Robert Dick Wilson, PhD, DD (February 4, 1856 – October 11, 1930) was an American

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

who devoted his life to prove the reliability of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

. In his quest to determine the accuracy of the original manuscripts, Wilson learned 45

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

s, including

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, as well as all the languages into which the Scriptures had been translated up to 600 AD.

Biography

Wilson was born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He proved himself an outstanding language student even as an undergraduate. While at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, he was able to read 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 Christ ...

in nine languages. He graduated from Princeton at the age of 20, later receiving a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

and

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

before doing post-graduate work in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. In 1883, Wilson became Professor of the Old Testament at Western Theological Seminary (later known as

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area. History Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was formed ...

), where he had done some of his graduate studies. In 1900, he returned to Princeton as the William Henry Green Professor of Semitic Languages and Old Testament Criticism at

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...

. Throughout his career, he opposed the

higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

, which held that the Bible was inaccurate on many points and not historically reliable. Professor Wilson wrote, "I have come to the conviction that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament. Every time when anyone has been able to get together enough documentary 'proofs' to undertake an investigation, the biblical facts in the original text have victoriously met the test" (quoted in R. Pache, ''The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture''). In the late 1920s, he left Princeton to teach at the new, conservative

Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary is a Protestant theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition in Glenside, Pennsylvania. It was founded by members of the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary in 1929 after Princeton chose to t ...

. Among his other works, Wilson contributed articles to the

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia The ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'' refers to two different versions of a Bible encyclopedia: a 1915 fundamentalist edition, and a 1979–1995 revised evangelical edition. The first version was published under the general editorship ...

, a noted Bible reference of the early 20th century.

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * - in one volume

Articles

* * * *

Manuscripts

References

Bibliography

*
Jackson, Wayne. "The Remarkable Robert Dick Wilson." ''Christian Courier'' (24 April 2000)
Online. Last updated 28 January 2005. Viewed 3 April 2005. * David B. Calhoun, ''Princeton Seminary, Vol. 2: The Majestic Testimony 1869-1929'' (Edinburgh:

Banner of Truth Trust The Banner of Truth Trust is an Evangelical and Calvinist, Reformed non-profit" ...

, 1996), pp. 211–212. * Walter C. Kaiser, "Robert Dick Wilson," in ''Bible Interpreters of the Twentieth Century: A Selection of Evangelical Voices'', Walter A. Elwell and J. D. Weaver, eds., (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), pp. 73–81.

External links

Is the higher criticism Scholarly? By Robert Dick Wilson, Ph.D., D.D.
* ttp://www.ptsem.edu/Publications/inspire2/5.1/funny.htm Humorous anecdote about Dr. Robert Dick Wilson from ''inSpire'' (Summer/Fall 2000 issue; Vol. 5 No. 1), the magazine of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Today in History (February 4)
from

Concordia Historical Institute Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Founded in 1839, t ...

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...

Brief biography of Robert Dick Wilson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Robert Dick 1856 births 1930 deaths Linguists from the United States American Presbyterians American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American people of Scotch-Irish descent People from Indiana, Pennsylvania Westminster Theological Seminary faculty Princeton University alumni Princeton Theological Seminary faculty Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Pittsburgh Theological Seminary faculty Old Testament scholars