James Moffatt (4 July 1870, Glasgow – 27 June 1944, New York City) was a Scottish theologian, author and Bible translator.
He was a graduate of the University of Glasgow. He trained at the Free Church College, Glasgow.
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Career
He was a practising minister at the United Free Church in Dundonald, Ayrshire, in the early years of his career. He received the degree Doctor of Divinity from the University of St Andrews in April 1902.
In 1907 he became minister of the Broughty Ferry United Free Church in Dundee; the new denomination had been created in 1900 when the majority of Free Church congregations merged with the United Presbyterian Church.
In 1911, he was appointed Professor of Greek and New Testament Exegesis at Mansfield College, Oxford. He returned to Glasgow in 1915 as Professor of Church History at the United Free Church College.
In 1927 he moved to the USA, and for the next 12 years he was Washburn Professor of Church History at the Union Theological Seminary, New York. In addition, he translated a Modern English Bible translation, the Moffatt, New Translation (MNT).
He died on 27 June, 1944 in New York aged 73.
Translation of Bible
His New Translation of the New Testament was first published in 1913.
His New Translation of the Old Testament, in two volumes, was first published in 1924.
The Complete Moffatt Bible in one volume was first published in 1926. It was completely revised and reset in 1935. A Shorter Version of the Moffatt Translation of the Bible was first published in 1941.
The Moffatt New Testament Commentary, based on his translation, has 17 volumes. The first volume was published in 1928, the final volume in 1949. The concordance of the complete Bible was first published in 1949.
Works
The Historical New Testament: Being the Literature of the New Testament Arranged in the Order of its Literary Growth and According to the Dates of the Documents, 1901
The Golden Book of John Owen: Passages from the Writings of the Rev. John Owen, 1904
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Book of Ecclesiastes, 1905
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Gospel of Saint Mark, 1905
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Epistle to the Romans, 1905
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Book of Revelation, 1905
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Gospel of Saint Luke, 1906
Literary Illustrations of the Bible: The Books of Judges and Ruth, 1906
The Literal Interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, (with Marcus Dods and James Denney) 1904 (Re-published 2016, CrossReach Publications)
The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries, v. 1–3 by Adolf Harnack. Translated by James Moffatt (1908)
Paul and Jesus, 1908
George Meredith: Introduction to His Novels, 1909
The Life of John Owen, 1910?
Paul and Paulinism, 1910
The Second Things of Life, 1910
Legacy
He was awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Divinity by both the University of Oxford and the University of St Andrews.
His papers are held at the University of Glasgow.