Home > Products > Christian Software > Expositors Bible
The Expositor's Bible
Expository interdenominational commentary including works by most branches of Protestantism,
edited by Sir William Robertson Nicoll
The Expositor's Bible
$19.95
Works on both Windows and Macintosh
The Expositor’s Bible is one of the recognized standards of expository commentaries. It
was written by twenty-nine eminent scholars who were also preachers. These
writers also represent every important branch of Protestantism. The Expositor’s
Bible may thus be regarded as an interdenominational exposition. It declares
the catholicity of Christian experience, scholarship and churchmanship.
It conclusively demonstrates the hearty agreement of all thoughtful persons
on the profound realities and essentials of the Christian Faith. It shows
how this Faith is to be preached with the conviction and persuasiveness
which its opulent gospel justly merits.
This notable work was conceived and carried out by that genius among editors, Sir William
Robertson Nicoll, C.H., D.D., LL.D. He had an exceptional knowledge of
religious and literary, of theological and philosophical, thought. He
understood what were the most urgent needs of the church as to spiritual
enlightenment, for the better exercise of the Church’s mission in
advancing the Kingdom of Christ to earth’s remotest bounds.
Right here we are met with the welcome aid of The Expositor’s Bible. It must
be acknowledged that a company of writers of the same caliber and qualifications
could hardly be brought together at the present day. Both clergy and laity
are here helped to understand the Scriptures as "profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness."
The Bible continues to occupy its place of finality as the supreme Authority on
Religion and Morals. This is the basis on which The Expositor’s Bible
was written.
General Introduction By The Reverend Oscar L. Joseph, Litt. D.
THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE is the recognized standard of expository commentaries. It was written
by twenty-nine eminent scholars who were also preachers. Although some
of them later occupied professorial positions they had all been preachers
whose ministrations were of a high Order of excellence. They retained
their preaching instinct and insight even after they had vacated the pulpit
for the chair.
These writers also represent every important branch of Protestantism. THE EXPOSITOR'S
BIBLE may thus be regarded as an interdenominational exposition. It declares
the catholicity of Christian experience, scholarship and churchmanship.
It conclusively demonstrates the hearty agreement of all thoughtful persons
on the profound realities and essentials of the Christian Faith. It shows
how this Faith is to be preached with the conviction and persuasiveness
which its opulent gospel justly merits.
This notable work was conceived and carried out by that genius among editors, Sir William
Robertson Nicoll, C.H., D.D., LL.D. He had an exceptional knowledge of
religious and literary, of theological and philosophical, thought. He
understood what were the most urgent needs of the church as to spiritual
enlightenment, for the better exercise of the Church's mission in advancing
the Kingdom of Christ to earth's remotest bounds.
Sir William was born in the Free Church Manse, Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, on October
10, 1851. He was the son of the Rev. Harry Nicoll, a bookman of rare accomplishments,
concerning whose obscure but faithful ministry in a rural parish he wrote
a charming volume, entitled "My Father." He graduated from Aberdeen
University with the degree of M.A. in 1870. After completing his theological
course at the Free Church Divinity Hall, Aberdeen, in 1874, he was ordained
minister of the Free Church, Dufftown, the same year. He was called to
the Free Church, Kelso, in 1877, from which he resigned in 1886 owing
to ill health.
During his pastorate at Kelso he accepted the Editorship of The Expositor in 1885,
as the successor of Dr. Samuel Cox, the leading expositor of the Bible
in his day. This position was held by Sir William until his death on May
4, 1923. Under his leadership this monthly journal attained a prominent
place among theological periodicals. He wrote very little for it, but
he secured some of the leading British, American and Continental scholars
and preachers to contribute to its pages. Herein he excelled as an editor,
whose chief business is to understand the needs of the day and to select
writers competent to meet those needs. His success in this respect might
be indicated by the fact that some first-class volumes originally appeared
in The Expositor. Among these were Professor A. B. Bruce's "St. Paul's
Conception of Christianity," Principal A. M. Fairbairn's "Studies
in the Life of Christ," Dr. Alexander Maclaren's "Colossians,"
Bishop Westcott's "Christus Consummator," Principal A. E. Garvie's
"Studies in the Inner Life of Jesus," Sir George Adam Smith's
"Historical Geography of the Holy Land." Indeed, there was no
periodical which contained so little ephemeral matter. Its bound volumes
are a permanent contribution to theological and expository literature.
A gratifying testimonial to Sir William's services as editor of The Expositor was presented
to him on his seventieth birthday in 1921. This address of appreciation
was signed by seven distinguished scholars of Oxford University, who voiced
the sentiments of all contributors to this magazine. A few sentences from
this document are worth quoting: "While seeing to the maintenance
of the reverential attitude which the subjects demand and the standard
of scholarship which our time has set up, you have accepted contributions
from all schools of thought, and in the belief that the attainment of
truth should be the goal of research have enabled seekers after truth
to communicate their results to the public, regardless of the favor with
which they are likely to be received by any of the circles whom your magazine
reaches. You have frequently helped to popularise the discoveries of archaeology
and criticism, and familiarised your readers with eminent theologians
by the biographical essays which you have inserted."
