author
Samuel Davidson
1806–1898
A bold 19th-century biblical scholar from Ireland, he became known for bringing German-style critical study of the Bible into English religious debate. His career mixed serious scholarship with public controversy, and his books helped shape modern biblical criticism for English readers.
1 Audiobook
The Canon of the Bible
by Samuel Davidson
About the author
Born in County Antrim in September 1806, he was an Irish biblical scholar and Presbyterian minister who studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Early in his career he taught biblical criticism in Belfast, building a reputation as a learned and independent-minded interpreter of scripture.
He later taught at Lancashire Independent College in Manchester and wrote widely on the Old and New Testaments, canon, interpretation, and Jewish literature. His work was especially noted for introducing and developing continental, particularly German, biblical criticism for readers in Britain.
That approach also made him controversial. Questions about his views on inspiration and authorship led to a well-known dispute in the 1850s, but he continued writing for decades afterward. He died on April 1, 1898, leaving behind a substantial body of theological scholarship.