William Hendriksen (18 November 1900 – 12 January 1982) was a
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 Chri ...
scholar and writer of
Bible commentaries. He was born in
Tiel
Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...
,
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
, but his family moved to
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
in 1911. Hendriksen studied at
Calvin College and
Calvin Theological Seminary
Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board.
History
The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purp ...
before obtaining an
S.T.D. degree from
Pikes Peak Bible Seminary, as was common for on-the-job pastors seeking doctorates in the 1930s and 1940s. It is there that he wrote the thesis ''More than Conquerors''. This book has never gone off the market since it was then privately printed and Herman Baker issued it as the first publication of the new
Baker Book House
Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...
in 1940. He received a
Th.D. from
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 t ...
.
Hendriksen was an ordained minister in the
Christian Reformed Church and served as Professor of New Testament at
Calvin Theological Seminary
Calvin Theological Seminary is a private Christian Reformed Church seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is closely tied to Calvin University, though each institution has its own board.
History
The seminary was founded in 1876 with the purp ...
from 1942 to 1952. He started the ''New Testament Commentary'', completing commentaries on more than half of the New Testament books. This series was published by
Baker and completed by
Simon Kistemaker after Hendriksen's death. Hendriksen was awarded a posthumous
Gold Medallion Book Award
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...
for his commentary on
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. He also translated the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
for the
New International Version. His granddaughter Dawn Wolthuis now serves as President of the
Institute for Christian Studies
The Institute for Christian Studies (ICS or ICS Toronto) is a private, graduate-level Reformed philosophical and theological school in Toronto, Ontario. At ICS, students and faculty take part in shared learning through participatory seminars, m ...
.
In his influential work ''Israel and Prophecy'', written a year after the
1967 war, and still in print, Hendriksen criticized the view, held by
dispensationalists and
Christian Zionists, that the Bible prophesies the return and restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel.
Dispensationalist pastor Barry Horner describes Hendriksen's work as "a classic representation of
replacement theology".
Hendriksen has been described as "one of the leading and most respected of New Testament commentators."
New Testament Commentaries
* ''New Testament Commentary: Matthew''
* ''New Testament Commentary: Mark''
* ''New Testament Commentary: Luke''
* ''New Testament Commentary: John''
* ''New Testament Commentary: Romans''
* ''New Testament Commentary: Galatians and Ephesians''
* ''New Testament Commentary: Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon''
* ''New Testament Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendriksen, William
1900 births
1982 deaths
American Calvinist and Reformed theologians
Christian Reformed Church ministers
Bible commentators
Calvin University alumni
Dutch emigrants to the United States
New Testament scholars
People from Kalamazoo, Michigan
People from Tiel
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American clergy