Records of the Harvard Biblical Club, 1881-1919.
Overview
The Harvard Biblical Club (known as the Harvard Semitic Club until December 3, 1881) was founded on January 22, 1881 by Crawford Howell Toy, Harvard University Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer, as a Protestant biblical study group whose object was the study of the Old and New Testaments. The records are organized in three series: General Information about the Harvard Biblical Club, Meeting Minutes, and Papers presented to the Harvard Biblical Club.
Dates
- Creation: 1881-1919.
Creator
- Harvard Biblical Club. (Organization)
Conditions on Use and Access
The Records of the Harvard Biblical Club are open for research.
Extent
0.6 cubic feet (2 document boxes, 3 volumes in 1 flat box)The Records of the Harvard Biblical Club document its founding, organization, and administrative activities. The bulk of the records consist of meeting minutes and abstracts of papers that provide descriptions of the talks that took place at the Club's meetings on the Old and New Testament by leading and prominent members of the Harvard University faculty and other Boston area Protestant theological schools. Researchers should note that there is only one complete paper presented to the Club by William Wallace Fenn in this collection.
Historical Essay
The Harvard Biblical Club (known as the Harvard Semitic Club until December 3, 1881) was founded on January 22, 1881 by Crawford Howell Toy, Harvard University Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages and Dexter Lecturer, as a Protestantbiblical study group whose object was the study of the Old and New Testaments. The Club was established during the revival of biblical scholarship that took place in the latter half of the nineteenth century in both Europe and the United States. During this period, the study of biblical languages, the texts of the Old and New Testaments, various biblical versions, and biblical archaeology,geography, theology, and history, assumed new importance.
The initial founders of the Club, in addition to Toy, were George H. Whittemore, a Cambridge minister,John Orne, Curator of Arabic manuscripts at the Harvard Semitic Museum,Peter Henry Steenstra,instructor of Hebrew and the Old and New Testament at the Episcopal Theological School of Cambridge, Ezra Abbot,Bussey Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at the Harvard Divinity School, Charles Mead,Professor of Hebrew at the Andover Theological Seminary,Timothy Otis Paine,teacher of Hebrew in the theological school of the General Convention of the New Jerusalem Church in Boston, and Oakman Sprague Stearns,Professor of Biblical Interpretations of the Old Testament at the Newton Theological Institution.
Toy was the Club's first and only president. George H. Whittemore served as the Club's secretary. The early meetings of the Club were held in the homes of its members, meeting twice a month. In later years, the Club met monthly at the New Church Seminary (1881-1889), the Unitarian Building (1889-1914), and the building of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1914-1919); all of them in Boston. Each member was assigned to read a paper about the Old or New Testament, followed by a discussion and lunch. Usually, each member presented a paper by a member every three years.
During its existence the Club's membership included many prominent religious scholars from Harvard University and other Boston area theological schools. In its heyday, the Club had nearly 20 members, but by 1919 the death of Toy and an aging membership, caused the Club to dissolve.
References
- Compiled from the Records of the Harvard Biblical Club.
- Briggs, Charles Augustus. History of the Study of Theology. Vol 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916.
- Lyon, David G. "Crawford Howell Toy." Harvard Theological Review 13(January 1920) : 1-22.
Acquisition Information
The Records of the Harvard Biblical Club were acquired through donation. Whenever possible the archivist noted the terms of acquisition in the descriptions and item lists.
The acquisitions are as follows:
- 1908 George Henry Whittemore
- 1920 Harvard Biblical Club
- 1950 Andover-Harvard Theological Library
Inventory update
This document last updated 2016 October 14.
Processing Information
The Records were first classified and described in the Harvard University Archives shelflist prior to 1990. In August 2008, Dominic P. Grandinetti re-processed the collection. Re-processing included integrating and reorganizing the collection, re-housing materials in the appropriate containers, placing documents into acid-free folders, establishing series arrangement, and preparing this inventory. Call numbers were simplified and reassigned. A list of obsolete call numbers is included in this finding aid.
Creator
- Harvard Biblical Club. (Organization)
- Title
- Harvard Biblical Club. Records of the Harvard Biblical Club : an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua24008
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
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