Thomas Harmer (1715 – 27 November 1788) was an English Dissenting minister and the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of ''Observations on various Passages of Scripture''.

Life

Thomas Harmer was educated for the ministry at the Fund Academy in Tenter Alley,

Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, i ...

, under Thomas Ridgley and

John Eames John Eames (2 February 1686 – 29 June 1744) was an English Dissenting tutor. Life Eames was born in London on 2 February 1686. He was admitted to Merchant Taylors' School on 10 March 1696–7, and was subsequently trained for the dissenting m ...

. Thomas Harmer was the pastor of an independent church in Wattisfield, near

Bury St. Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A ...

, in the county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England. He was eminent in the study of

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and Oriental literature. Availing himself of the manuscripts of Sir John Chardin, renowned for the accounts of his travels into

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and other Eastern countries and describing the customs and manners of the inhabitants of those nations, Rev. Harmer applied the information to illustrate

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

ical and

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 ...

writings. The results of his study appeared in
Observations on various Passages of Scripture
(1774), which saw four editions during his life. He died on Thursday 27 November 1788. His funeral sermon was preached by John Mead Ray of Sudbury. His successor was Habakkuk Crabb.

Publications

* ''Observations on Divers Passages of Scripture from Books of Voyages and Travels,'' (1764), * ''Outlines of a new Commentary on Solomon's Song by help of Instructions from the East,'' (1768) * ''Some Account of the Jewish Doctrine of the Resurrection,'' (1771) This last publication, with others, including ''Remarks on the Ancient and Present State of the Congregational Churches of Norfolk and Suffolk,'' is reprinted in ''Miscellaneous Works,'' (1823), edited, with memoir, by William Youngman. His manuscript accounts of almost all the dissenting churches of Norfolk and Suffolk to 1774 have been used by John Browne (1823-1886), the non-conformist historian of those counties.

References

Attribution *

External links

The Comprehensive commentary on the Holy Bible
* 1715 births 1788 deaths 18th-century English clergy 18th-century English historians People from the Borough of St Edmundsbury {{England-reli-bio-stub