Samuel Sharpe (scholar)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Sharpe was an English Unitarian
Egyptologist
and translator of the Bible
.
, London, on 8 March 1799, baptised at St. James's, Piccadilly. His mother was the third daughter of Thomas Rogers, banker, and thus sister to Samuel Rogers
, the poet and literary gatekeeper. On her death, followed by Sutton's failure, the young Samuel found a second mother in his half-sister Catherine, as did Daniel Sharpe
, his younger brother, who also achieved eminence. At midsummer 1807 Samuel became a boarder in the school of Eliezer Cogan
at Higham Hill, Walthamstow
; at Christmas 1814 he was taken into the bank run by his uncles Samuel and Henry Rogers
, at 29 Clement's Lane, Lombard Street
; and remained connected with the firm till 1861, having been made partner in 1824.
Brought up an Anglican
, he came gradually to adopt the Unitarian views held by his mother's relatives. In 1821 he joined the South Place Chapel (later the South Place Ethical Society
, later still Conway Hall), the congregation of William Johnson Fox
in Finsbury
.
For many years Sharpe and his brothers taught classes, before office hours, in the Lancasterian school, Harp Alley, Farringdon Street. He was elected a fellow of the Geological Society about 1827, but took a greater interest in mathematical science and archæological research, as his contributions (1828–31) to the Philosophical Magazine
show.
His interest in Egyptology
followed the works of Thomas Young
. He studied the works of Champollion and what had been published by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, learned Coptic
, and formed a hieroglyph vocabulary. Before publishing his first book, The Early History of Egypt (1836), he consulted his uncle, Samuel Rogers, who said, "Why, surely you can do it if Wilkinson can; his only thought is where to buy his kid gloves".
Sharpe's work as a translator of the Bible began with a revision (1840) of the authorised version of the New Testament
. His Greek text was that of J. J. Griesbach, and he took little interest in the progress of textual studies. When, in 1870, the project of a revised version
was undertaken by the convocation of Canterbury
, Sharpe was one of four Unitarian scholars invited to select a member of their body to co-operate with the New Testament company.
His benefactions to University College and School, London exceeded £15,000. He was a trustee of Dr. Daniel Williams
's foundations, 1853–1857; president of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association
in 1869–70, and president of Manchester College
in 1876–8. He died at 32 Highbury Place on 28 July 1881, and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery
on 3 August. In 1827 he married his first cousin
Sarah (born 1796, died 3 June 1851), daughter of Joseph Sharpe, and had six children, of whom two daughters survived him.
, contained the largest corpus of hieroglyphical writing that had yet been published, and was followed by additional series in 1841 and 1855. His ‘Vocabulary of Hieroglyphics’ was published in the autumn of 1837; in the introduction he thus states his general method of investigation: ‘Granted a sentence in which most of the words are already known, required the meaning of others;’ he allowed that the results were often tentative. In the autumn of 1838 appeared his ‘History of Egypt under the Ptolemies;’ in 1842 his ‘History of Egypt under the Romans;’ these were incorporated with the ‘Early History’ in ‘The History of Egypt,’ 1846. Other publications followed in the same line of research, but on many points his conclusions did not win acceptance.
His revision of the authorised version of the Old Testament was first issued in 1865. In eight editions of his New Testament, and four of his Old, he devoted care to the improvement of his work. As a translator he was concerned to remove archaisms. Among the last advocates of unpointed Hebrew, he published manuals for instruction in this system. His ‘History of the Hebrew Nation and its Literature,’ 1869, and his exegetical works bear the his individual stamp. He said of himself, ‘I am a heretic in everything, even among unitarians.’
For the Unitarian weekly, The Inquirer, founded in 1842 by Edward Hill, he wrote for some years, though he thought newspaper writing ‘a bad employment.’ He resumed in 1876 when the Christian Life was started by his friend Robert Spears
, writing a weekly article till his death. He had contributed papers, chiefly biblical, to the Christian Reformer (1834–63) with the signature ‘S. S.,’ and to many other periodicals.
