The Scofield Reference Bible is a widely circulated
study Bible. Edited and annotated by the American Bible student
Cyrus I. Scofield, it popularized
dispensationalism at the beginning of the 20th century. Published by
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
and containing the entire text of the traditional,
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
King James Version
The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
, it first appeared in 1909 and was revised by the author in 1917.
Features and legacy

The Scofield Bible had several innovative features. Most important, it printed what amounted to a
commentary on the biblical text alongside the Bible instead of in a separate volume, the first to do so in English since the
Geneva Bible
The Geneva Bible, sometimes known by the sobriquet Breeches Bible, is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the Douay Rheims Bible by 22 years, and the King James Version by 51 years. It was ...
(1560). It also contained a cross-referencing system that tied together related verses of Scripture and allowed a reader to follow biblical themes from one chapter and book to another (so called "chain references"). Finally, the 1917 edition also attempted to date events of the Bible. It was in the pages of the Scofield Reference Bible that many Christians first encountered Archbishop
James Ussher's calculation of the
date of Creation as 4004 BC; and through discussion of Scofield's notes, which advocated the "
gap theory,"
fundamentalists began a serious internal debate about the nature and chronology of
creation.
The first edition of the Scofield Bible (1909) was published only a few years before
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, a war that destroyed a cultural optimism that had viewed the world as entering a new era of peace and prosperity; then the post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
era witnessed the creation of a homeland for
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
in
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. Thus, Scofield's
premillennialism seemed prophetic. "At the popular level, especially, many people came to regard the dispensationalist scheme as completely vindicated." Sales of the Reference Bible exceeded two million copies by the end of World War II.
The Scofield Reference Bible promoted
dispensationalism, the belief that between creation and the
final judgement there would be seven distinct eras of God's dealing with man and that these eras are a framework for synthesizing the message of the Bible. Largely through the influence of Scofield's notes, many
fundamentalist Christians in the United States adopted a dispensational theology. Scofield's notes on the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
are a major source for the various timetables, judgements, and plagues elaborated on by popular religious writers such as
Hal Lindsey,
Edgar C. Whisenant, and
Tim LaHaye
Timothy Francis LaHaye (April 27, 1926 – July 25, 2016) was an American Baptist evangelical Christian Minister of religion, minister who wrote more than 85 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the ''Left Behind (series), Left Behind ...
; and in part because of the success of the Scofield Reference Bible, twentieth-century American fundamentalists placed greater stress on
eschatological speculation.
The ''Scofield Bible'' has had a significant influence on the
Christian Zionist movement. The work states that
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
is a sin. Citing Genesis 12:3 - "I will bless them that bless thee" - Scofield argued that "The man or nation that lifts a voice or hand against Israel invites the wrath of God."
Later editions

The 1917 Scofield Reference Bible notes are now in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
, and the 1917 edition is "consistently the best selling edition of the Scofield Bible" in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 1967, Oxford University Press published a revision of the Scofield Bible with a slightly modernized KJV text, and a muting of some of the tenets of Scofield's theology. Recent editions of the KJV Scofield Study Bible have moved the textual changes made in 1967 to the margin.
The Press continues to issue editions under the title ''Oxford Scofield Study Bible'', and there are translations into French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. For instance, the French edition published by the Geneva Bible Society is printed with a revised version of the
Louis Segond translation that includes additional notes by a Francophone committee.
In the 21st century, Oxford University Press published Scofield notes to accompany six additional English translations.
[Campbell, ''Bible'', 248.]
References
Further reading
*
Arno C. Gaebelein, ''The History of the Scofield Reference Bible'' (Our Hope Publications, 1943)
*William E. Cox, ''Why I Left Scofieldism'' (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1975)
*R. Todd Mangum and Mark S. Sweetnam, ''The Scofield Bible: Its History and Impact on the Evangelical Church'' (Colorado Springs: Paternoster Publishing, 2009)
*Donald Harman Akenson, ''The Americanization of the Apocalypse: Creating America's Own Bible'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023)
External links
The KJV Scofield® Study Bible III 2003The Scofield reference Bible. The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments 1917Scofield Reference Bible Notesa
WikisourceSearchable textof the 1917 version of the '' Scofield Reference Bible'' reference notes.
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