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Thomas Kelly Cheyne (1841-1915) - Pt.1

 An Annotated Bibliography of the Writings of the Hebraist and Biblical Scholar

THOMAS KELLY CHEYNE (1841-1915)

with some Biographical data and materials  pertinent to his ultimately Baha'i religious belief. 

 

Thomas K. Cheyne (1841-1915), Biblical Scholar and Bahā'ī

© Stephen Lambden, Hurqalya Publications.

IN PROGRESS

Being reformated, revised and updated - January 2018.

Thomas Kelly Cheyne  (= TKC) was born in London on Sept. 18, 1841 coming from a family that traces its genealogical roots back to (Scotland and ?) France as his surname implies. On `Cheyne' and of the wider Cheyne family see

and on the pronunciation of Cheyne see  `Cheyne: its Pronunciation, Platt, Notes and Queries.1909; s10-XI: 388.

TKC was educated at Worcester College, Oxford (B.A., 1862) and also studied in Germany at the University of Göِttingen under the great German Hebraist, Biblical commentator, Arabist and polymathic 'Orientalist', Georg Heinrich August Ewald (1803-1875). 

Georg Heinrich August Ewald (1803-1875) of the University of Göِttingen (Germany), a key teacher of T. K. Cheyne.

Add Ewald URL and see bibliography. 

Cheyne became a deacon in the Church of England in 1864 and was ordained priest in 1865. From 1868 to 1882 he was fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, where he lectured on Hebrew and divinity between 1870 to 1871. TKC became rector of Tendring, Essex UK, from 1880 to 1885 being a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford from 1868-82. He was   `Oriel Professor of Interpretation of Scripture' at the University of Oxford between 1885-1908. In 1904 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (add URL).

The British Library (London) contains some early correspondence (= Add. 46844 B) between TKC., and his father-in-law Thomas Hartwell Horne (1780-1862) best known as a bibliographer and author of the weighty An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures: with Maps and Facsimiies of Biblical Manuscripts (3 vols. 1818) which was ultimately supplemented with extra volumes and went  through eleven  editions by 1860.

This early `Photo by Hills and Saunders' (16  Cornmarket Street Oxford) of Dr. T.K. Cheyne as pasted onto the inside cover of an edition of  (Part 10 of) 'The Polychrome Bible', Isaiah (a New English translation by  T.K. Cheyne) Ed. Paul Haupt, London... 1898.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES 1868-1914

Cheyne, T.K.  1868

  • 1868 Notes and criticisms on the Hebrew text of Isaiah. London: MacMillan. ix, 42pp.  23cm. Copy in Ohio State U. MAIN Stacks BS1515 .C5 c.1.  Copy in Trinity College, Dublin. Univ. Glasgow; Manchester; Durham;  National Library of Scotland ; King's College London

Cheyne, T.K. 1870

  • 1870 Book of Isaiah Chronologically Arranged: an amended version with historical and critical introductions and explanatory notes. London: Macmillan and Co., 1870. xxxii+ 242 pp. gold tooled bdg marbled ... 20 cm.

The Academy, 1869 - 1916 - early 20th cent.

Vol. 1 : http://books.google.com/books?id=n_LVAAAAMAAJ

"From its very  first volume (see above) TKC wrote many notices and reviews for The Academy: A Monthly Record of Literature, Learning, Science, and Art.  This  periodical was started by the "reform-minded Oxford don" Dr. Charles Edward Cutts Birch Appleton (1841-1879) on 9 Oct 1869 (on him see Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 02). Appleton was its editor from 1869-1878. The Academy ... ran under various names until Aug 1916.  In 1874 it became  The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art and, having changed it name several times, it ceased publication in 1916 as, simply, The Academy.  In her important biographical note on Cheyne in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,  Joanna Hawke writes,  "Cheyne's special knowledge of continental critical scholarship and literature was recognized early in his career when, at the age of twenty-eight, he took charge of the theological department of The Academy, then newly founded, to which he himself would contribute many reviews of both British and continental works. Further, in conjunction with the Theological Translation Fund Library, he encouraged the translation of noted German critical works. It is evident from his writings in The Academy that by 1871 Cheyne had accepted the hypothesis of K. H. Graf that the Grundschrift (later known as the priestly code) was post-exilic in origin. In this Cheyne was probably the first British scholar to accept the hypothesis. In 1877, while Hebrew lecturer (from 1870 until 1882), Cheyne proposed that there be a second chair of Hebrew, one untrammelled by the strictures of the Anglican church, whose occupant would thus be able to teach a purely historico-critical interpretation of the Old Testament. This was consistent with his academic principle, evidenced in his Book of Isaiah (1870), that ‘a priori canons of a theological or a philosophical nature’ should be kept apart from questions of philology (Introduction, xvii).

In his article `Professor Cheyne' the Rev.  W. Robertson Nicol (1651-1923) one-time editor of the The Expositor (Hodder & Stoughton, 1887-1896; refer 3rd series,  vol. IX 1889 pp. 55-63) wrote regarding TKC and the influence of the Academy as follows: 

"His powerful influence on the general public was exerted through the Academy, a journal started by Dr. C. E. Appleton, one of the truest benefactors to English literature in our time. Appleton, who had been much in Germany, was impressed with the insularity and poverty of English culture, and set himself, with heroic confidence in a people yet unawakened, to provide an organ of criticism,  planned on the lines of the Literarisches Centralblatt. Dr. Cheyne became one of his closest helpers, and organized the theological department into thorough efficiency ; securing as contributors, not only such men as Lightfoot and Westcott in this country, but all the leading theological writers on the Continent, including Diestel, Lipsius, and many more, ľNot a few who began to study theology about twenty years •go will never forget the impulse given them by the Academy, and most of all by the fresh, fearless, and brilliant criticisms of Dr. Cheyne himself. I do not wish to "resurrect " articles which the learned author may be inclined to regard as freaks of youthful audacity. But we learned from him that the Speaker's Commentary was not a satisfactory reply to Colenso ; that Dr. Pusey was hardly level  with Keil, while a comparison with Delitzsch was out of the question ; that even English heresiarchs were of as little account as the most orthodox. He was the first to expound the Grafian theory of the Pentateuch, which has engaged scholars so much of late years and almost broke up a Scotch Church, stating the case for and against with clearness never surpassed. Meanwhile he was working his Book of Isaiah Chronologically Arranged (I871), which led no less a man than Diestel to pronounce him 'a master of scientific exegesis." (pp.60-61).

1876-1877

"TKC was named for Authorized Version, THE ENGLISH REVISION COMMITTEE. Old Testament Company: http://www.bible-researcher.com/ervhistory.html

Cheyne, T. K. + Driver, S. R. + Clarke, R. L.+ Goodwin, Alfred

  • 1876 The Holy Bible : containing the Old and New Testaments. London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1876. 1318pp. `Bible. English. Authorized Version, 1876. translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by His Majesty's special command, edited with various renderings and readings form the best authorities, by T.K. Cheyne, S.R. Driver, R.L. Clarke and Alfred Goodwin.21 cm. With preface, text in double column format. Known as the "Variorum" edition, and issued under a variety of titles....

The Encyclopedia Britannica, 9th ed. 1875-1889

 ADD IMAGE

The polymath, Biblical scholar and orientalist William Robertson Smith [= WRS] (1846-1894) was an editorial assistant then editor in chief (from 1887) of the 9th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. He became well known for his advanced and (for conservatives) challenging "Bible" and other articles (e.g. "Angels") which precipitated the loss of his Aberdeen (Free Church) University lectureship in 1881.  He was well-known to TKC though their probably extensive (?) correspondence has yet to be located, published and studied. See below 1892...  

On WRS see http://www.gkbenterprises.fsnet.co.uk/wrs.htm

ADD TKC entrIes :

1876 Article 'Circumcision' vol. 5 789-791  :

A sometimes updated electronic reissuing of the 11th ed. of the EB can be accessed at:

ADD IMAGE

Cheyne, T. K.

1876    Essay VII `The Maintenance of the Study of the Bible'  in `Essays on the Endowment of Research' by various writers.. pp.179-196.

