Matthew Brown Riddle was a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 theologian.

Biography

His father was the educator David Hunter Riddle

David Hunter Riddle

David Hunter Riddle was the ninth and last president of Jefferson College from 1862 until its union with Washington College to form Washington & Jefferson College in 1865...

. Matthew graduated from Jefferson College

Washington & Jefferson College

Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...

, Pennsylvania, in 1852, and from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary

New Brunswick Theological Seminary

New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a professional and graduate school founded in 1784, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to educate ministers for the congregations of the Reformed Church in America...

 in 1859, after which he studied at Heidelberg. In 1861, he was chaplain of the 2d New Jersey regiment, and in 1862-69 he was pastor successively of Dutch Reformed Church

Dutch Reformed Church

The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...

es in Hoboken

Hoboken

Hoboken may refer to:*Hoboken, New Jersey, United States*Hoboken, Antwerp, a district of Antwerp, Belgium*Hoboken, Georgia, United States*Hoboken, Alabama, United States*"Hoboken", a song on Operation Ivy's 1988 album Hectic-See also:...

 and Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

. He traveled in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 from 1869 until 1871, and in the latter year was appointed professor of New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 exegesis in the theological seminary of Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

. In 1887, he accepted the same chair in Western Theological Seminary

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, founded in 1794, is a graduate theological institution associated with the Presbyterian Church USA. It is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and houses one of the largest theological libraries in the nation...

, Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Allegheny, Pennsylvania

Allegheny City was a Pennsylvania municipality located on the north side of the junction of the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, across from downtown Pittsburgh. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907...

. Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, gave him the degree of D.D.

Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....

 in 1870.

He was an original member of the New Testament revision committee formed in 1871; translated and edited the epistles to the Romans

Epistle to the Romans

The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...

, Galatians

Epistle to the Galatians

The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, often shortened to Galatians, is the ninth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of Early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia...

, Ephesians

Epistle to the Ephesians

The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, often shortened to Ephesians, is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been credited to Paul, but it is considered by some scholars to be "deutero-Pauline," that is, written in Paul's name by a later author strongly influenced by...

, and Colossians

Epistle to the Colossians

The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, usually referred to simply as Colossians, is the 12th book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle to the Church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately 100 miles from Ephesus in Asia...

 in the American edition of Lange's Commentary (New York, 1869; new ed., 1886); contributed to Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff

Philip Schaff

Philip Schaff , was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and a historian of the Christian church, who, after his education, lived and taught in the United States.-Biography:...

's Popular Illustrated Commentary on the New Testament (4 vols., New York and Edinburgh, 1878-83), and to his International Revision Commentary (New York, 1882); edited the gospels of Mark

Gospel of Mark

The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...

 and Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

 for the American edition of H. A. W. Meyer's Commentary (New York, 1884); revised and edited Edward Robinson

Edward Robinson (scholar)

Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...

's Greek Harmony of the Gospels (Boston, 1885), and Robinson's English Harmony (1886); and edited parts of Bishop Arthur Cleveland Coxe

Arthur Cleveland Coxe

Arthur Cleveland Coxe DD LLD was the second Episcopal bishop of New York. He used Cleveland as his given name and is often referred to as A. Cleveland Coxe.-Biography:...

's edition of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, contributing the “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” and the “Second Clement” (Buffalo, 1886); Augustine's Harmony of the Gospels (New York, 1888); and Chrysostom's “Homilies on Matthew,” in Nicene Fathers (1888). With Rev. John E. Todd, D.D., he prepared the notes on the International Sunday School Lessons for the Congregational Publishing Society of Boston in 1877-81.

He retired in 1913.