William Kay (1820–1886) was an English cleric and academic, known as a college head and biblical scholar.

Life

The youngest of nine children of Thomas and Ann Kay of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

, he was born 8 April 1820, at Pickering, North Yorkshire. He passed two years at

Giggleswick school Giggleswick School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior an ...

, and, together with James Fraser, gained an open scholarship at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, 15 March 1836. He graduated in 1839 with a first class in classics and a second in mathematics. He was elected a fellow of his college 22 October 1840, and in 1842 was appointed one of the tutors, proceeded M.A., and was elected Pusey and Ellerton Hebrew scholar. Kay took holy orders in 1843, and in 1849, after proceeding B.D., he went out to India as principal of Bishop’s College, Calcutta. In 1855 he paid his only visit to England while principal of Bishop's College, and proceeded D.D. at Oxford. In 1864 he resigned his post at Calcutta and returned to Oxford. In 1865 Kay was made select preacher before the university, and in 1866 was presented by his college to the rectory of

Great Leighs Great Leighs is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great and Little Leighs, in the Chelmsford district of Essex, England, halfway between Chelmsford itself and Braintree. In 1931 the parish had a population of 728. History ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was appointed

Grinfield lecturer Edward William Grinfield (1785–1864) was an English biblical scholar. Life He was the son of Thomas Grinfield and Anna Joanna, daughter of Joseph Foster Barham of Bedford, and brother of Thomas Grinfield. He was a schoolfellow of Thomas de ...

in 1869, was an honorary canon of St Albans Cathedral, and one of the bishop's chaplains. Kay died, after much suffering, 16 January 1886. He was unmarried, and had for many years lived the life of a recluse, dividing his time between his biblical studies and the care of his parish.

Works

In Calcutta Kay published several pieces at the college press, including his translation of 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 ...

with notes, 1864 (3rd edit., enlarged and improved, London, 1877). One of the Old Testament revisers in 1870, he was notably conservative in his criticism, and contributed to the ''Speaker's Bible'' commentaries on the ''

Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...

'' (1875) and the '' Epistle to the Hebrews'' (1881). He also furnished the notes on Ezekiel in the commentary published by the Christian Knowledge Society. Kay wrote also: *''Crisis Hupfeldiana; being an examination of Hupfeld's criticism on Genesis, as recently set forth in Bishop Colenso's fifth part'' f ''The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua critically examined'' Oxford and London, 1865. *''A Sermon on the Unity of the Church'', London, 1866; translated into Italian, London, 1868. *''The Greek text of St. Paul's two Epistles to the Corinthians, with an English Commentary'', published after his death, London, 1887, edited by the Rev. John Slatter. Kay also translated and edited one of the volumes of

Claude Fleury Claude Fleury (6 December 1640, Paris – 14 July 1723, Paris), was a French priest, jurist, and ecclesiastical historian. Destined for the bar, he was educated at the elite, Jesuit College de Clermont (now that of Louis-le-Grand) in Paris. In 16 ...

's ''Ecclesiastical History'', under the superintendence of

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

, Oxford, 1844.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Kay, William 1820 births 1886 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford British biblical scholars Anglican biblical scholars People from Pickering, North Yorkshire People from Great Leighs