Google Bks: http://books.google.com/books?id=ecAjAAAAMAAJ&oe=UTF-8

1879

Cheyne, T. K. 1879 The Christian point of view in the study of the Bible : a sermon preached in Balliol College Chapel on Trinity Sunday, June 8, 1879. London: E. Faithfull, 13pp.  "Printed for private circulation.".

 A Sermon by Cheyne of the Church of England. "Printed for private circulation." Copy in Oxf. Univ. Worcester C. WOR Store XXE.8.2(21). 

1875> The Expositor

 

Etching of TKC in the The Expositor  (3rd series)  vol. IX (1889)

 

Cheyne wrote quite frequently for the Expositor  (London) which ran from its Series 1 (12 vols. 1875-1880)  throughout and beyond his lifetime. The Expositor Series IX consisted of 4 vols. published between 1924 and 1925 after which it became The Expositor and Homiletic Review and continued for several decades. Early volumes of this substantive periodical  were largely devoted to issues within biblical studies and theology. Its coverage of `Old Testament' subjects and `Higher Criticism' was significant. Learned, deeply philological articles were quite frequent.

URL : For some details see EXPOSITOR-TKC.htm

URL  : Article `PROFESSOR CHEYNE' by Rev.  W. Robertson Nicol (one-time editor of the The Expositor ) printed in 3rd series,  vol. IX (1889 )pp. 55-63.

1880

Cheyne, T. K.

  • 1880 `The Clergyman's Magazine'  was published in London from 1875 when vol. 1 appeared.
  • 1880-1

Rev. Cheyne, T. K.

  • Variorum Teachers' Bible .  Messrs. Spottiswoode  ADD

1880

1884 - 3rd ed. 1884

 

Rev. Cheyne, T. K.

1880 The Prophecies of Isaiah. 2 vols.

  • The Prophecies of Isaiah, a New Translation with Commentary and Appendices, in two volumes.London: C. Kegan Paul , Trench and Co. 1880-1: First edition HB.     5th rev. ed. London : Kegan Paul , Trench and Co. 1889

Article[s] in `The Clergyman's Magazine', vol. 10-11 (1880) London: Hodder & Stoughton,  pp. ?? CHECK

  • Variorum Teachers' Bible .  Messrs. Spottiswoode  ADD

  • The Prophecies of Isaiah... NY: Thomas Whittaker, 1888. 

See Review of `The Prophecies of Isaiah'  in the `New Englander and Yale review', Vol. 44, Issue 185 (March 1885) = http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?ncpsbib:2:./temp/~ammem_bZpl::

1881

1881>  -1918/19

The Christian Commonwealth. 

Nos.1-1941 were published in London from 20th Oct.1881 until 25th Dec.1918

This ultimately Church of England magazine  continued as The Christian Commonwealth and Brotherhood World  from January 1st 1919 (issue No.1942) through to no. 1980 on 24th Sept. 1919 when it appears to have discontinued.  It is described in the British Library Newspaper Catalogue as an "Organ of the World-wide Progressive Movement in Religion and Social Ethics". Cheyne appears to have been one of the editors and occasionally contributed to the Christian Commonwealth. His early openness to Baha'i perspectives is registered therein as are certain of his communications with the Baha'i leader `Abdu'l-Baha ...   In October 1901 Albert Dawson (d. XXXX), a member of the City Temple, became editor of the Christian Commonwealth. The Baha'i leader Shoghi Effendi  (d. 1957) in his  1944 book God Passes By  wrote:

"Among those who called on Him [`Abdu'l-Baha] during the memorable days He spent in England and Scotland were the Reverend Archdeacon Wilberforce, the Reverend R. J. Campbell ... Mr. Albert Dawson, editor of the Christian Commonwealth, Mr. David Graham Pole, Mrs. Annie Besant, Mrs. Pankhurst, and Mr. Stead, who had long and earnest conversations with Him..." (GPB: 285).

"Many of those around the Baha’i Movement were familiar with Liberal Christianity prior to and concurrent with, their involvement with Baha’ism. The role of the Christian Commonwealth and [Reginald John] Campbell [1867- 1956] in both causes cannot be underestimated. ‘Abdu’l Baha attended the Liberal Christian’s International Congress of Religions in Paris in 1913, as did Tagore and Jayatilaka. The Christian Commonwealth (July 16th, 1913) reported “if a universal religion is possible or desirable, it is to be achieved through the labours of such men as these as much as by the labours of the distinguished Western scholars who met in Paris today” (from the unpublished Ph.D thesis of Lil Abdo).

See also http://www.mun.ca/rels/restmov/texts/jwmcgarvey/sebc/SEBC030.HTM

1882>

 MICAH 1st ed. 1882. Series: Cambridge Bible for schools and colleges   

 

    Cheyne, T.K.

  • 1882 Micah : with notes and introduction. Cambridge: CUPress. HBk. 64+8+15pp. Many reprints...
  • 1895 Micah (Cambridge Bible) with Notes & Introduction. Cambridge: CUP. 71 pp. Hbk
  • 1902 MICAH with Notes & Introduction Cambridge: CUP., 1902. HBk.  61pp. + Index + adds.

1882>

  • Hosea 1st ed. 188[2]4] Series: Cambridge Bible for schools and colleges/ Gen. ed.  J. J. Perowne

1883-5

The Pulpit Commentary.  ed. Rev. Canon H. D. M. Spence M.A. and the Rev. Joseph S. Excell, M.A... The whole commentary was published by: Funk & Wagnalls in the 1890s in  77 vols, spanning 26,000 pages....

 

Rev. T. K. Cheyne, M.A., Rector of Tendering, and late fellow of Balliol College Oxford. (Exposition)  Jeremiah, Jeremiah-Lamentations. 2 vols.  London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. 1883-1885.

Vo1.1. 1883  Covers Jeremiah chs. I-XXIX. Introduction, pp. i-xix Exposition and Homiletics 596pp. + Homiletical Index, pp.  i-viii. Vol. 2. 1885 Covers Jeremiah-Lamentations: Jeremiah  chs. XXIX-LII.  322 pp. Homiletical Index, pp.  i-v + Introduction to Lamentations, pp. i-viii -Exposition and Homiletecs 91pp. + Homiletical Index, pp.  i-viii.

These 2 massive vols. include introductions and detailed Exposition by Cheyne as well as  Homiletical sections by Rev. W.F. Adeney, M.A. They have been many times reprinted and are now available on CD Rom and in an electronic reprint by Logos software: http://www.logos.com/products/details/2077

1883

 

Cheyne Rev. T.K.:

1883 The Book of Psalms. Translated by the Rev., T.K. Cheyne M.A.  London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co, 1883 HB-Cloth. Gilt Top Edge, 1883.xxix+256 pp.  Pages 215-257 have the heading `Explanations or textual and exegetical Notes'. Pages 256-7 includes the heading `List of passages involving Corrections of the Text not otherwise indicated'. See 1888 + 1905 and cf.  1887 below.

1884

Cheyne, T. K. `On Genesis I., 1-3' in Hebraica (Univ. Chicago Press), vol. 2 (1884?), p.116.

`The Messianic Element in the Psalms' in The Old Testament Student   vol. 3 No. 6 (Feb., 1884), 196-200.

1885   THE OLD TESTAMENT STUDENT

The Old Testament Student. 1885. contains an article extracted `From the University Sermon preached at St. Mary's,  March 15, 1885'   by TKC  of the `Rectory of Tendring, Colchester, England' entitled, 'Jewish Interpretation of Prophecy' (pp.421-424). Among other things this piece contains an important reference to `Babism' (= the Babi-Baha'i religion) which illustrates TKC's  early knowledge of this Faith during the lifetime of Baha'u'llah its founder, the successor to the Bab whose rel;igion was widely referred to as Babism ( often also conflated with the Baha'i Faith or religion):

JEWISH INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY.1 BY T. K. CHEYNE, D. D.,
Rectory oť Tendring՝, Colchester, England.