He published, besides doctrinal tracts:
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Egyptologist
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
and translator of the Bible
Bible translations
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Indeed, the full Bible has been translated into over 450 languages, although sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages....
.
Life
He was the second son of Sutton Sharpe (1756–1806), brewer, by his second wife, Maria (died 1806), and was born in King Street, Golden SquareGolden Square
Golden Square, Soho, London in the City of Westminster is one of the historic squares of Central London. The square is just east of Regent Street and north of Piccadilly Circus....
, London, on 8 March 1799, baptised at St. James's, Piccadilly. His mother was the third daughter of Thomas Rogers, banker, and thus sister to Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron...
, the poet and literary gatekeeper. On her death, followed by Sutton's failure, the young Samuel found a second mother in his half-sister Catherine, as did Daniel Sharpe
Daniel Sharpe
Daniel Sharpe FRS was an English geologist. He was born at Nottingham Place, Marylebone, Middlesex. He studied a number of mountainous formations in Great Britain and Continental Europe and arrived at important conclusions about cleavage in rocks.-Life:Orphaned before his first birthday, he was...
, his younger brother, who also achieved eminence. At midsummer 1807 Samuel became a boarder in the school of Eliezer Cogan
Eliezer Cogan
Eliezer Cogan , was an English scholar and divine.-Life:Cogan was born at Rothwell, Northamptonshire, the son of John Cogan, a surgeon, then sixty-four years old...
at Higham Hill, Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
; at Christmas 1814 he was taken into the bank run by his uncles Samuel and Henry Rogers
Henry Rogers
Henry Rogers may refer to:*Henry Darwin Rogers -- U.S. geologist*Henry Huttleston Rogers -- U.S. businessman and philanthropist*Henry Wade Rogers -- U.S...
, at 29 Clement's Lane, Lombard Street
Lombard Street, London
Lombard Street is a street in the City of London.It runs from the corner of the Bank of England at its north-west end, where it meets a major junction including Poultry, King William Street, and Threadneedle Street, south-east to Gracechurch Street....
; and remained connected with the firm till 1861, having been made partner in 1824.
Brought up an Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, he came gradually to adopt the Unitarian views held by his mother's relatives. In 1821 he joined the South Place Chapel (later the South Place Ethical Society
South Place Ethical Society
The South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world, and is the only remaining Ethical society in the United Kingdom...
, later still Conway Hall), the congregation of William Johnson Fox
William Johnson Fox
William Johnson Fox was an English religious and political orator.-Life:He was born near Southwold, Suffolk. He trained for the Independent ministry, at the dissenting academy known as Homerton College...
in Finsbury
Finsbury
Finsbury is a district of central London, England. It lies immediately north of the City of London and Clerkenwell, west of Shoreditch, and south of Islington and City Road. It is in the south of the London Borough of Islington. The Finsbury Estate is in the western part of the district...
.
For many years Sharpe and his brothers taught classes, before office hours, in the Lancasterian school, Harp Alley, Farringdon Street. He was elected a fellow of the Geological Society about 1827, but took a greater interest in mathematical science and archæological research, as his contributions (1828–31) to the Philosophical Magazine
Philosophical Magazine
The Philosophical Magazine is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. Initiated by Alexander Tilloch in 1798, in 1822 Richard Taylor became joint editor and it has been published continuously by Taylor & Francis ever since; it was the journal of choice for such luminaries as...
show.
His interest in Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
followed the works of Thomas Young
Thomas Young (scientist)
Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...
. He studied the works of Champollion and what had been published by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, learned Coptic
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
, and formed a hieroglyph vocabulary. Before publishing his first book, The Early History of Egypt (1836), he consulted his uncle, Samuel Rogers, who said, "Why, surely you can do it if Wilkinson can; his only thought is where to buy his kid gloves".
Sharpe's work as a translator of the Bible began with a revision (1840) of the authorised version 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....
