Between Literalism and Evangelism: Christian David Ginsburg as a Biblical Commentator

• In Event: Contours of Biblical Commentary

Abstract

This presentation shall explore one aspect of the oeuvre of Christian David Ginsburg (1825-1914), a Jewish-Christian scholar who became the preeminent Hebraist of Victorian England. In the early stages of his career, prior to his monumental work on the biblical mesorah, Ginsburg wrote an extensive translation of, and commentary upon, two biblical works – Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. These two works showcase Ginsburg’s quite remarkable interpretive methodology, which combines a unabashed Christian evangelism on the one hand with an absolute commitment to discovering the plain-text meaning of the biblical text – through the innovative use of philological tools, both medieval and modern – on the other. This presentation shall analyse the delicate intricacies of Ginsburg’s interpretive methods, contextualise his writings within both Christian and Jewish exegetical traditions, and consider both the nature and effect of the intertwined religious and academic strains prevalent within his commentaries.

Author

• J.J. Kimche, Harvard University