"I will not attempt a Præparaíio Evangelica  on a large scale, and will leave on •one side the claimants of Messiahship, whose .history would form an interesting •chapter in a Christian apologia. Far be it from me to judge them, or to pretend to have sounded a deep psychological problem. Nor will I do more than indicate the deep and prophetic dissatisfaction with Judaism expressed in the Cabbalistic movement. The points of contact with Christianity in the Cabbala are 'undeniable ; the movemant itself is natural, and deserves sad, respectful sympathy, but it stands apart from the regular development of Jewish thought. The same remark applies to the Jewish movement in Persia towards Bàbism, the most modern outburst of nominally Mohammedan mysticism and, as you probably know, not •without Christian affinities. And I must not attempt on this occasion to estimate the results of the preaching of Christian missionaries, and of the circulation of the New Testament, in various parts of the Jewish world. I will only quote two significant sayings, the one from an English, the other from a Russian Jew. The former, an intelligent inquirer, has reached this point, that " Christ may, indeed must, have been more than human ; but between this concession and Deity (he says) there is an infinite gulf." The other, a devout man, well read in the Old .and New Testaments, said, "although I am still far from believing Jesus to be the Son of God, yet I consider him my mediator with God," and I often say in •my prayers, " This for the sake of Jesus of Nazareth," (that is, not for the sake of the inferior merits of the Jewish " fathers "). Such persons seem on the point of reviving a primitive Judaeo-Christianity : dare we hinder them ? Are we sure that the Hellenized theology of the Church of the Councils is not partly responsible for Jewish unbelief ? I do not wish to see the Christian religion de-Hellenized ; even for the Jews themselves a Hebraizing Christianity could perhaps only be a halting-point. The doctrine of the Logos, in its essence, is the postulate, not •only of a deep historical philosophy, but of a complete Christian experience. It has yet to be proved that this conception is inconsistent with the Theism of the Hebrew prophets. But there is no doubt that the mental habits of a Jew almost •compel him to think that it is. He interprets the prophets by the light of the Sh'mā, forgetting that the great prophets were not preoccupied with the monotheistic idea of Deuteronomy, forgetting the El-gibbor of the first Messianic prophecy. While the prejudices of Judaism are what they are, is not a Judæo-Christian church a necessity ? In the earliest times the Gentile Christians received their directions from Jerusalem ; must the Jewish Christians in our time be dictated to by Leipsic or Canterbury? Such is the question which, during the past year, has been practically answered in the negative in the South Russian province of Bessarabia. I should have no excuse for not devoting a few moments to this....
1. From the University Sermon preached at St. Mary's, March 15, 1885.  I am grateful to Amin Egea for locating this article...
1885 > Driver, S.R.; T. K. Cheyne, and William Sanday eds.

 

  • Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica: Essays in Biblical and Patristic Criticism / Archaeology & Criticism and Kindred Subjects  5 vols.  Oxford: Clarendion Press, .1895>1891?
  • Vol III =1891 325pp...
  • 2004 New reprint edition. ISBN 1592445063. / ISBN:1592445063 PBk. 1598pp.  previously published by Oxford University Press, [from] 1885.

Cheyne edited but did not write anything in vols. I-III....
1887

 

Cheyne,  Rev. T. K.

  • 1887   Job and Solomon, or The Wisdom of the Old Testament. NY: Thomas Whittaker, HC Brown Boards. 5-3/4x 8-3/4. 309 pp. Index, Notes, floral endpapers. Contains a Preface (pp. vii-ix) a Table of Contents (pp. xi-xiii) and an Introduction ` How is the Old Testament related to Christianity?' (pp. 1-9  =  An address originally delivered to "the Church Congress held in Reading [Berks. U.K.] in October 1883).  
  •  
  • 2005   (Rep.) Job and Solomon: or The Wisdom of the Old Testament.  XXX: Wipf and Stock. ISBN: 1597521515

Cheyne, T. K., 1887

  • `Notes on [add Hebrew] ....' in  Hebraica (Univ. Chicago Press),  vol. 3 No. 3  (April 1887), 175-6.
  • `On Job. III.14 ......' in Hebraica (Univ. Chicago Press),  vol. 4 (1887),123

1888  Cheyne, T. K., Driver, S. R. Clarke, R. L. Sanday, W.

  • 1888 The Holy Bible : containing the Old and New Testaments: translated out of the original tongues; and with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command.One of the prefaces dated 1888. Indexed atlas to the Holy Bible included at end. Oxford Univ.: Harris Coll. HMC Tate GA26 BIB 06.04.04. St Anne's ANN Main Libr 220.5 BIB (1611) rj...

1888

 

Cheyne, T.K.
1888 The Hallowing of Criticism: Nine Sermons on Elijah preached in Rochester Cathederal, with an Essay Read at the Church Congress, Manchester, October 2nd 1888.  London: Hodder and Stoughton,1888.  HBk. Dedication : `To My Wife who, in more senses than one, has travelled with me in the Psalmists' and Elijah's Land, this Book, which is her own, is Dedicated'. Preface dated September 14th 1888. pp. vii-x. 181pp.+Appendix = `To what extent should the results of Historical and Scientific Criticism, especially of the Old Testament, be recognized in Sermons and Teaching?', pp.183-207.

1888

 

Cheyne, T.K.

1888 The Book of Psalms or the Praises of Israel. NY: Thomas Whittaker, 1888 HBk. 1888 The Book of Psalms or the Praises of Israel. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. 1888 HBk. Introduction, pp. i-xvii, pp. 1-406 Annotated translation.

    This volume is Dedicated to : "PROF. FRANZ DELITZSCH IN ADMIRATION OF NOBLE SERVICES TO SCHOLARSHIP AND THE CHURCH AND IN GRATITUDE FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF HIS FRIENDSHIP"

    Cheyne, T. K. (ed)

    • The Book of Psalms.  London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., No Date. Black leather HBk. 257pp. Approx. 4 by 6"  CHECK..

    See  below 1905 for a replacement 2nd edition. cf. 1883 and 1888.

    1888

    Jeremiah, His Life and Times. A work in the 17 vol. series, `Men of the Bible, their lives and Times'. 

    [DEDICATED] TO PROF. EBERHARD SCHRADER, AUTHOR OF “THE CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS AND THE OLD TESTAMENT,” A FOREMOST PUPIL OF EWALD AND PIONEER OF ASSYRIOLOGY, AS  A MEMORIAL OF PLEASANT PERSONAL INTERCOURSE IN FORMER DAYS.

    PREFACE = "JEREMIAH is one of the central figures of an exciting period which has to be reconstructed by a combined effort of criticism and imagination. It is nearly twenty years since I first began to prepare for a commentary on Jeremiah, and since then the book and its author have retained an interest for me. The exposition in the “Pulpit Commentary” (1883—1885) is a most fragmentary realization of my original plan, and I was glad to take up the pen once more. In the summer of 1887 I preached a course of sermons on Jeremiah in Rochester Cathedral, similar to a course which I have printed on Elijah 1 [= fn.1 "The Hallowing of Criticism", Hodder and Stoughton,1888]’ These sermons are the germ of the present volume.

    In these two biographies I have entered on a field which is new to me—the literary and yet critical treatment of those Old Testament narratives which from my childhood I have loved. With faltering steps I have sought to follow Arthur Stanley, who regarded it as his mission “so to delineate the outward events of the Old and New Testament, as that they should come home with a new power to those who by long familiarity have almost ceased to regard them as historical at all.” It is hoped that this volume may be an appropriate companion to Dr. Driver’s critical and yet both reverent and popular study on the Life and Times of Isaiah.

    I regret that, since Deuteronomy had to be brought in at all hazards, it was impossible to discuss the question of the text of Jeremiah, that of the arrangement of the prophecies, or that of the origin of Jer. x. 1—16, and (see p. 168) 1., li. I should now probably modify what I have written on these subjects in  [viii ] the “Encyclopedia Britannica” (art. “Jeremiah“), and in the “Pulpit Commentary,” and should have to discuss them in connexion with the larger question of the method of the editor of Jeremiah, who, I suspect, dealt more freely with his material (yet not so as to injure its true prophetic inspiration) than some of the other editors of the prophecies. I have thought it best on this occasion not to assume more than the most assured results of criticism. The reader must make allowance for the narrow limits prescribed to the volumes of this series. The Book of Jeremiah itself is full of exegetical interest; the character of Jeremiah is a fascinating psychological problem; the times of Jeremiah are among the most important in Old Testament history. On each of these subjects I have tried to throw some light from various sources, and at the same time to kindle in the reader that same reverential sympathy which I hope I feel myself for this great prophet. [pp.vii-viii]"  Sept. 18, 1888.