. His Greek text was that of J. J. Griesbach, and he took little interest in the progress of textual studies. When, in 1870, the project of a revised version
Revised Version
The Revised Version of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version of 1611. It was the first and remains the only officially authorized and recognized revision of the King James Bible. The work was entrusted to over 50 scholars from various denominations in Britain...
was undertaken by the convocation of Canterbury
Convocation of the English Clergy
The Convocation of the English Clergy is a synodical assembly of the Church of England consisting of bishops and clergy.- Background and introduction :...
, Sharpe was one of four Unitarian scholars invited to select a member of their body to co-operate with the New Testament company.
His benefactions to University College and School, London exceeded £15,000. He was a trustee of Dr. Daniel Williams
Daniel Williams (theologian)
The Revd. Dr. Daniel Williams was a Welsh Presbyterian benefactor, minister and theologian.-Early ministry:Williams was born in Wrexham, Denbighshire, and was a cousin of Stephen Davies, minister at Banbury...
's foundations, 1853–1857; president of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association
British and Foreign Unitarian Association
The British and Foreign Unitarian Association was the major Unitarian body in Britain from 1825. The BFUA was founded as an amalgamation of three older societies: the Unitarian Book Society for literature , The Unitarian Fund for mission work , and the Unitarian Association for civil rights...
in 1869–70, and president of Manchester College
Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Formerly known as Manchester College, it is listed in the University Statutes as Manchester Academy and Harris College, and at University ceremonies it is called Collegium de Harris et...
in 1876–8. He died at 32 Highbury Place on 28 July 1881, and was buried at Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park Cemetery
Abney Park in Stoke Newington, in the London Borough of Hackney, is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney and Dr. Isaac Watts, and the neighbouring Hartopp family. In 1840 it became a non-denominational garden cemetery, semi-public park arboretum, and...
on 3 August. In 1827 he married his first cousin
Cousin marriage
Cousin marriage is marriage between two cousins. In various jurisdictions and cultures, such marriages range from being considered ideal and actively encouraged, to being uncommon but still legal, to being seen as incest and legally prohibited....
Sarah (born 1796, died 3 June 1851), daughter of Joseph Sharpe, and had six children, of whom two daughters survived him.
Works
The first part (spring of 1837) of his ‘Egyptian Inscriptions,’ chiefly from the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, contained the largest corpus of hieroglyphical writing that had yet been published, and was followed by additional series in 1841 and 1855. His ‘Vocabulary of Hieroglyphics’ was published in the autumn of 1837; in the introduction he thus states his general method of investigation: ‘Granted a sentence in which most of the words are already known, required the meaning of others;’ he allowed that the results were often tentative. In the autumn of 1838 appeared his ‘History of Egypt under the Ptolemies;’ in 1842 his ‘History of Egypt under the Romans;’ these were incorporated with the ‘Early History’ in ‘The History of Egypt,’ 1846. Other publications followed in the same line of research, but on many points his conclusions did not win acceptance.
His revision of the authorised version of the Old Testament was first issued in 1865. In eight editions of his New Testament, and four of his Old, he devoted care to the improvement of his work. As a translator he was concerned to remove archaisms. Among the last advocates of unpointed Hebrew, he published manuals for instruction in this system. His ‘History of the Hebrew Nation and its Literature,’ 1869, and his exegetical works bear the his individual stamp. He said of himself, ‘I am a heretic in everything, even among unitarians.’
For the Unitarian weekly, The Inquirer, founded in 1842 by Edward Hill, he wrote for some years, though he thought newspaper writing ‘a bad employment.’ He resumed in 1876 when the Christian Life was started by his friend Robert Spears
Robert Spears
Robert Spears was a British Unitarian minister who was editor of the confessedly "Biblical Unitarian" Christian Life weekly.-Life:...
, writing a weekly article till his death. He had contributed papers, chiefly biblical, to the Christian Reformer (1834–63) with the signature ‘S. S.,’ and to many other periodicals.
