Book Review - Biblical Essays

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Reprinted with permission from As I See It, which is available free by writing to the editor at dkutilek@juno.com

Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828-1889) was the pre-eminent authority on the writings of Paul in the 19th-century English-speaking world and has few equals and no superior in any age on this subject matter. He was a staunchly conservative and orthodox member of the Church of England, Hulsean Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University (where his lectures became the basis for his published commentaries on Paul’s letters), later Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity (also at Cambridge), and ultimately Bishop of Durham. Lightfoot was well-versed in classical literature, both Greek and Latin, as well as Christian patristic literature (he was the recognized world-expert on the Apostolic Fathers).

Though written before the papyri discoveries in Egypt let to the recognition that the language of the NT was everyday koine Greek, Lightfoot’s numerous published commentaries (Galatians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon, I & II Thessalonians, Romans 1-7, I Corinthians 1-7, and Ephesians 1:1-14) are nevertheless filled with the insights gathered from his classical and patristic learning and remain even now of immense value. Most contain special essays on important topics as well.

Lightfoot wrote several works urging the revision of the English Bible New Testament (including On a Fresh Revision of the English New Testament, 1871) and served as one of the leading revisers that produced the English Revised Version New Testament (1881). Lightfoot’s 5-volume set on The Apostolic Fathers would require at least six focused months, and perhaps a year, to fully study through (it reproduces texts in Greek, Latin and Syriac). He produced an outstanding apologetic for Biblical Christianity in Essays on the Work Entitled Supernatural Religion (1889). And besides the present work composed of Bible-related essays, a compilation of Historical Essays was published after his death. In addition, he wrote many articles for various Biblical and classical dictionaries and encyclopedias of his era.

This present collection of essays includes three, running to nearly 200 pages, which explore and refute in detail the hyper-critical claims of the Tubingen school that re-dated the Gospel of John to as late as 150 or even AD 170. Lightfoot thoroughly dismantles the critics’ claims (and this even before the discovery of papyrus manuscripts p-52 and p-66, and the archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem which render any date after the first century essentially impossible). Lightfoot concludes that the early and universal ascription of the Fourth Gospel to John the son of Zebedee is the only one that fits the evidence (this also serves as an indirect refutation of the absurd recycled claim of Ben Witherington III in his book What Have They Done With Jesus? that Lazarus of Bethany actually wrote the Fourth Gospel!).

Other essays cover Paul’s educational background, the chronology of his life and the date of his letters, the churches of Macedonia, the church at Thessalonica, Titus’ mission as noted in 2 Corinthians, the destination of the epistle known as Romans (there are several theories, due to some rather knotty textual variants in the last three chapters; Lightfoot engages in a friendly exchange with F. J. A. Hort on the question and bests him handily, I think), the destination of Ephesians (also an issue involving a textual variant in the manuscripts), the date of the pastoral epistles (accepting entirely Pauline authorship and defending the traditional date in the middle of the 60s, A.D.) and finally, a discussion of the life of Paul after the close of Acts 28.

While CBD does not list this Hendrickson reprint among its current titles, they do list a paperback on-demand reprint for just under $25; used copies of the hardback reprint are readily available from Alibris and ABEBooks. I located one for less than $12.

Had I to do it over, I would have made fuller acquaintance with Lightfoot’s writings much earlier in my life. Though technical, they are thorough, authoritative and highly instructive, just the kind of thoroughly-informed conservative Christian scholarship that is in short supply today.