    Cheyne, Rev. Canon T.K.  1888 

    • Men of the Bible. Jeremiah: His Life & Times. New York: Fleming H. Revell, Cloth. 205pp.
    • + Fleming H. Company, nd, 205pp, red HB. ISBN: LC04009181
    • London: Wilkes and Co. c. 1888? 205pp. Orange Cloth.
    • [1888]  Jeremiah: His Life and Times. James Nisbet & Co. Nd. HB. Brown Cloth. HB. 205pp.  
    • Jeremiah: His Life and Times. NY: Anson D. F. Randolph ND, CA 1900. HB, Brown Cloth.
    •  Jeremiah: His Life and Times. London 5th. c.1900. Men of the Bible series. G+. 

    1889  [1891] Bampton lectures

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • 1891  The Origin and Religious Contents of the Psalter in the light of Old Testament criticism and the history of religions with an introduction and appendices : eight lectures, New York: Thomas Whittaker,  xxviii, 517 pp. ; 22 cm. Spine title =  The origin of the Psalter rep. 1892...

    Preached by Thomas Kelly Cheyne before the University of Oxford in the year 1889 on the foundation of the late Rev. John Bampton, M.A., Canon of Salisbury (= "The Bampton lectures, 1889"). Includes subject index and index of passages cited from biblical and ancient sources. In these lectures TKC dates all the Psalms except Psalm 18 to the post-exilic period.

    Cheyne, T.K.

    •  1891 The Origin and Religious Contents of the Psalter in the light of Old Testament Criticism and the History of Religions.  London: Kegan Paul Trench Trubner. xxxviii, 517 pp.  22 cm.

    Cheyne, T.K.

    1891

    • Ancient Beliefs in Immortality. A reply to Mr. Gladstone. Judaism, Zoroastrianism, etc. article in  The Nineteenth Century, December 1891. 18pp. 
    • `Possible Zoroastrian Influence on the Religion of Israel' in Expository Times Vol. 2 No. 9 (1891), pp. 202-208.

    1891

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • Lengthy, fascinating and erudite review in The Critical Review    Vol.1 (1891) pp. 250-259 of a small volume (105pp.) on the book of  Hiob / Job published in Germany (Kiel: Haeseler) and  London + Edinburgh (Williams & Norgate) by  J. G. E. Hoffmann.

    1892

    Cheyne, T. K.  

    • `Pathros in the Psalter' in Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 11 No. 1 (1892) pp. 125-6.

    Introduction and Additional Notes by T. K. Cheyne to :

    William Robertson Smith

    • 1892  The Old Testament in the Jewish Church. 2nd ed. with an Introduction and Additional Notes by T. K. Cheyne. London: Adam & Charles Black,

    1892 

     

    Cheyne, T. K.  

    •  1892 :  Aids to the Devout Study of Criticism. Pt. I. The David Narratives Part II. The Book of Psalms.  London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. Hbk. Preface + Table of Contents' = v-viii +397pp.

    1st ed. 1893

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • 1893 : Founders of Old Testament Criticism: Biographical, Descriptive, and Critical Studies. London: Methuen & Co. 1893 Cloth Bound. Gilt Spine. First Edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth lettered in gold. Spine and cover ruled in gold.  xi + 372 pp.  21cm.

    An important and highly regarded book detailing many important aspects and figures in the genesis of Biblical criticism. Cheyne himself had studied in Gottingen (Germany) with Georg Heinrich August Ewald   (1803-75) a giant in 19th century biblical scholarship who not only published a Hebrew grammar (1827) but also an Arabic grammar (1831-1833) and a work on Sanskrit poetry. Like Ewald Cheyne maintained a lifelong respect for academic biblical scholarship or criticism which he felt did not threaten biblical studies but enabled the exegete to fathom its depths more adequately.

    • 1971 Reprint.  Jerusalem: Raritas, ix, 372 pp.
    • 2003 Reprint. XXXX: Wipf and Stock Publishers., PBk. ISBN:  1592443788,  382pp.

    1893
    Cheyne, T. K. 1893

    •  `Mr. Charles Edition of the Book of Enoch' in Expository Times Vol. 4 No. 11 (1893), pp. 507-9.

     1895

    Cheyne, T.K.:

    •  1895 `The Archaeological Stage of Old Testament Criticism’.  An article in the Contemporary Review, 1895  (octavo). 14 pp. 

    Cheyne, T.K.: 

    •  Articles in the  Rev. John McClintock and James Strong 1881 ? /1895 (1st ed). Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature.   12 vols. Harper & Brothers 1881   // CHECK  containing some 31,000 articles. Rep. 1969, 1980s.. etc (now on CD Rom).
    •  `Tower of Babel'  ?? CHECK

    1895

    Cheyne,  Rev. T. K. 

    • 1895 Introduction to the Book of Isaiah with an Appendix containing the undoubted portions of the two chief prophetic writers in a Translation.  London: Adam and Charles Black. 450pp+ adds.
    • 2005 (Rep.) Introduction to the Book of Isaiah with an Appendix containing the undoubted portions of the two chief prophetic writers in a Translation. 120pp. XXX:  Wipf & Stock Publishers, PBk. ISBN 1592449093.

    Book of Isaiah

    • 1897 = German trans.  Einleitung in das Buch Jesaja. Deutsche šbersetzung unter durchg„ngiger Mitwirkung des Verfassers hrsg. von Julius B”hmer. XVI,408 Seiten, Leinen (J. Rickersche 1897) unaufgeschnitten.

     

    Cheyne, T. K.  [ Böhmer, Julius] (Hrsg.)

    •  Einleitung in das Buch Jesaja. Deutsche Übersetzung unter durchgängiger Mitwirkung des Verfassers.  hrsg. von Julius Böhmer. XVI, 408 Seiten, Leinen (J. Rickersche 1897) unaufgeschnitten. xvi +24 pp. (Forward) + 408pp ( = Text).
    •  Einleitung in das Buch Jesaja. Giessen: Ricker, 1897. Dt. Übers. v. Julius Böhmer. xvi+24+ 408 pp.

    THE POLYCHROME BIBLE  (1891 [3]-1904)

     

    "The Sacred Books of the Old Testament; a critical edition of the Hebrew text printed in colors, with notes prepared by eminent Biblical scholars of Europe and America"

    The Polychrome Bible project (initiated  by Haupt in 1891) was designed to be a complete critical edition and translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible incorporating newly translated, annotated critical editions of these books with source-critical possibilities or literary strata shown in different colors. Leading 19th century specialists in the Hebrew Bible worked on different biblical books under the editorship of Paul Haupt (1858-1928) professor of Semitic Languages at Gottingen (Germany) and John Hopkins University (USA). The Polychrome Bible project , it seems, was never completed although volumes appeared during the decade 1893 and 1904. They were variously published in Germany (Leipzig : Hinrichs/ Stuttdart: Deutsche Verlang s-Anstalt), England (London: James Clarke & Co.) and the USA (New York: Dog, Mead and Company).

    Examples, including Cheyne's  vol. 10 (see below),  are :

    • Vol. 1. The Book of Genesis, by C. J. Ball.
    • Vol. 3 The Book of Leviticus, by S.R. Driver and H. A. White.
    • Vol. 6. The Book of Joshua, by W. H. Bennett.
    • Vol. 7. The Book of Judges,by G. F. Moore.
    • Vol. 8. The Books of Samuel, by K. Budde.
    • Vol. 10. The Book of Isaiah, by T.K. Cheyne.
    • Vol. 11. The Book of Jeremiah, by C. H. Cornill.
    • Vol. 12. The Book of Ezekiel, by C. H. Toy.
    • Vol. 14. The Book of Psalms, by J. Wellhausen.
    • Vol. 17. The Book of Job, by C. Siegfried.
    • Vol. 18. The Book of Daniel, by A. Kamphausen.
    • Vol. 20. The Books of Chronicles, by R. Kittel

    1899 Rev. Cheyne, T. K., M.A. D.D. Polychrome Isaiah USA Ed. 1899

     

    •  1898  The Book of Isaiah, A New English Translation printed in colors exhibiting the Composite structure of the Book (With Explanatory Notes and Pictorial Illustrations).  London: James Clarke [Polychrome Bible], 1898. xii 215pp illus.