This extended reference to Sir William's association with The Expositor is made so as
to be able to appreciate the fine quality of his other undertakings. He
founded The British Weekly in 1886, "for the advocacy of social and
Christian progress," and edited it till his death. The stamp of his
personality and versatility was seen in every issue of this journal, which
had an extensive circulation in all English-speaking lands. Its first
page was once characterised by Professor Rendel Harris as "the gold
mine of The British Weekly." With few exceptions the editorials on
this page were written by Sir William. Their unusual value, from the standpoint
of religion and literature, fully justified their republication in book
form. Among these volumes were "The Return of the Cross," "The
Church's One Foundation," "The Garden of Nuts," "Reunion
in Eternity," "Princes of the Church."
He was constantly inaugurating new ventures with an amazing fertility of resourcefulness.
In 1891 he began The Bookman and rallied to its support several of the
leading lights in literature. Apart from its valued articles and book
reviews, the rare discernment of the editor led to his discovery of many
writers, whose volumes of fiction and belles-lettres have greatly enriched
modern literature. He was always on the alert for promising authors. It
was thus through his impetus that the world heard of Sir James Battle,
Ian Maclaren, Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler, John Buchan, S. R. Crockett,
David Smith, James Moffatt and other well-known writers. Professor Marcus
Dods well expressed the thoughts of this company in one of his last letters
to Sir William: "On looking back over the last twenty-five years,
I see how very much I am indebted to you for giving me opportunities and
encouragement, without which I should have addressed a very much smaller
audience."
It is however in the realm of theological and Biblical thought that Sir William's work
is of special interest to us. He edited several series such as "The
Household Library of Exposition," "The Foreign Biblical Library,"
"The Theological Educator," "The Clerical Library,"
"The Expositor's Greek Testament" and THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
It might appear too much like a catalogue of titles to list the several
biographies and over twenty other volumes which he wrote in addition to
hundreds of articles in his own and in other papers. His prodigious output
was all the more amazing in view of the fact that his indomitable energy
overcame the handicap of chronic ill health. It was a common occurrence
for him to dictate thirty thousand words a week, while remaining in bed
for two or three days of this period. And yet with calm courage he took
up one task after another and performed it with intrepid determination,
undeviating fidelity and unsurpassed finesse.
T. H. Darlow has written a judicious biography of this extraordinary man. "William
Robertson Nicoll, Life and Letters," introduces us to one who was
a mystic and humanist, a theologian and a politician, an author and editor,
who combined sagacity with spirituality and worldliness with other-worldliness.
This biography is a balanced appraisal of Sir William's complex character
and diversified achievements.
It is no reflection on his other undertakings to say that THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE
is his greatest editorial contribution. The inception of this work took
place at a time when critical and historical scholarship had arrived at
mature and reliable conclusions concerning the text and truth of the Bible.
What had been regarded as subversive of the Christian Faith was now accepted
without question. To be sure, there have been changes and even modifications
in the attitude toward certain subjects, but the general consensus of
Biblical scholarship has not been thereby affected. None of the results
has in the least undermined the accepted view of the Church that the Bible
is the Revelation of the spiritual life, imparted "by divers portions
and in divers manners," and marked by energy, variety and adaptability.
The Bible continues to occupy its place of finality as the supreme Authority
on Religion and Morals. This is the basis on which THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE
was written.
Indeed, there is no book like the Bible, which has yielded its treasures, new and old,
to the searching light of the most exacting investigations. The scientific
analysis of the text; the historical study of the documents as to date,
authorship and composition; the work of archaeologists in the departments
of Egyptology, Assyriology and Paleography; the discoveries of the Tel-el-Amarna
Tablets in the Nile Valley throwing light on the Old Testament, of the
Oxyrhynchus Papyri in Central Egypt and numerous inscriptions and papyri
in Greece, Egypt and Asia Minor which have revolutionised the understanding
of New Testament Greek as the language of the common people and not of
the classicists; the study of Aramaic for a better interpretation of the
New Testament; the study of Comparative Religion and of the Mystery Religions
in giving the religion of the Old and the New Testaments a larger setting
and in demonstrating the unique superiority and supremacy of the Divine
Revelation - all these results of scholarship had given a challenging
importance to the Bible. The time was therefore most auspicious for an
undertaking that would make use of these results for a fuller and more
adequate exposition of the Scriptures. It had to be a positive and constructive
exposition. Unlike other commentaries which were grammatical and critical,
it must be historical and religious, and deal with the Books of the Bible,
not in isolated sentences or passages, but in connection with the entire
context of each Book taken as a whole. Each Book moreover had to be related
to the main river of the historical revelation, so that its general and
specific teaching might be made more vividly impressive. In this way the
Bible would speak for itself. But above all, the work had to be done with
special emphasis upon the preaching values of the whole Bible. This was
also the day when preaching had reached the high-water mark of excellence.
