Adolph Ernst Knoch
Encyclopedia
Adolph Ernst Knoch was the author of numerous theological writings and a Bible publisher.
Knoch founded the Concordant Publishing Concern and the Concordant Version of the Bible.
, born in St. Louis, Missouri
as the son of Adolph Knoch, who had emigrated from Germany
to the USA . One of his sisters, Addie, remained in Germany. Knoch grew up bilingually: in his parents' house only German was spoken; Knoch learned English only at school.
In 1885 the family moved to Los Angeles
, where he completed high school in 1893. One of the teachers apparently told him that he had literary talent, and he should study great literature such as Shakespeare or the Bible. Since works by Shakespeare were not available, the young Knoch read in the family Bible. While at school, and thereafter (a total of around 20 years), he worked as a printer in the company of his brother.
As part of a job, he came with a group, the "Plymouth Brethren
", part of the Brethren Movement. Tutor McClure led Knoch in this group. He concurred with the teachings and was baptized. Because of his interest in languages, in 1900 at the Los Angeles Bible Institute, he studied "Ancient Greek, the NT in the proto-reading". In 1901 Knoch compared his translation output with the new American Standard Revised Version
; he was disappointed.
During this time he began developing a form of his concordant method of Bible translation. In the "Plymouth Brethren" he met Olive Hyde, another religious teacher; they married in April 1903. Knoch began to give Greek courses at the local YMCA
. He discovered what he believed were additional mistakes in traditional translations and increasingly taught from the Greek to avoid teaching that of which he no longer was totally convinced. He began applying his systematic program with Biblical Greek to his writing work. On November 5, 1907, his son Ernest Oliver was born.
Dr. Ethelbert William Bullinger, publisher of the magazine in England, "Things to Come", in 1906 published a few articles from Knoch. Russian Vladimir Gelesnoff, living in the United States, read the articles and contacted Knoch. Together they published the magazine "Grace and Glory", but for only eight issues in 1909. It appeared some time later they made some changes and moved to the title known today as "Unsearchable Riches", particularly regarding dispensationalism
and detailed word studies. Knoch concentrated on the Greek New Testament, while Gelesnoff processed the Hebrew Old Testament. Knoch was subsequently published in various books and writings. Knoch's methodology used thousands of index cards on which all occurrences of each Greek word were listed.
After his brother had sold the print shop, Knoch worked there for some years, until the printer began accepting print jobs related to war. Knoch refused such assignments and, together with another employee (Herman Vogel), was dismissed until a contract to print tickets was purchased. Knoch worked there a few months until he decided to work full time for his religious beliefs. Bird later printed the magazine Unsearchable Riches and the Bible Concordant Version, as is still the case.
Knoch was primarily a compiler
, since the Bible is based on Greek-designated experts such as George L. Rogers (Almont, Michigan
), Edward H. Clayton (Sheffield
, England) and Earl Taber and many others. The Bible was first released in several parts, starting in 1919 with Revelation
; the complete Concordant Translation of the New Testament was published in 1926. Later editions were published in 1944 and 1966, reflecting corrections by contributors such as Alexander Thomson
.
In 1926, Knoch's wife died. In 1930, Knoch traveled to Germany to visit some German evangelists with whom he maintained contact. At certain events, translations of his articles were read. On 25 May 1937, he married Sigrid Charlotte Marie Gräfin von Kanitz (born 1876 in Germany) in Potsdam
.
Sigrid Knoch translated the next article of her husband for the German Unsearchable Riches. Now in the United States, they decided to return to Germany to develop the German version of the Concordant Translation, at the house of Baroness Wally Bissingen; it was released in 1939 in Berlin.
In 1939, the American government urged U.S. nationals to return to the United States, including Knoch, because of the impending war. According to its records, Knoch was under observation by the FBI during the Second World War because of his marriage to a German and his frequent contacts with Germany (Act no. 100-20677; Verdict: safe). In 1965 AE Knoch died.
He came to the conclusion that some doctrines, which his church had required him to believe, resulted conspicuously from inaccurate or incorrect translations of the Bible, and Knoch discarded them.
These include, for example, teaching about Hell
.
Though in a revised forom, but still in principle, he retained the strong dispensationalism
of the Brethren Movement (developed by Darby
), and the two different gospels for the Jews and the Nations.
The views of Ethelbert William Bullinger may also have influenced him. Knoch was put off by the doctrine of the Trinity
, saying that its sense of Divinity of Jesus Christ as being equal with God the Father is not biblical.
He also said that the soul dissolves upon death, as the soul from the body and the mind is (soul sleep). Knoch believed the doctrine of the immortal soul to be an unscriptural doctrine of Plato
.
Knoch founded the Concordant Publishing Concern and the Concordant Version of the Bible.
Life
Knoch was raised in a German-speaking part of MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, born in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
as the son of Adolph Knoch, who had emigrated from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to the USA . One of his sisters, Addie, remained in Germany. Knoch grew up bilingually: in his parents' house only German was spoken; Knoch learned English only at school.
In 1885 the family moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where he completed high school in 1893. One of the teachers apparently told him that he had literary talent, and he should study great literature such as Shakespeare or the Bible. Since works by Shakespeare were not available, the young Knoch read in the family Bible. While at school, and thereafter (a total of around 20 years), he worked as a printer in the company of his brother.