    1897 Cheyne, T. K.

    • `The Book of Psalms, its origin, and its relation to Zoroastrianism', in  Semitic Studies in Memory of Rev. Dr. A. Kohut. Berlin, 1897, pp. XXX-XXX.
    • `Possible Zoroastrian Influences on the Religion of Israel' in Expository Times  vol. II (18XX) nos. 9 (pp.202-9), 10 (pp. 224-8) and 11 (pp. 248-254). 
    • `Gratz's Corrections of the text of Job' in Jewish Quarterly Review Vol. 10 No. 1  (October 1897), p. 184.

    1st ed. 1898

     

    Rev. T K Cheyne, MA. DD.
    1898

    • Jewish Religious Life After The Exile. N.Y. / New York City : G. P. Putman's Sons, 1898. Maroon boards.  Maroon Cloth, gilt titles. 22+270+1(ad) pp. American Lectures on the History of Religions. Third Series- 1897-1898. 269pp. Cloth. First American Edition. 8vo - over 7 " - 9 " tall. xx + 270pp + 4pp ads. 
    •  Jewish Religious Life after the Exile.  G. P. Putnam 1898.  5.75 X 8.5 NDJ 270 Pages. 1st ed. .  
    • Jewish Religious Life After The Exile. New York and London: The Knickerbocker Press, 1898. Hb. Pages cut roughly. 
    •  Jewish Religious Life After the Exile - American Lectures on the History of Religion - 3rd Series.  New York: G P Putnam, 1901 gilt cloth embossed cloth, 290 pp.
    • `Description of Jewish social and religious life, customs, belief after exile to Babylon and Prior to and after the return of the nation under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra. Also deals with religious development, varieties of Jewish wisdom, Orthodox and Heretical wisdom, Levitical piety, Judaism's power to attract foreigners, its higher theology, its relation to Greece, Persia, and Babylon...'  
    •  Jewish Religious Life After the Exile.  GP Putnam's 1908 + 1915. 270pp

     

    Cheyne, T.K.,1905 (German trans.)

    •  Das religiöse Leben der Juden nach dem Exil. Deutsche Übersetzung unter durchgängiger Mitwirkung des Verfassers vonH. Stocks. Gießen, Alfred. Töpelmann 1905. Zweite Ausgabe. XII, 262, (2) pp.
    •  Das religiöse Leben der Juden nach dem Exil. Deutsche Übersetzung unter durchgängiger Mitwirkung des Verfassers von H. Gießen, A. Töpelmann 1905. Zweite Ausgabe. XII, 262,(2) pp.

    1898

    Cheyne, T.K.,

    •  `Gleanings of Biblical Criticism and Geography' Jewish Quarterly Review vol. 10. No. 4 (July, 1898), 565-583.
    •  `Dr. Torrey on the Edomites; Journal of Biblical Literatutre, Vol 17 No. 2 (1898),

    1st. 1899

     

    Cheyne, T. K.  

    •  1899 The Christian Use of the Psalms, with Essays on the Proper Psalms in the Anglican Prayer Book. London: ISBISTER & CO LTD, 1899 HB. Cloth. 273pp. + Adds. Dedicated `To my Wife the Partner of my toils and Interests'.

    1899

    Cheyne, T.K.,

    • 'Notes on the Hebrew words ADD and ADD' in Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology 21 (1899), 246.
    • `Some Critical Difficulties in the Chapters on Balaam' in The Expository Times vol. 10 No. 9 (1899), 399-402.

    1897-1899  Jewish Quarterly Review

    • (Claude) "Montefiore expressed 'the hope that our magazine ... may be the means of securing to the subject and the method (both critical and religious!) of Professor Cheyne some Jewish followers and disciples.' (JQR 1 (1889), 2) Refer:  http://www.art.man.ac.uk/RELTHEOL/JEWISH/TomesFT4.htm

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • `Note on Sirach L. 9' in  Jewish Quarterly Review  12 (1899-1900), 554.
    • `Ecclus. xi.19', in Jewish Quarterly Review  10 (1897-1898), 13-17.

    THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BIBLICA, 1899-1903.

     

    1899-1901 (4 vols. 1st edition). Cheyne, T.K & J. S. Black, eds. 1899-1903.Encyclopædia Biblica. 4 Vols., London, 1899-1903.

    • Encyclopaedia Biblica A Critical dictionary of The Literary Political And Religious History The Archaeology Geography And The Natural History Of The bible.  Adam & Charles Black 1899. 1st edition. 4to. 4 vols in 4 complete. Vol I A - D 1899 xxvipp + 1142 cols + 1 double page colour map and 2 bw maps in text. Vol II E - K 1901 (8)pp + 1145 - 2688 colomns + 1 double page colour map + 8 colour maps + 5 bw maps in text. Vol III L - P 1902 xvpp, (1)pp, 2690 - 3987 columns + 5 colour maps + 2 bw maps in text. Vol IV xxxiipp, 3989 - 5443 columns + 2 double page colour map + 2 colour maps + 1 bw maps in text. Green blind stamped cloth, gilt lettering and device on front and spine.

    • Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religious History, The Archaeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible. London, A&C Black, 1914. Large 8vo. xxxii+5,444 columns. India paper ed. 1/2 leather binding. Contributors include Kamphausen, Socin, Conder, E. Meyer, G. A. Smith, Usener, Winckler, J.G. Frazer, Jastrow, et al. .....

    • Encyclopaedia Biblica a Dictionary of the Bible  Vol. I Adam & Charles Black Hard Cover. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Green decorative cover, gold wording on cover.

    Reprint 2003.

    In his article about TKC in the recent (1999) Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation,  John Day writes as follows : 

    "C[heyne] edited with J. Black the four volumes of the Encyclopaedia Biblica (1899—1903) to which he contributed many articles. In general a fine piece of work, it exhibits, however, the beginnings of the wild and bizarre notions that were to dominate C.’s work after 1900. Expanding the notion of the German scholar H. WINCKLER [1863-1913] that Mizraim in the H[ebrew] B[ible] is often the name of a north Arabian kingdom of Muṣri rather than Egypt, as had previously been supposed, C. came to the view that Mizraim in the HB regularly denotes this postulated north Arabian kingdom. He believed that it was from this kingdom that the Israelites were delivered in the exodus. Near Muṣri, in the Negeb, there dwelt the Ishmaelite tribe of the Jerahmeelites, who (C. claimed) also worshiped a god called Jerahmeel. In the MT the Jerahmeelites are mentioned only a few times; C., however, produced vast numbers of textual emendations in order to find allusions to them all through the HB. He saw Jerahmeel and the neighboring kingdoms as the seat of hostility to the Jews. He claimed that they were the object of complaint in many of the psalms and also believed that the bulk of the exiles went to north Arabia rather than to Babylon" (DBI:177).

    It was TKC's espousal and championing of the 'Jerahmeelite theory' that led to his being widely criticized during the last fifteen years or so of his life.

    Select Reviews of the Encyclopedia Biblica :

    Davison, William Theophilus. 1901.

    • Christ and Modern Criticism. A review of the second volume of the “Encyclopædia Biblica” edited by T. K. Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black. Reprinted from the “London Quarterly Review.”). (pp. 24.) Charles H. Kelly: London, [1901.]
    • Review in Journal of Theological Studies vol. vi No.2 (190X) pp. 151ff.

    1900

    Cheyne, T. K.

    • `Canticles V.13 and VII.1'  in Jewish Quarterly Review Vol. 12 No. 2 (1900), p.380.

    1901

    Cheyne, T. K.

    `From Isaiah to Ezra: A Study of Ethanites and Jerahmeelites' in American Journal of Theology Vol. 5. No. 3 (July, 1901,pp. 433-444.

