 1832, to Sarah Howland. It is not clear how many children they had. After his first son, Henry William (born on 18 January 1834), an unnamed daughter is recorded in his diary as being born in 1836 and dying on 18 February 1837. Another son, George, was born on 29 August 1840 but he died on 28 June 1841. Mary Eliza was born on 30 April 1842 but died on 11 November 1843.Tayler, p.215 On 2 March 1846, his diary talks of walking with his “wife and ''children''”. Another girl was born on 4 August 1847 but his diary intimates that she died in December 1848. However, no mention of this is made in W Elfe Tayler's book. Tayler also writes that, whilst dying from stomach cancer, Craik was cared for by his wife and daughter. Another son, also named George, was born on 20 December 1849 and another unnamed boy on 17 September 1853. Craik's eldest brother was the writer and literary critic

Writings

* ''Principia Hebraica; or, an Easy Introduction to the Hebrew Language'' (1831, ²1864) *
Improved Renderings of those Passages in the English Version of the New Testament which are capable of being more correctly translated
' (1835, ²1866) *
Pastoral Letters
' (1837, ²1848, ³1863) * ''An Amended Translation of the Epistle to the Hebrews'' (1847) *
The Popery of Protestantism
' (1852) *
The Hebrew Language. Its History and Characteristics, including improved renderings of select passages in our Authorized translation of the Old Testament
' (1860) *
On the Revision of the English Bible
' (1860) * ''The Distinguishing Characteristics and Essential Relationships of the leading Languages of Asia and Europe'' (1860) * ''New Testament Church Order. Five Lectures'' (1863) *
The Authority of Scripture Considered in Relation to Christian Union. A Lecture
' (1863) * ''Brief Reply to certain Misrepresentations contained in “Essays and Reviews”'' (n.d.) * ''Biblical Expositions, Lectures, Sketches of Sermons, &c.'' (ed. by William Elfe Tayler, 1867)

References

* Tayler, W lliamElfe (ed.): ''Passages from the Diary and Letters of Henry Craik, of Bristol.'' London 1866
online
. * Pickering, Henry (ed.): ''Chief Men among the Brethren.'' London ²1931, p. 32–35
online
.
pembrokebiblechapel.com
* The George Müller Charitable Trust

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craik, Henry People from Prestonpans Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish evangelicals British Plymouth Brethren 1805 births 1866 deaths Scottish Christian theologians People from Kennoway Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in England