Joseph Bryant Rotherham (1828–1910) was a British biblical scholar and minister of the

Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...

. He was a prolific writer whose best-known work was the

Emphasized Bible Joseph Bryant Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (abbreviated EBR to avoid confusion with the Revised English Bible, REB) is a translation of the Bible which uses various methods, such as "emphatic idiom" and special diacritical marks, to bring out n ...

, a new translation that used "emphatic inversion" and a set of

diacritical marks A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacritic ...

to bring out shades of meaning in the original text.

Life

Rotherham was born at

New Buckenham New Buckenham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The parish covers an area of and had a population of 468 in 197 households at the 2001 census, falling marginally to a population of 460 in 209 households at the 201 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. His father was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

preacher, and Rotherham followed in his footsteps, pastoring churches in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

, Charlton and

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

. However he soon developed differences with Methodism regarding

infant baptism Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions. Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...

and, at the same time, became interested in the writings of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

preacher Alexander Campbell, one of the early leaders of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (179 ...

. Rotherham eventually joined the movement in 1854 and became a well-known

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

and

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 Fo ...

with the

. During the 1860s Rotherham began work on a translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

in which he tried: This he proposed to do by giving "special heed to the Greek Article, to the Tenses, and to the Logical Idiom of the Original." In 1872 his ''New Testament Critically Emphasised'' was published, with the Old Testament appearing in 1902. During this interval great advances occurred in textual criticism culminating at the end of the 19th century with Brooke Foss Westcott's and Fenton John Anthony Hort's Greek text of the New Testament. This led Rotherham to revise his New Testament twice to stay abreast of scholarly developments. He based his Old Testament translation on the comprehensive Hebrew text of Dr. C. D Ginsburg, which anticipated readings now widely accepted. Rotherham became an editor with James Sangster and Co., London in 1868, and then a Press Corrector for 31 years beginning in 1874, principally working with religious books. Although this effectively ended his Evangelistic work, he continued preaching and publishing articles in such magazines as ''Christian Commonwealth'' and ''Public Opinion'', focusing particularly on scholarly issues such as the translation of the

Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first and remains the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Versio ...

. From 1885 to 1887 he was also editor of ''The Rainbow'', a monthly magazine of Christian literature. Rotherham was a friend of several prominent Christian leaders of his day, including G. Campbell Morgan and

C.H. Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

Death

Rotherham enjoyed good health virtually to the end of his life, giving his last sermon on December 19, 1909. However, on New Year's Day 1910 he caught a severe cold and experienced a rapid decline, dying only a few days later at the age of 81. His body was laid to rest in

Hither Green Cemetery Hither Green Cemetery, opened as Lee Cemetery in 1873,''The Times, History of London, New Edition'', edited by Hugh Clout p. Chapter 11 Monuments and cemeteries, map of London cemeteries locations with opening dates: Lee Cemetery opened 1873 is a ...

on January 10, with an evening service, including an address given by the Old Testament scholar J. W. Thirtle.Hagger, Thomas.''HERALDS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY Being Brief Biographical Sketches of Some Pioneers of the Restoration Movement''. Melbourne 1938 p63

Works

* (1902) ''The

'' * (1906, revised 1922) ''Reminiscences Extending Over a Period of More Than Seventy Years, 1828-1906'' * (1906) ''Studies in the

Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament. The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Mos ...

'' * ''

Christian Ministry In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission. The '' Encyclopedia of Christianity'' defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", in ...

After the Primitive Ideal'' * ''Our Sacred Books: Short Chapters on Inspiration, Transmission, and Translation'' * ''The Authority of the

: Shown by the Conclusive Argument Derived From Unity in Diversity'' * (1911) ''Studies in the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

'' * (1911) ''Let Us Keep the Feast: Being Plain Chapters on

the Lord's Supper The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

'' (Mr. Rotherham's last book)

References

External links

*Hagger, Thomas
Heralds of Christian Unity: Being Brief Biographical Sketches of Some Pioneers of the Restoration Movement
(Melbourne: Austral Printing and Publishing Company, 1938), 58–62. *Rotherham, Joseph George. Reminiscences extending over a period of more than seventy years (London: H. R. Allenson, ltd., 1922). *Rotherham, Joseph Bryant
Rotherham's Emphasized Bible
(Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1994). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotherham, Joseph Bryant 1828 births 1910 deaths Christian writers Translators of the Bible into English English members of the Churches of Christ Ministers of the Churches of Christ People from Breckland District 19th-century translators