The Living Oracles is a translation of the New Testament compiled and edited by the early

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (179 ...

leader Alexander Campbell.Gary Holloway
"Alexander Campbell as a Publisher"
'' Restoration Quarterly'', Vol. 37 No. 1 (1995)Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, , , 854 pages, entry on ''Bible, Versions and Translations of'' Published in 1826, it was based on an 1818 combined edition of translations by George Campbell, James MacKnight and

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of ...

, and included edits and extensive notes by Campbell.Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, ''The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, , , 854 pages, entry on ''Campbell, Alexander''

Characteristics

Campbell was motivated by a belief that changes in the English language and the availability of improved

critical editions Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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 Christi ...

had made the

Authorized King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...

obsolete. In developing the translation, Campbell relied on the critical Greek text published by

Johann Jakob Griesbach Johann Jakob Griesbach (4 January 1745 – 24 March 1812) was a German biblical textual critic. Griesbach's fame rests upon his work in New Testament criticism, in which he inaugurated a new epoch. His solution to the synoptic problem bears his na ...

. One notable feature of the translation is the replacement of traditional ecclesiastical terms such as "church" and "baptise" with alternative translations such as "congregation" and "immerse". The ''Living Oracles'' has been described as a forerunner of modern language translations in its updating of the traditional King James language and use of the work of textual critics such as Griesbach.

Reception

The translation was widely used within the

, but was criticized by others for its translation of ''βαπτίζω'' (''baptizô'') as "immerse" rather than "baptize". Because of the way this word was translated, the ''Living Oracles'' was most often used by those who believed in

immersion baptism Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is ...

and most vigorously criticized by groups practicing

infant baptism Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions. Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that p ...

by sprinkling.

References

External links

Second Edition
issued in 1828
1827 Edition
of the unrevised text by G. Campbell, Macknight and Doddridge used by Alexander Campbell

published in 1835 (html) {{Restoration Movement 1826 non-fiction books 1826 in Christianity 19th-century Christian texts Bible translations into English Churches of Christ Restoration Movement New Testament editions