    1904-5

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    1904 The Book of Psalms, Translated from a revised text with Notes and Introduction.   In place of a second edition of an earlier work (1888) by the same author. 2 vols. London: Kegan Paul, Trubner & Co. Ltd. Dryden House, Gerrard Street, W. 1904.

    1903-4

     

    Cheyne, T. K. D. Litt. D.D.

    1904

     

    Cheyne, T. K.

    • 1904 Bible Problems and the New Material for Their Solution-a Plea for Thoroughness of Investigation Addressed to Churchmen and Scholars. London: Williams & Norgate, 1904 Hard Cover. No Djk . First English Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Crown Theological Library, Volume 8. Blue cloth cover and spine 271p p.
    • 1904 Bible Problems And The New Material For Their Solution... New York: Putnam 1904. 271pp.  "A plea for thoroughness of investigation addressed to churchmen and scholars".  Crown Theological Library Series. 271 pp.

    1905

     

     See 1888 (cf. 1888. 1904).

    1905

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • 1905 `A Dark passage in Isaiah' in Zeitschrift A Wissenschaft 25 (1905), 172.
    • 1905 `An appeal for the reconsideration of some testing biblical passages' (Recent Theological Literature) in American Journal of Theology Vol. IX No.2 (April, 1905), pp. ADD-ADD.

    1907

    • 1907 Smith, W. Robertson (introduction & notes by T. K. Cheyne), The Prophets of Israel & Their Place in History to the Close of the Eight Century B.C. Rep. London Adam & Charles Black 1907 2nd edition London: A & C Black 1912, lviii, 446 pp.

    1907

     

    Cheyne T.K.

    • 1907 Traditions & Beliefs of Ancient Israel. London,1907 A&C. xx + 591 pp.

    1908

     

    Cheyne, T. K.

    • 1908 The Decline and Fall of the Kingdom of Judah. London: Adam and Charles Black 1908. xlviii +194pp. green cloth w/ gilt lettering on spine.

    1911

     

    Cheyne, T. K.

    • 1911 The two religions of Israel; with re-examination of the prophetic narratives and utterances. London: A. and C. Black., xv+428 pp.

    1912

     

    Cheyne, T. K.

    • 1912 The Mines of Isaiah Re-Explored. London: Adam & Charles Black. viii+199 pp. 22cm.  Copy in Bodlean Lib. Oxford Univ. = BOD Bookstack M93.F05817 10141 e.92 S Th E 73. 4
    • 2005 (rep.) The Mines of Isaiah RE-Explored.  XXX: Wipf & Stock Publishers. 199pp. Pbk. ISBN: 1597521558

    1913

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    • 1913  The Veil of Hebrew History, A Further Attempt to Lift it.  Adam and Charles Black, 1913 HBk. xiv+158pp. Preface dated Advent 1912.  Dedication to:

    `TO MY DEAR PUPIL, FRIEND, AND NOW SUCCESSOR  GEORGE ALBERT COOKE AUTHOR OF NORTH SEMITIC INSCRIPTIONS AND TO ALL FREE-MINDED AND YOUNG-HEARTED SCHOLARS OF THE HEAVILY BURDENED BUT GREATLY HONOURED TWENTIETH CENTURY'.

    Another attempt by TKC to justify and expound his `North Arabian' hypothesis.

    1914

     

    Cheyne, T.K.

    1914 Fresh Voyages on Unfrequented Waters. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1914. Green Cloth. Hardcover. Tall 8vo. 22cm.  xxii, 176pp.

    Dedicated to Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne: `To my Dear Wife whom I venture to rename Madonna Lucia because Light beams from her as from Dante's Lucia and because of foes of Light fly from her'. Prefaced also with an apt  citation from the Gitanjali, xxxvii, of the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore  (1861-1941):

    I THOUGHT that my voyage had come to its end at the

     last limit of my power,—that the path before me was

    closed, that provisions were exhausted and the time come

    to take shelter in silent obscurity.

     But I find that thy will knows no end in me; and

    when old words die on the tongue, new melodies break

    forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost,

    new country is revealed with its wonders.

    (From GITANJALI, xxxvii.) [cited Fresh Voyages, p. vii]

    The Prologue (pp. xiii-xxii) to Fresh Voyages  again argues for the 'N.Arabian hypothesis' -- as does the rest of this volume --and  concludes:  `Oxford, January, 1914'  which was one year and one month before Cheyne's death. Unlike the Reconciliation..  (see below) this somewhat tired volume is not so much a `Fresh Voyage' as something of a continuing biblical studies `Shipwreck'.

    1914

    Nevill, Florence.

    What Dreams May Come: a study in failure. [A tale.] ... With preface by Professor T. K. Cheyne.   Robert Scott: London, 1914. (54pp.)

      1914

      The Reconciliation of Races and Religions

      Cheyne, T. K. , 1914 The Reconciliation of Races and Religions. London: A. and C. Black, 1914. xx+216pp. ill., front. 23 cm. Dedicated to Cheyne's second wife, Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne:

      "To my dear wife in whose poems are combined an ardent faith, an universal charity, and a simplicity of style which sometimes reminds me of the poet seer William Blake may she accept and enjoy the offering and may a like happiness be my lot when the little volume reaches the hands of the ambassador of peace [ = `Abd al-Baha']."Copy in Oxford Univ. Harris Coll. HMC Carpenter OA10 CHE 29.06.02.

      • 2004 The Reconciliation of Races and Religions. Boston, Mass.,: IndyPublish.Com Hbk. ISBN: 1414219393. 128pp. +Pbk. ISBN: 1414219407. Spiritless modern reprint...
      • 2007 The Reconciliation of Races and Religions (Dodo Press) PBk : 132pp. Publisher: Dodo Press (January 25, 2007)  ISBN-10: 1406514454 ISBN-13: 978-1406514452

      Electronic Reprints =

       

      The RECONCILIATION OF RACES AND RELIGIONS, BY THOMAS KELLY CHEYNE, D. LITT., D. D. FELLOW OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY, MEMBER OF THE NAVA VIDHAN (LAHORE), THE BAHAI COMMUNITY, ETC. RUHANI; PRIEST OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE
      "To my dear wife in whose poems are combined an ardent faith, an
      universal charity, and a simplicity of style which sometimes reminds
      me of the poet seer William Blake may she accept and enjoy the
      offering and may a like happiness be my lot when the little volume
      reaches the hands of the ambassador of peace [= `Abdu'l-Baha' (1844-1921)]

      PREFACE
      The primary aim of this work is twofold. It would fain contribute to
      the cause of universal peace, and promote the better understanding of ....

      A particularly insightful and biographically informative review of TKC's The Reconcilation of Races and Religions is that of  the Biblical scholar Crawford Howell Toy (1836-1919) in volume IX No. 1 (January 1916) of the Harvard Theological Review  (pp.1-6). We learn from this review that TKC  "was in intimate relations with the founder of the Bahaist Movement [=Baha'-Allah] and with his son [=`Abd al-Baha']" and that "He held that peace among nations could be secured only through religious union. Each of the great religions of the present day, he thought, might learn from the others, and a common faith would make all men brothers. Though he affirmed the superiority of the founder of Christianity to all other religious teachers, he seems to have been especially attracted by Bahau'llah and his formulation of religious truth—"one God, and he a God of love.".

      One is led to wonder whether TKC might have directly or indirectly encountered Baha'-Allah during an early, 1888 visit, "too brief visit to Palestine"  (? see TKC `Thoughts' in The Expositor   3rd series vol. VIII 1888 p.232).

      For the complete review  see : URL: Crawford Howell Toy Review HTR IX (1916), 1-6.

      Miscellaneous Bahā'ī materials.

      A Letter of T. K. Cheyne to `Abd al-Baha (1844-1921) then then head of the Baha'i religion.

      Allaho’Abha! 1

       Oxford, Oct. 23, 1913

      To Abdul-Baha, My Beloved Friend and Guide:

                  I cannot forget your tender embrace when you were with me in my study in the dear old house (which we have since left). 2  It has been a constant source of strength in memory and I fully believe it was by the will of God.  There was no need for me to be “converted,” because I already lived by the truths which you are always insisting on.  What I wanted, and what you gave, was the example of a life (yours was) devoted entirely to the Truth, and the sense of brotherly love, to which I may fitly add the extraordinary life of BAHA’O’LLAH.

