Marten Hendrik Woudstra (July 23, 1922 – October 3, 1991)"Marten H. Woudstra." ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2001. ''Biography in Context''. Web. 21 May 2014. was a Dutch-born evangelical

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, biblical scholar, seminary professor, and minister of the Christian Reformed Church. He served as president of the

Evangelical Theological Society The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exch ...

and as chairman 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 ...

committee for the translation of the

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest a ...

of the Bible. Woudstra's most notable contribution to evangelical scholarship is the publication of his commentary on the

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua ( he, סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎ ', Tiberian: ''Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ'') is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Isra ...

in the '' New International Commentary on the Old Testament''.

Early life and education

Woudstra was born July 23, 1922, in a Catholic family in

Burgum Burgum is the largest and administrative town of the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel, in the Dutch province of Friesland. It had a population of 10,058 inhabitants in January 2017. On 1 January 1989 the official name of the village was cha ...

, the Netherlands (then officially called Bergum). After graduating from a Reformed Gymnasium, he attended the

Reformed Theological Seminary Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) is a theological seminary in the Reformed theological tradition with campuses in multiple locations in the United States. Founded by conservatives in the Southern Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in ...

in Kampen from 1942 to 1946. He emigrated to the United States, earned his B.D. (1948) and then

Th.M. Master of Theology ( la, Theologiae Magister, abbreviated MTh, ThM, or MTheol) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a PhD program or as a stand ...

(1949) from

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 ...

outside

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Woudstra then studied at the

Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning or Dropsie University, at 2321–2335 N Broad St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was America's first degree-granting institution for post-doctoral Jewish studies. Funded by the will of Moses Aaron D ...

(1951–52), and, after his ordination discussed below, at the

Free University of Amsterdam The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research ...

(1955). While studying at the Westminster Theological Seminary, Woudstra also taught at the

Reformed Episcopal Seminary The Reformed Episcopal Seminary is a private seminary in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1887 as the first seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church. History The Reformed Episcopal Seminary was founded in 1887 in West Philadelphia ...

which at that time was located in

. In 1961, Woudstra became the first person to receive a

Doctor of Theology 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 equiv ...

degree from the Westminster Theological Seminary. He later studied at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

(1969–70).

Career

In 1953, the Christian Reformed Church ordained Woudstra as a minister. He served as pastor of the Third Christian Reformed Church in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

for two years. During this time, Woudstra also edited ''The Presbyterian Guardian'', a journal published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. From 1955 until his retirement in 1985, Woudstra served as professor of Hebrew and Old Testament

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

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 ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

. In 1957, Woudstra, along with

Henry Schultze Henry Schultze (1893 – 1959) was an American academic and former president of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Having been born in Sully, Iowa, Schultze graduated from Calvin College in 1915. He also attended Calvin Theological Seminar ...

Ralph Stob Ralph Stob (1894 – 1965) was an educator, academic, and former president of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Stob was born in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Roseland Christian School. He felt called to Christian ministry. He enrolle ...

, and Martin Wyngaarden, formed a committee to consider producing a "faithful translation of the Scriptures in the common language of the American people." In 1962, this committee joined representatives from

National Association of Evangelicals The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) is an association of evangelical denominations, organizations, schools, churches and individuals, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. The association represents more than 45,000 local churches ...

to constitute the "Joint Committee on Bible Translation", of which Woudstra was named chairperson. As the effort gained momentum, Woudstra and Wyngaarden remained key members of what became the Committee on Bible Translation (Schultze and Stob having died before the official launching of the translation effort in 1965). Wyngaarden was replaced by John Stek in 1962, but Woudstra continued to serve as a permanent member of the committee, eventually being appointed chair of the Old Testament committee, until the publication of the complete

of the Bible in 1978. The following year he was elected to serve a term as president of the

. Woudstra died October 3, 1991, in

Kentwood, Michigan Kentwood is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 54,304 as of the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the northwest by Grand Rapids and is the third most-populated municipality in the Grand Rapids metropolitan ...

Publications

*''Calvin's Dying Bequest to the Church: A Critical Evaluation of the Commentary on Joshua'' (1960) Volume 1 of Calvin Theological Seminary monograph series *''The Continued Recognition of the Old Testament as Part of the Christian Canon'' (1963) Inaugural address to Calvin Seminary Chapel *''The Religious Problem-Complex of Prophet and Priest in Contemporary Thought'' (1965) *''

The Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an el ...

from Conquest to Kingship'' (1965) Doctoral thesis *''The Book of Joshua'' in the '' New International Commentary on the Old Testament'' (1981) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woudstra, Marten H 1922 births 1991 deaths American biblical scholars Old Testament scholars Translators of the Bible into English Westminster Theological Seminary alumni Editors of Christian publications Reformed Episcopal Seminary faculty Calvin Theological Seminary faculty Theological University of the Reformed Churches alumni Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni University of Hamburg alumni Dropsie College alumni 20th-century translators