William Frederick Beck (August 28, 1904 – October 24, 1966) was an American

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

minister best known for his

biblical translation The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, and ...

, ''The Holy Bible, An American Translation''.

Biography

William Frederick Henry Beck was born in Little Falls, Minnesota. He was the son of Paul Friedrich Gustav Beck (1869-1950) and Mary Marie Josephine (Butschke) Beck (1873-1964). His father was a Lutheran minister. He graduated from Concordia College in

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...

, in 1924,

Concordia Seminary Concordia Seminary is a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Lutheran seminary in Clayton, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, Missionary, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Chur ...

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...

in 1927. He returned to the seminary to earn a

Th.D. Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

in 1956. He subsequently taught courses at the seminary. In 1959 he published an English translation of Gospel texts, entitled ''The Christ of the Gospels''. His

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 ...

translation was first published during 1963. At the time of his death in 1966, he had finished the first draft of the

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 ...

. Elmer Smick of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and Erich Kiehl of Concordia Seminary recommended certain revisions. The text with these revisions was published together with the New Testament as ''The Holy Bible in the Language of Today, An American Translation'' in 1976. His work was the first translation of the Bible into English completed by a Lutheran minister. To commemorate that achievement, a copy was placed in the

Lutherhaus The Lutherhaus is a writer's house museum in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Originally built in 1504 as part of the University of Wittenberg, the building was the home of Martin Luther for most of his adult life and a significant location in t ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

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 ...

, on January 1, 1976. He had hoped that the

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 ...

would adopt it as their official translation, but this did not happen. Beck also worked as a technical advisor for several Hollywood films that had Biblical themes. He died in St. Louis, Missouri, and was buried at the

Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel which is on the National R ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Works

*William F. Beck, ''The New Testament in the Language of Today'' (St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1963) *William F. Beck et al., ''The Holy Bible in the Language of Today, An American Translation'' (New Haven, Missouri: Leader Publishing Co., 1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, William 1904 births 1966 deaths People from Little Falls, Minnesota 20th-century American Lutheran clergy Translators of the Bible into English 20th-century American translators Lutheran biblical scholars Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod people Concordia Seminary alumni

Biography

Works

See also

References