                  Love is the secret of the universe, and in love I aspire to live.  You help me constantly. I thank you also, with all my heart, for empowering the admirable Mirza Ali Akbar  3 to help me in my search for Truth.  He has been, and is, of great service to me and I shall express my gratitude to him both in private and in public. It is a great pleasure to have Hashmatullah 4  so near. My state of health does not allow me to go into “society,” but I do see a few friends from time to time. 5              I fear that university circles are not likely to be open-minded enough to receive the message of Bahaism.  But who would have expected a Saul to become a Paul? 6  St. Paul’s teaching appeals to me by its “mysticism.”  He too had a “thorn in the flesh,” but he heard a voice saying “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  7  

               I trust--rather I know--that your inward strength remains undiminished.  But you have worked, our Brother, the body very hard of late!

                  With reverential love in El-ABHA, in which my dear wife 8  joins, I am, beloved Friend and Guide,  (Signed) (Ruhani)  F. K. [Sic.]  CHEYNE

      P.S.--I read with much sympathy your prayer for Thornton Chase, and from time to time I turn to the volume of American Tablets.  9  You have indeed, like St. Paul, “the care of all the churches.”  10  May you be helped with that same help which you are empowered to convey to others!

      [The above letter from Professor Cheyne was sent by “The Center of the Covenant”  [ `Abd al-Baha'] for reproduction in the STAR OF THE WEST.--The Editors.]  See the Baha'i Magazine Star of the West  vol. 3 page 287.

      Some Notes by SL to the above letter.

      • 1 Allaho’Abha! or Allāhu'l-Abhā (=  Allāh al-Abhā) meaning "God is the All-Glorious" is the Baha'i greeting. The Arabis superlative Abhā derived from the same root as the word Baha' ( B-H-A-W/') meaning `Glory, Splendour, etc.,' which Baha'-Allah the founder of the Baha'i religion took to be the Greatest Name of God and adopted forms of it as his personal Self-designation from the 1840s.
      •  2 Cheyne lived at a very large property named "South Elms" in 17 Parks Road Oxford (now demolished) where he met `Abd al-Baha' on December 31st 1912  later moving to a smaller Oxford residence at 11 Oakthorpe Road which he named "Santa Lucia" and where he lived until his passing with his second wife Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne.
      •  3  Most likely the Persian Baha'i Mirza Ali Akbar  Rafsanjani (1880-1921) who appeared in Europe when `Abdu'l-Baha' visited the West (see Mazandarani, Zuhur al-ḥaqq  vol 8 Pt.II  p.1165). At times when in  England Lotfullah Hakim acted as his Persian translator.  
      •  4  Hashmatu'llah. This would appear to be Shaykh Hashmatu'llah Qureyshi (dates ??) of Agra India (?) who had some knowledge of Arabic, Persian and English... ADD
      • 5  Towards the end of his life TKC had sight in only one eye and had great difficulty  speaking and moving about. His death certificate ADD
      •  6 The reference to a Jewish "Saul" [of Tarsus = Paul, a staunch Pharisee and anti-Christian) becoming the Christian "Paul" (the self-proclaimed early Christian apostle to the Gentiles and author of several New Testament books) may perhaps be an allusion to the Christian priest Cheyne as the professorial academic changing to become becoming a Ruhani (Spiritual) champion of "Bahaism" or the Bahā'ī religion.
      •  7 Some clarification of this is found in Paul's letter 2 Cor 12:7-10 cf. Galations 4:13...
      •  8 By "my dear wife: TKC obviously means Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne (see below) who had also met `Abd al-Baha' who praised her caring nature very highly.
      • 9 The prayer for Thornton Chase ( d.1912) the "first" American Bahā'ī can be found in Star of the West  ADD.  The "American Tablets" most probably refers to  various of the three volume set of letters or scriptural Tablets of `Abd al-Bahā' published in the USA between 1909 and 1915-1919 :  Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas Volume I  BAHAI PUBLISHING SOCIETY P. O. Box 283 CHICAGO, U.S.A. 1909.
      • 10 Refer to Paul's Letter to

      PERSIAN TABLET OF `ABD AL-BAHA' TO T. K CHEYNE

      (Translated completed by Stephen Lambden from Star of the West [Per.Sect.] +Mirza Mahmud Zarqani ...)

      OXFORD: Professor Cheyne-- Rūḥānī ["Spiritual"] upon him be Bahā'Allah al-Abhā (the Glory of God, the All-Glorious)

      He is God!

      O thou, my spiritual philosopher! (faylasuf-i rūḥānī-yi man) Your letter was received. In reality its contents were eloquent for it was a sign of your literary fairness and of your investigation  of reality (taḥarī-yi ḥaqīqat va inṣāf dasht). There are numerous professors in the world but most of them are held back from the reality of the kingdom (ḥaqīqat-i malakūt). Yet you, praised be God! are a [radiant] candle among Professors and have soared unto the Kingdom. You do not [merely] walk upon the earth but rather, have [the power of spiritual] flight. There have been numerous learned ones (`ulamā') among the Jews but they were [all] earthly. Yet Saint Paul became heavenly because he could ascend upwards. In his own time no one duly recognized him. Nay, rather he passed his days in the utmost  difficulty and hardship. It then became evident that he was not an earthly bird but a heavenly one. He was not a materialistic philosopher but rather a divine philosopher. It is likewise my hope that in the future both the orient and the occident may become conscious that you were a divine philosopher (faylasuf-i ilāhī) and a herald of the kingdom of God (munadi bi-malakūt-i Allāh).

      Saint Paul, however learned he was when he received the news of the Messiah, completely forgot about philosophical issues and became filled with the [spirit of the] Messiah as he states in his writings [ADD]. I too am hopeful regarding yourself, that you become full of Bahā'-Allāh (the Splendor of God) and become the primary herald [of the kingdom of God] in that region and land in order that you shine like a star out of the horizon of Reality for all eternity.deserves the utmost care and consideration. In my estimation she exceeds (mumtaz) [in status] all the nuns (rāhibat) of the world. She, verily, is perfect, wise and a truth worshipper. Praised be to God, she also shares and is a partner with you [T. K. Cheyne] in heavenly qualities. And upon you be salutations and praise.    `Abdu'l-Baha' `Abbās

      `Abdul Bahā at Manchester College Oxford Dec. 31st 1912. From Mirza Mahmud Zarqani, Kitāb-i badāyi` al-āthār   vol. 2: 50-52

      "On the 22 Muharram (31 December [1912]), after a group of friends and well-wishers came and offered their respects and greetings, he headed for the university (dār al-funun) of Oxford.  And that school is famous for being among the respected colleges.   He arrived there after two hours from London and went directly from the train station to the house of Professor Cheyne, who was among the famous philosophers and writers of England.  Because the mentioned-Professor was in a state of sickness and was afflicted with paralysis, since he had read some articles and treatises regarding the blessed journey [of `Abdu'-Baha'], he becomes aware of the divine teachings, accepts them, and sends a statement to the blessed presence [of `Abdu'-Baha'] in America.  He asked permission to be in his presence, and expressed the desire to meet the Master.  That was why, after He went to London, he [TKC] organized a special meeting at the university of Oxford, and invited the Master.

      [Balyuzi translation starts here:] "On arriving at Oxford the Master first went to visit the above-mentioned professor and conversed with him with utmost kindness.  And he [TKC] showed the Master [`Abdu'-Baha'] his writings about the Faith, which he was continuing despite his illness. In the condition he was in he was expressing his faith and assurance with great fervour. His attitude of belief and attentiveness so moved the Master that He several times, kissed him on the head and on the face, and kept caressing his face and his hair. The Master had luncheon at the home of Professor Cheyne"  (H. M. Balyuzi, Abdu'l-Baha - The Centre of the Covenant, p. 352)].  At the same table, he and his wife, with a group of friends from London and Oxford, and the servants of the Master, were honored with the Master’s presence.  In the afternoon, after they had finished their tea, two special automobiles were ready with a group of friends and attendants, who took him to the [Manchester] college.

