James Moffatt (4 July 1870, Glasgow – 27 June 1944, New York City) was a Scottish theologian, author and Bible translator.
He was a graduate of the University of Glasgow. He trained at the Free Church College, Glasgow.
Career
He was a practising minister at the United Free Church in Dundonald, Ayrshire, in the early years of his career. He received the degree Doctor of Divinity from the University of St Andrews in April 1902.
In 1907 he became minister of the Broughty Ferry United Free Church in Dundee; the new denomination had been created in 1900 when the majority of Free Church congregations merged with the United Presbyterian Church.
In 1911, he was appointed Professor of Greek and New Testament Exegesis at Mansfield College, Oxford. He returned to Glasgow in 1915 as Professor of Church History at the United Free Church College.
In 1927 he moved to the USA, and for the next 12 years he was Washburn Professor of Church History at the Union Theological Seminary, New York. In addition, he translated a Modern English Bible translation, the Moffatt, New Translation (MNT).
He died on 27 June, 1944 in New York aged 73.
Translation of Bible
His New Translation of the New Testament was first published in 1913.
His New Translation of the Old Testament, in two volumes, was first published in 1924.
The Complete Moffatt Bible in one volume was first published in 1926. It was completely revised and reset in 1935. A Shorter Version of the Moffatt Translation of the Bible was first published in 1941.
The Moffatt New Testament Commentary, based on his translation, has 17 volumes. The first volume was published in 1928, the final volume in 1949. The concordance of the complete Bible was first published in 1949.
Works
The Historical New Testament: Being the Literature of the New Testament Arranged in the Order of its Literary Growth and According to the Dates of the Documents, 1901 The Golden Book of John Owen: Passages from the Writings of the Rev. John Owen, 1904 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1905 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Gospel of Saint Mark, 1905 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Epistle to the Romans, 1905 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Book of Revelation, 1905 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Gospel of Saint Luke, 1906 Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Books of Judges and Ruth, 1906 The Literal Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, (with Marcus Dods and James Denney) 1904 (Re-published 2016, CrossReach Publications) The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries, v. 1–3 by Adolf Harnack. Translated by James Moffatt (1908) Paul and Jesus, 1908 George Meredith: Introduction to His Novels, 1909 The Life of John Owen, 1910? Paul and Paulinism, 1910 The Second Things of Life, 1910 The Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts, vol. 1: Genesis to the Gospel of St. Mark, 1910 The Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts, vol. 2: The Gospel of St. Luke to Revelation, 1911 Reasons and reasons, 1911 An Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament, 1911 The Theology of the Gospels, 1912 The Expositor's Dictionary of Poetical Quotations, 1913 The Moffatt Translation of the New Testament, 1913 A Book of Biblical Devotions for Members of the Scottish Church, 1919 The Approach to the New Testament, 1921 The Spiritual Pilgrimage of Jesus, (with James Alex Robertson) 1921 Jesus on Love to God, Jesus on Love to Man, 1922 The Moffatt Translation of the Old Testament, 1924 The Bible in Scots Literature, 1924 The Tree of Healing. Short Studies in the Message of the Cross, (With a biographical sketch by James Moffatt) 1925 The Presbyterian Churches, 1928 Love in the New Testament, 1929 The Moffatt New Testament Commentary on the Bible V.1, 1929 The Day Before Yesterday, 1930 Grace in the New Testament, 1932 He and She: A Book of Them, 1933 His Gifts & Promises: Being Twenty-Five Reflections and Directions on Phases of our Christian Discipline, From the Inside, 1934 Handbook to the Church Hymnary, with Supplement, (with Millar Patrick) 1935 The Ideas Behind the Moffatt Bible: Compiled from the Introduction to the Moffatt Bible, 1935 The Second Book of He and She: Another Book of Them, 1935 An Approach to Ignatius, 1936 The First Five Centuries of the Church, 1938 Jesus Christ the Same; The Shaffer Lectures for 1940 in the Divinity School of Yale University, 1940 The Thrill of Tradition, 1944 Concordance of The Moffatt Translation of the Bible, 1949
Legacy
He was awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity by both the University of Oxford and the University of St Andrews.
His papers are held at the University of Glasgow.
References
External links
Papers of James Moffatt at Glasgow University The Historical New Testament