As part of a job, he came with a group, the "Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
", part of the Brethren Movement. Tutor McClure led Knoch in this group. He concurred with the teachings and was baptized. Because of his interest in languages, in 1900 at the Los Angeles Bible Institute, he studied "Ancient Greek, the NT in the proto-reading". In 1901 Knoch compared his translation output with the new American Standard Revised Version
American Standard Version
The Revised Version, Standard American Edition of the Bible, more commonly known as the American Standard Version , is a version of the Bible that was released in 1901...
; he was disappointed.
During this time he began developing a form of his concordant method of Bible translation. In the "Plymouth Brethren" he met Olive Hyde, another religious teacher; they married in April 1903. Knoch began to give Greek courses at the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. He discovered what he believed were additional mistakes in traditional translations and increasingly taught from the Greek to avoid teaching that of which he no longer was totally convinced. He began applying his systematic program with Biblical Greek to his writing work. On November 5, 1907, his son Ernest Oliver was born.
Dr. Ethelbert William Bullinger, publisher of the magazine in England, "Things to Come", in 1906 published a few articles from Knoch. Russian Vladimir Gelesnoff, living in the United States, read the articles and contacted Knoch. Together they published the magazine "Grace and Glory", but for only eight issues in 1909. It appeared some time later they made some changes and moved to the title known today as "Unsearchable Riches", particularly regarding dispensationalism
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
and detailed word studies. Knoch concentrated on the Greek New Testament, while Gelesnoff processed the Hebrew Old Testament. Knoch was subsequently published in various books and writings. Knoch's methodology used thousands of index cards on which all occurrences of each Greek word were listed.
After his brother had sold the print shop, Knoch worked there for some years, until the printer began accepting print jobs related to war. Knoch refused such assignments and, together with another employee (Herman Vogel), was dismissed until a contract to print tickets was purchased. Knoch worked there a few months until he decided to work full time for his religious beliefs. Bird later printed the magazine Unsearchable Riches and the Bible Concordant Version, as is still the case.
Knoch was primarily a compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
, since the Bible is based on Greek-designated experts such as George L. Rogers (Almont, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
), Edward H. Clayton (Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England) and Earl Taber and many others. The Bible was first released in several parts, starting in 1919 with Revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
; the complete Concordant Translation of the New Testament was published in 1926. Later editions were published in 1944 and 1966, reflecting corrections by contributors such as Alexander Thomson
Alexander Thomson (writer)
Alexander Thomson, , born in Corstorphine, Scotland, was a religious writer involved in the work of the Concordant Publishing Concern , publishers of the Concordant Literal Version of the Bible....
.
In 1926, Knoch's wife died. In 1930, Knoch traveled to Germany to visit some German evangelists with whom he maintained contact. At certain events, translations of his articles were read. On 25 May 1937, he married Sigrid Charlotte Marie Gräfin von Kanitz (born 1876 in Germany) in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
.
Sigrid Knoch translated the next article of her husband for the German Unsearchable Riches. Now in the United States, they decided to return to Germany to develop the German version of the Concordant Translation, at the house of Baroness Wally Bissingen; it was released in 1939 in Berlin.
In 1939, the American government urged U.S. nationals to return to the United States, including Knoch, because of the impending war. According to its records, Knoch was under observation by the FBI during the Second World War because of his marriage to a German and his frequent contacts with Germany (Act no. 100-20677; Verdict: safe). In 1965 AE Knoch died.
Theology
Knoch's work on the Concordant Bible translation led to the development of his theological beliefs.He came to the conclusion that some doctrines, which his church had required him to believe, resulted conspicuously from inaccurate or incorrect translations of the Bible, and Knoch discarded them.
These include, for example, teaching about Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
.
Though in a revised forom, but still in principle, he retained the strong dispensationalism
Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
of the Brethren Movement (developed by Darby
John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation...
), and the two different gospels for the Jews and the Nations.
The views of Ethelbert William Bullinger may also have influenced him. Knoch was put off by the doctrine of the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
, saying that its sense of Divinity of Jesus Christ as being equal with God the Father is not biblical.
He also said that the soul dissolves upon death, as the soul from the body and the mind is (soul sleep). Knoch believed the doctrine of the immortal soul to be an unscriptural doctrine of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
.
Works
- Concordant Literal New Testament, Concordant Publishing Concern
- Unsearchable Riches
External links
- Concordant Publishing Concern --The Life of A.E. Knoch thru the Eyes of his Son E.O. Knoch.
- Concordant Publishing Concern --A Biographical Sketch by a Close Friend Edward H. Clayton.
- Concordant Publishing Concern --A.E. Knoch's Brethren Background as Told in his Own Words.
- Concordant Publishing Concern --A.E.Knoch's Musing on Mount Olivet.
- Concordant Publishing Concern --Herman H. Rocke's Funeral Message in the year of A.E.K's death.
- Concordant Publishing Concern --A.E.K's Reflections on his Work.
- Grace and Truth Articles --Scripture Studies based on the Concordant Version.
- God's Truth for Today --Read the Concordant Version online.