The pulpits in Great Britain were occupied by such distinguished men as
C. H. Spurgeon, R. W. Dale, Alexander Maclaren, Joseph Parker, Canon Liddon,
Archbishop Magee, John Caird, Alexander Whyte, Canon Scott-Holland, Dean
Farrar, James Stalker, Hugh Price Hughes, George Matheson. The American
pulpit was honored by equally great preachers, such as Henry Ward Beecher,
Phillips Brooks, John Hall, Matthew Simpson, W. M. Taylor, R. S. Storrs,
Reuen Thomas. Any volumes of Scripture ex position that claimed to be
worthy of the name had to come up to the standards of magnificent preaching
of these leaders of the pulpit. It was doubtless a difficult task to select
writers whose undoubted gifts of scholarship would be combined with expository
talents. Such men were to have a clear grasp of the many-sided message
of Christianity, illuminated by literature, philosophy and science. But
more than this, they should have the skill to express their convictions
in choice language, understood by the people, so as to give them a clear
understanding of the mind of the prophets and the apostles and especially
of Jesus Christ, for the practical guidance of life. THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE
has met all these requirements, and it conclusively demonstrates how the
Scriptures are to be expounded with integrity, with clarity and with compelling
conviction.
There are some who lament the decay of the modern pulpit. These are surely difficult
times. The voice of authority is dimly heard and there is a determined
revolt against ex cathedra utterances. The movement of democracy has discarded
many traditions. The advance of science has compelled the revision of
many cherished ideas, The new psychology and the new philosophy claim
to offer a new religion which dazzles the few and embarrasses the many
with its dilettante promises and postponed fulfilments. The social implications
of Christianity are tending to obscure its spiritual affirmations. Humanism
magnifies the supreme worth of human life, but it ignores the perversions
and desecrations due to sin; it virtually teaches that man can lift himself
with his boot straps and discard as superfluous the intervention of the
Redeemer Christ. The so called liberal theology is frantically endeavoring
to hold up a Christ without the Cross and to preach ethical perfection
without the spiritual dynamic. The so-called conservative theology is
busy bolstering up discredited positions, unmindful of the wide difference
between theological dogma and religious truth. Many preachers are defending
the gospel and have apparently forgotten that their mission is to declare
the gospel with the conviction of evangelical experience and with the
constraint of evangelistic zeal. The times clamorously demand the return
to Bible preaching, fortified by scholarly, ability and distinguished
by fidelity to the entire range of the Biblical Revelation. Such preaching
must recognize the organic synthesis of the whole Bible. It must understand
that the progressive and peerless revelation of the Will of God, from
less to more, was imparted by the processes of history, through the experience
of many individuals and under various circumstances.
The mistaken idea that the Old Testament has become antiquated needs to be corrected.
Indeed, nowhere in all literature, outside the New Testament, are there
such calls to worship, such notes of reverence, such aspirations for communion
with God, such proofs of the Divine Providence, such a passion for individual,
social and national righteousness, such a certainty of the final establishment
of the Kingdom of God in the world.
Principal George Adam Smith once gave convincing utterance to this fact : "From
the time of the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews onwards to the generation
before our own, it has been among the personal characters of Israel's
history that the greatest preachers in the English language have found
much of their richest material and strongest inspiration. It was not the
miracles of Old Testament history nor the national events, upon which
the preaching of our fathers fed and grew strong, but the personal elements;
the development of character, the moral struggles, checks, catastrophes
and recoveries, in which so many Books of the Old Testament are so very
rich." f1
Principal Smith is one of the most brilliant illustrations among modern preachers
of how the Old Testament should be used in the pulpit. His two volumes
on "Isaiah" in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE impress us by his mastery
of the extensive scholarship of his subject. But more even than this is
his unsurpassed passion and eloquence in expounding the ancient prophets
in terms of modern life. Any one who studies these two volumes as well
as the two on "The Book of the Twelve Prophets" and the Yale
Lectures on "Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament,"
will readily see what a wealth of preaching material is contained within
the pages of the Old Testament. This fact is also shown by the writers
of the other volumes on the Old Testament in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
What can be said for the New Testament? It is the only reliable record of the life
and teaching of Jesus Christ, who is the watershed of the Divine Revelation.
In Him we have everything we need to know and to experience of God and
of fellowship with Him in the distracting passages of life's journey.