He published, besides doctrinal tracts:
- ‘The Early History of Egypt,’ 1836.
- ‘Egyptian Inscriptions,’ 1837; part ii., 1841; 2nd ser. 1855.
- ‘Rudiments of a Vocabulary of Egyptian Hieroglyphics,’ 1837.
- ‘The History of Egypt under the Ptolemies,’ 1838.
- ‘The New Testament, translated,’ 1840; 8th edit. 1881.
- ‘The History of Egypt under the Romans,’ 1842.
- ‘Notes on the Hieroglyphics of Horapello Nilous,’ 1845 (Syro-Egyptian Society).
- ‘The History of Egypt from the earliest Times till A.D. 640,’ 1846; 6th edit. 1876, 2 vols.; in German from the 3rd edit. (1852) by Jolowicz, revised by Von Gutschmid, Leipzig, 1862, 2 vols.
- ‘The Chronology and Geography of Ancient Egypt,’ 1849, with Joseph Bonomi the youngerJoseph Bonomi the YoungerJoseph Bonomi the Younger was an English sculptor, artist, Egyptologist and museum curator.-Early life:Bonomi was born in London into a family of architects...
. - ‘Fragments of Orations in Accusation and Defence of Demosthenes … translated,’ 1849.
- ‘Sketch of Assyrian History,’ in Bonomi's ‘Nineveh and its Palaces,’ 2nd edit. 1853.
- ‘The Triple Mummy Case of Aro-eri Ao,’ 1858. 13. ‘Historical Notice of the Monuments of Egypt’ in Owen JonesOwen JonesOwen Jones may refer to:*Owen Jones , Welsh antiquary*Owen Jones , British architect, son of the antiquary*Owen Jones , American Congressman from Pennsylvania...
and Bonomi's ‘Description of the Egyptian Court in the Crystal Palace,’ 1854. - ‘Historic Notes on the … Old and New Testaments,’ 1854; 3rd edit. 1858.
- ‘Critical Notes on the … New Testament,’ 1856; 1867.
- ‘Alexandrian Chronology,’ 1857.
- ‘Some Particulars of the Life of Samuel Rogers,’ 1859; 1860.
- ‘Egyptian Hieroglyphics,’ 1861.
- ‘Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum, described,’ 1862.
- ‘Notes’ in Bonomi's ‘Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia,’ 1862.
- ‘Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity,’ 1863.
- ‘Sketch of the Arguments for … authorship … of the Pentateuch,’ [1863].
- ‘The Alabaster Sarcophagus of Oimenepthah,’ 1864.
- ‘The Hebrew Scriptures, translated,’ 1865 3 vols.; 4th edit. 1881, in one volume with New Testament.
- ‘The Chronology of the Bible,’ &c., 1868.
- ‘Texts from the Bible explained by … Ancient Monuments,’ 1866; 1869, 1880 (drawings by Bonomi).
- ‘The History of the Hebrew Nation and its Literature,’ 1869; 5th edit. 1892.
- ‘The Decree of Canopus; in Hieroglyphics and Greek, with translations,’ 1870.
- ‘The Rosetta Stone; in Hieroglyphics and Greek, with translations,’ 1871.
- ‘Short Notes to … translation of the Hebrew Scriptures,’ 1874.
- ‘Hebrew Inscriptions from the valleys between Egypt and Mount Sinai,’ 1875; part ii. 1876.
- ‘The Journeys and Epistles of St. Paul,’ 1876; 3rd edit. [1880].
- ‘The Book of Isaiah arranged chronologically in a revised translation … with … Notes,’ 1877.
- ‘A Short Hebrew Grammar without Points,’ 1877.
- ‘The Book of Genesis … without Points,’ 1879 (selections).
- ‘An Inquiry into the Age of the Moabite Stone,’ &c., 1879.
- ‘Bαρνάβα Ἐπιστολή. The Epistle of Barnabas … with a translation,’ 1880.