Thomas Jefferson Conant
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jefferson Conant American Biblical scholar, was born at Brandon, Vermont.
Graduating from Middlebury College
in 1823, he became tutor in the Columbian University, Washington D.C. from 1825 to 1827, professor of Greek
, Latin, and German
at Waterville College (now Colby College
) from 1827 to 1833, professor of Biblical Literature and criticism in Hamilton Theological Institute (New York) from 1835 to 1851, and professor of Hebrew
and of Biblical exegesis in Rochester Theological Seminary from 1851 to 1857. From 1857 to 1875 he was employed by the American Bible Union on the revision of the New Testament
(1871).
He married in 1830 Hannah O'Brien Chaplin
(1809–1865), herself the author of The Earnest Man, a biography of Adoniram Judson
(1855), and The History of the English Bible (1859); besides being her husband's assistant she was an able assistant in his Hebrew studies.
Conant was the foremost Hebrew scholar of his time in America. His treatise, The Meaning and Use of Baptizing Philologically and Historically Investigated (1860), an appendix to the revised version of the Gospel by Matthew, is a valuable summary of the evidence for Baptist
doctrine. He translated and edited Gesenius's Hebrew Grammar (1839; 1877)—and criticized a competing translation by Moses Stuart
—and published revised versions with notes of Job (1856), Genesis (1868), Psalms (1871), Proverbs (1872), Isaiah i.xiii. 22 (1874), and Historical Books of the Old Testament, Joshua to II. Kings (1884).
Conant died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1891.
Graduating from Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
in 1823, he became tutor in the Columbian University, Washington D.C. from 1825 to 1827, professor of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Latin, and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
at Waterville College (now Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
) from 1827 to 1833, professor of Biblical Literature and criticism in Hamilton Theological Institute (New York) from 1835 to 1851, and professor of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
and of Biblical exegesis in Rochester Theological Seminary from 1851 to 1857. From 1857 to 1875 he was employed by the American Bible Union on the revision of the 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....
(1871).
He married in 1830 Hannah O'Brien Chaplin
Hannah O'Brien Chaplin
Hannah O'Brien Chaplin Conant was an American biblical scholar, born in Danvers, Mass., the daughter of a clergyman, and in 1830 was married to Thomas Jefferson Conant. In 1838 she became the editor of The Mother's Journal. She translated from the German Strauss's Baptism in Jordan, Neander's...
(1809–1865), herself the author of The Earnest Man, a biography of Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson
Adoniram Judson, Jr. was an American Baptist missionary, who served in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson became the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma...
(1855), and The History of the English Bible (1859); besides being her husband's assistant she was an able assistant in his Hebrew studies.
Conant was the foremost Hebrew scholar of his time in America. His treatise, The Meaning and Use of Baptizing Philologically and Historically Investigated (1860), an appendix to the revised version of the Gospel by Matthew, is a valuable summary of the evidence for Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
doctrine. He translated and edited Gesenius's Hebrew Grammar (1839; 1877)—and criticized a competing translation by Moses Stuart
Moses Stuart
Moses Stuart , an American biblical scholar, was born in Wilton, Connecticut.-Life and career:He was reared on a farm graduating with highest honours at Yale in 1799; in 1802 he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and was appointed as a tutor at Yale, where he remained for two years...
—and published revised versions with notes of Job (1856), Genesis (1868), Psalms (1871), Proverbs (1872), Isaiah i.xiii. 22 (1874), and Historical Books of the Old Testament, Joshua to II. Kings (1884).
Conant died in Brooklyn, New York, in 1891.