Robert Baker Girdlestone (1836–1923) was an Anglican cleric who ministered at St John's Downshire Hill, Hampstead. He studied at Charterhouse, London, and Christ Church, Oxford, and was first principal of

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, O ...

. A Hebrew scholar and head of the translation department of the British and Foreign Bible Society, he is best known for his reference work ''Synonyms of the Old Testament''.

Life

Robert Baker Girdlestone was the seventh son of Charles Girdlestone, a Fellow of

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, Oxford. R. B. Girdlestone was minister of St. John's Downshire Hill, Hampstead, then head of the translation department of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The So ...

, and first principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, in the post from 1877 to 1889.

Family

His third son Gathorne Robert Girdlestone (1881–1950)Headington local history
/ref> was the first Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and thereby the first professor of

orthopaedics Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeleta ...

in Britain.

Works

*
Synonyms of the Old Testament
' * ''The Student’s Deuteronomy'' *
How to Study the English Bible
' *
The Foundations of the Bible: Studies in Old Testament Criticism
' *
Old Testament Theology and Modern Ideas
' *
Deuterographs: Duplicate Passages in the Old Testament, their Bearing on the Text and Compilation of the Hebrew Scriptures
' *
Doctor doctorum : the Teacher and the Book ; with some remarks on Old Testament criticism
' *
English Church Teaching on Faith, Life and Order
' * ''Grammar of Prophecy'' * ''Dies Irae: the judgement of the great day, viewed in the light of scripture and conscience'' (1869) * ''The Final Judgment and Future Prospects of Mankind'' (1872)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girdlestone, Robert 1836 births 1923 deaths British Hebraists 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English writers English religious writers Principals of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Evangelical Anglican clergy Evangelical Anglican biblical scholars