Professor Adolf Deissmann refers to the New Testament as "the book
for humanity, ancient but eternal, not one of the paralysing forces of
the past, but full of eternal strength to make strong and to make free."
He adds these significant words: "And because of the figure that
emerges from the book - the Redeemer accompanied by the multitude of the
redeemed, blessing and consoling, exhorting and renewing, revealing Himself
anew to every generation of the weary and heavy-laden, and growing from
century to century more great - the New Testament is the Book of Life."
f2
How the New Testament is to be expounded by the pulpit is well illustrated by the
volumes of Principal Marcus Dods on "The Gospel of St. John,"
of Professor Findlay on "The Epistle to the Ephesians," of Principal
Denney on "The Epistle to the Thessalonians." These three volumes
are selected because they represent some of the different ways in which
expository preaching might be made effective. But the same purpose might
be served by referring to the other volumes on the New Testament in THE
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
There are various types of preaching. In his recent volume, "What to Preach,"
President Henry Sloane Coffin discussed some of these types. They all
center on the Bible. In support of his thesis that the Bible is prolific
in preaching material, Dr. Coffin has submitted subjects, Scriptures passages
and methods of treatment, which are a veritable revelation to the preacher
of the inexhaustible riches of the Book of books. Expository preaching
is made dull and diffuse only by the man who does not know the wide expanses
of the Bible. It is made interesting and profitable by the preacher who
has the poetic sense, the vivid imagination, the knowledge of literature
and history, the experience of spiritual realities.
Professor George Jackson recently declared that "one of the most disquieting
facts about the average present-day candidate is his lamentable ignorance
of the English Bible." This reference to men entering the ministry
of the British Churches is equally applicable to the United States. Professor
Peake on another recent occasion spoke gravely of the appalling ignorance
of the Bible of young people and congregations. These are not alarmist
utterances. The solution is obvious. It lies with preachers who are to
become better acquainted with the Bible and concentrate their attention
in expounding it with all the ability and energy that might be commanded.
The preacher who crowds out the Bible in favor of literary, scientific and social topics,
colored by a "pious secularity," will find that his function
as a preacher has got crowded out. No essays, miscalled sermons, upon
ethical and social themes, treated independently of the Bible, can give
the positive belief in God, the vivid assurance of Christ's pardoning
grace, the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, such as can be conveyed
by the comprehensive and considerate exposition of the Bible in all the
spacious realms of its sublimely melioristic utterances.
Right here we are met with the welcome aid of THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE. It must be acknowledged
that a company of writers of the same caliber and qualifications could
hardly be brought together at the present day. Such a confession should
not in the least be regarded as reflecting unfavorably upon the men who
preach the best sermons. It is simply a recognition of sheer inability,
in view of what has already been said about modern preaching in these
transition times. A more favorable time for a similar undertaking may
yet come. But the forecast is not encouraging that it will be in the near
future.
Meanwhile, THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE adequately meets our needs. Turn to any of these
volumes and there is always a sense of satisfaction that the authors are
dealing squarely with their subjects, without any attempt to sidestep
difficulties by explaining them away, or to camouflage ignorance with
wordy generalisations and pious phrases. All the writers are not equally
progressive in matters of scholarship. Nor is this to be desired, for
no party has a monopoly of truth, and scholarship has not said its last
word. Indeed, the glory of the Gospel is that it is held by men who practice
the noble principle of "malice toward none and charity for all,"
in the name of the Comprehensive Christ of our redemption.
I do not mean to say that every volume in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE has equal excellence.
Not every author is a George Adam Smith or an Alexander Maclaren. But
I do affirm that every volume has distinctive merit and that it expounds
the particular Book of the Bible with the sympathy of insight and with
an appreciation of its special values for us. Not one falls below the
exacting standard set by Sir W. Robertson Nicoll, the editor. He undertook
to produce an exposition of the Bible adapted to the needs of the average
pastor and Bible student. And he has succeeded. Both clergy and laity
are here helped to understand the Scriptures as "profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness."
Such an achievement on the high scale of consistent superiority and practical usefulness is
cause for gratulation. THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE is at once a commentary and
an exposition. Minor details, technical questions, critical issues, do
not distract the student by their obtrusive insistence. They are relegated
to footnotes which might be taken or left at the reader's discretion,
although the wise reader will not readily overlook them. All who have
used THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE are unanimous in hearty commendation of its
genuine worth.
The revival of religion about which so much is heard at conferences and conventions
is assuredly of the greatest moment. It will come when there is a renaissance
of Bible preaching of the kind found in THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE. Here are
the ways and means awaiting every preacher who desires to bring it about.
Let him study these volumes with interest and also encourage his Church
School teachers and other Bible students to use them. He will then create
the desirable atmosphere in which Bible preaching shall flourish, so that
the Church may be awakened to a sense of privilege and responsibility
to make Christ Lord of all.