Alexander Roberts (12 May 1826 – 8 March 1901) was a 19th-century Scottish biblical scholar.

Life

Born at Marykirk,

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area on the ...

, on 12 May 1826, he was the son of Alexander Roberts, a flax-spinner, and his wife, Helen Stuart. He was educated at the grammar school and

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

, where he graduated MA in March 1847, being the Simpson Greek prizeman. From 1849 to 1851 he trained as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

. Roberts was minister of the Free Church in

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( ) is a town on the northeast coast of Scotland, south of Aberdeen. It had a population of 11,177 at th2022 Census Stonehaven was formerly the county town of Kincardineshire, succeeding the now abandoned town of Kincardine, Aberd ...

from 1852 to 1857. In 1857 he was translated to the Free Scots Church in Carlton Hill in London. In 1864 he was awarded an honorary doctorate,

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

. He was also minister at St. John's Wood, and was a member of the New Testament revision company (1870–84). In 1871, he succeeded John Campbell Shairp as Professor of Humanity at the University of St. Andrews.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church'' He was made emeritus professor on his retirement in 1899. He died at Mitcham Park,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, on 8 March 1901. He was returned to

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

for burial and lies in the south-east corner of the churchyard of St Andrews Cathedral.

Family

On 2 December 1852 he married Mary Anne Speid of Melgund (died 18 January 1911), and had fourteen children, of whom four sons and eight daughters survived him. Of note, his daughter Margaret Spinks Roberts married George Samuel Newth, Principal of New College, London.

Works

Roberts' "Discussions on the Gospels" was published in 1862, one of a series of works in which he maintained that Greek was the habitual speech of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, a conclusion unpopular at the time. He co-operated with Sir James Donaldson as editor and part translator of the English versions of ecclesiastical writers published as the '' Ante-Nicene Christian Library'' ( T. & T. Clark, 1867–72, 24 vols.), the first major edition in English of these

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

.Roberts, Alexander - Oxford DNB
/ref> He also translated the ''Works of Sulpitius Severus'' (1895) in the ''Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers''. Roberts also wrote, ''Companion to the Revised Version of the New Testament Explaining the Reasons for the Changes Made on the Authorized Version'' (1881)

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Alexander Scottish biblical scholars 1826 births 1901 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of St Andrews People from Marykirk