Meeting of the members of the Scofield Revision Committee; November 10, 1960: Chicago, Illinois. Left to right: Dr. John F. Walvoord, Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, Dr. Allan A. MacRae, Dr. Wilber D. Ruggles, Dr. E. Schuyler English, Dr. Frank E. Gaebelein, Dr. Alva J. McClain, Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr., Dr. William Culbertson, Dr. Wilbur M. Smith.
been replaced with modern words; words that are still in use but have completely altered their meaning since 1611 have been changed; “who” has been substituted for “which” when persons are alluded to. No longer will the reader be required to go to the margin to discover that the Greek word rendered prevent in I Thessalonians 4:15 means, in mod ern English, precede. No more will brows be furrowed at “And they shall amerce him in a hundred shek els of silver” (Deut. 22 :19 ); for amerce in will be replaced by fine. An apothecary (Ex. 20:13) is not a druggist but a perfumer; brutish (Psa. 49:10) has not to do with uncontrolled strength but stupidity; by and by (Matt. 13:21) is not in dicative of an uncertain time in the future but signifies im m ed ia cy ; chapmen (II Chron. 9:14) are trad ers; lien equals lain; castles (Gen. 25:16) are encampments. The beauty of the KJV will not be lost. Neither will the average reader be aware of the word substitutions; but he will understand what he is reading. Interest in the New Scofield Bible is mounting. The publisher is re ceiving innumerable inquiries and advance orders are arriving with regularity. Already Oxford has or dered 350 tons of paper, anticipating an initial print order of 250,000 copies. C. I. Scofield wrote, in the intro duction to his first edition: “ The completed work is now dedicated to the service amongst men of that lov ing and Holy God, whose marvellous grace in Christ Jesus it seeks to exalt.” The editorial committee of the New Scofield Reference Bible is of the same mind.
the forthcoming edition has been in the process of preparation for more than eleven years. What of the New SRB? What will the changes be? The answer to the first question is that it will hold to the dispensational system of inter pretation of its predecessor. Its an notations stress the verbal inspira tion of the Scriptures; the Deity of Christ, His v ir g in birth, sinless life, atoning sacrifice, bodily resur rection, and premillennial return to the earth; sa lv a tion by g ra ce through faith; the pretribulation rapture of the Church. The second question can hardly be answered in a few words. The changes affect introductions to Bible books, footnotes, marginal refer ences, chronology, and text. Many of the introductions have been rewritten to include additional material and analysis. Some foot notes have been strengthened. A few less important notes have been omit ted to allow space for annotations that seem to the editorial committee to be more important, e.g. comments on archaelogical discoveries. The chain references, one of the Scofield Bible's central features and of great value, have been enlarged. Tens of thousands of cross references have been added. The chronology has been adjusted to adhere to recent findings. One of the new features will be a line at the beginning of each book of the Bible showing its author, theme, and the date of writing. A special concordance has been pre pared. There are new maps. The King James text has been re tained, but certain word changes have been made to assist the reader — archaic and obsolete words have
in evangelicalism, appointed a com mittee of nine* to work on the re vision, men sympathetic with the dispensational system of Bible in terpretation and affiliated with insti tutions known for their integrity to the Scriptures. Be it observed that the new Bible is not a one-man production; every member of the editorial board has had a part in every page and annota tion. It is a testimony to the magni tude of Dr. Scofield’s genius and energy that, whereas he accom plished his task in about six years, *E. Schuyler English, Chairman; Frank E. Gaebelein, Headmaster Emeritus of The Stony Brook School, Vice-chairman; William Culbert son, President, Moody Bible Institute; Charles L. Feinberg, Dean, Talbot Theological Semi nary; Allan A. MacRae, President, Faith Theo logical Seminary; Clarence E. Mason, Jr., Vice- president and Dean, Philadelphia College of Bible; Alva J. McClain, President Emeritus, Grace Theological Seminary; Wilbur M. Smith, Editor Peloubet’s Notes on the Sunday School Lessons; John F. Walvoord, President, Dallas Theological Seminary.
Dr. English, Chairman
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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