      During the arrival of the Master,  [51]  several individuals among the leading figures [ruasa] who were awaiting the Master’s arrival at the door, welcomed him with complete humility.  And the leader [Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter] took the arm of the Master and took him to one of the large halls (talarha) of the [University] college (dār al-funun).  [Manchester College Library].  Although it was vacation time and the winter season, the hall was full of people. As they were introduced, they found out that most of the people were professors of the university and clergymen of Oxford as well as honored people of England.  In spite of this [exalted gathering], when the Master entered, everyone arose. When he signaled them to be seated, the leader [Dr. Carpenter] stood up and, with utmost attention and eloquence, explained the history and teachings of the Cause of God, the difficulties of the 40 years in imprisonment in Akka', the glad-tidings of the prophecies regarding this great, exalted age, the glory of the children of Israel, and the arrival of the Center of the Covenant of God [Abdu'l-Baha] in Egypt.

      Before all this he [Dr. Carpenter] gave the utmost thanks to Professor Cheyne  since he was the cause of the occurrence of this gathering. He spoke about the high rank and position of the aforementioned Professor [Cheyne].  Then he introduced the Master [`Abdu'-Baha'] with complete respect. And when the Master arose, everyone applauded together, and they began to shoe great joy. Then he [`Abdu'-Baha'] gave a long talk about the importance of knowledge (‘ilm) and the bounties of this century, about the teachings of this great theophany and the victory of the power (beyond the universe) (of the supernatural), over the laws of nature.  And the meanings and the spiritual secrets, like a strong rain from the sky of his generosity, poured forth. All the people who were present became very excited and happy. They were listening intelligently to his statements and they were greatly appreciative of the way he explained the truth about these matters as well as the precision of his statements.

      After the conclusion of the blessed talk and some excitement and commotion (in a good way), again the leader [Dr. Carpenter] arose. He was even more effective and more beneficial than at first.  He told the story of the blessed imprisonment and the importance of the new teachings.  And he became occupied in praying for the Master, and his protection, good health, happiness, and asked blessings for the people of Baha, until he turned to the audience and said, ‘Anyone who has any question from ‘Abdul-Baha, he is permitted to ask and listen to the answer.

      [52] Everyone expressed joy, thanks and praise for they were grateful and content at listening to the sacred discourse. Then the leader [Dr. Carpenter] pleaded with `Abdu’l Baha that the closing prayer come from his mouth.  After the end of the prayer, the people being content and satisfied, they returned to the home of Professor Cheyne, where again a group of leaders and professors were once more honored [with `Abdu'l-Baha's presence]. They repeatedly expressed their sincerity and humility and expressed the importance of the [Baha'i] Holy Cause and the divine teachings. This until the group became large and it became a glorious meeting.

      And the most pure tongue [`Abdu’l Baha] discoursed about the unity of the basic principles (usul) of the religions and the change of the teachings according to the needs of the time and situation as well as economic matters and other things. This in such a way that all of those honored souls sought to assist and spread these blessed [Baha'i] teachings. They desired to serve this great Cause, although until then they didn’t even know what the [Baha'i] Faith was about.

      In summary, when he [`Abdu’l Baha] returned in the evening from Oxford to London, with the blessings of the Concourse on High, and the Lofty Horizon, he started to talk:  “Thank God that with the help and assistance of the Kingdom of Abha (malakut-i abha), in this country, the Holy Breeze is spread, and the Word of God gives life to hearts and souls.”

      And because the Master [`Abdu'l-Baha'] had mentioned Professor Cheyne’s name so many times, both from his mouth and his pen, [saying] that he was one of the foremost individuals and one of the most famous citizens of England, we are thus including here some of his writings about this great Faith in this article so that it would be a token of the greatness of the [Baha'i] Faith of God and of the power of the covenant of Baha’u’llah.  And here is the article.

      (translated by Sholeh Quinn and Stephen Lambden)

      Excerpt from The Christian Commonwealth, January 22, 1913: "'Abdu'l-Bahá at Oxford".

      'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed a large and deeply interested audience at Manchester College, Oxford, on December 31. The Persian leader spoke in his native tongue, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab interpreting. Principal Estlin Carpenter presided, and introduced the speaker by saying that they owed the honor and pleasure of meeting 'Abdu'lBaha to their revered friend, Dr. Cheyne, who was deeply interested in Bahá'í teaching. The movement sprung up during the middle of the last century in Persia, with the advent of a young Muhammadan who took to himself the title of the Báb (meaning door or gate, through which men could arrive at the knowledge or truth of God), and who commenced teaching in Persia in the year  1844. The purity of his character, the nobility of his words, aroused great enthusiasm. He was, however, subjected to great hostility by the authorities, who secured his arrest and imprisonment, and he was finally executed in 1850. But the movement went on, and the writings of the Báb, which had been copious, were widely read. The movement has been brought into India, Europe, and the United States. It does not seek to create a new sect, but to inspire all sects with a deep fundamental love. The late Dr. Jowett once said to him that he had been so deeply impressed with the teachings and character of the Báb that he thought Bábíism, as the present movement was then known, might become the greatest religious movement since the birth of Christ. (Misc Baha'i, Appreciations of the Baha'i Faith, p. 32).

      TIMES OBITUARY OF THOMAS .K. CHEYNE  : ADD URL

       

      IMAGE BALLIOL

       

      Founded in 1263 CE., Baliol College Oxford

       

      SELECT LETTERS OF T. K. CHEYNE TO LADY SARAH BLOMFIELD

       

      Letter of T.K. Cheyne regarding his Baha'i status scanned from the original held in TRANSCRIPT OF THE ABOVE LETTER OF T.K. CHEYNE TO Mr. CRAVEN REGARDING HIS BAHĀ'Ī STATUS

      ADD

      Select URLs for T. K. Cheyne

      SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR  T. K. CHEYNE

      TKC AND THE REVISION OF THE AV BIBLE

      Anon.

      • `Cheyne, Thomas Kelly' in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,  III 1963:27.
      • http://www.ccel.org/php/disp.php3?a=schaff&b=encyc03&p=27
      • Cheyne, Thomas Kelly' in British Authors of the Nineteenth Century . New York: Kunitz and Haycroft / The H. W. Wilson Company 1936.

      Bowden, J.

      • Who's Who in Theology. London: SCM, 1990.

      Charles, R. H.

      • Thomas Kelly Cheyne' in Proceedings of the British Academy, Vol. vii. 1915-16, pp.545-51.

      Clements, R. E.

      • A Century of Old Testament Study. Guildford & London: Lutterworth Press, 1976.

      Cooke, G. A.,

      • ADD  in The Expositor 8th series (1915), 445-451.

      Day, John,

      • `Cheyne, Thomas Kelly (1841-1915)', in John H. Hayes ed. Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, (Nashville: Abingdom Press,  1999) pp. 177-8.

      Duff, A.

      • History of Old Testament Criticism. London: Watts & Co., 1910.

      Hawke, Joanna.

      Nicholson, E.

      • Interpreting the Old Testament, A Century of the Oriel Professorship, An Inaugural Lecture delivered before the University of Oxford on 3rd February 1981. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981.

      Nicoll, W.R.

      • ADD in The Expositor (3rd Series) 1889, pp. 59-61.

      Peake, A. S.

      • ADD in Expository Times 6 (1894-5), 439-444.
      • `Cheyne, Thomas Kelly' in Dictionary of National Biography 1912-1921. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1927, pp.119-20 +  see DNB Supplement 3 (1927), 119-120.

      Rogerson, J.

      • Old Testament Criticism in the Nineteenth Century. London: SPCK, 1984,Wilkinson,

      J. T. Arthur Samuel Peake,

      • A Biography. London: Epworth Press, 1971.

      Bahā'ī related bibliography.

      `Abd al-Bahā' (1844-1921).

      • Star of the West Vol. IV No. 16 (December 31, 1913) Persian sect. p.4; Vol. IV No. 17 (January 19, 1914) pp.286f; Vol. IV No. 18 (February 7, 1914) Persian sect. pp.3-4.

      Anon

      • `9' The Beginning of the Baha'i Cause in Manchester.  n.p. March 1925.

      Abdo, Lilian, C. G.

      • `Religion & Relevance, the Baha'is in Britain 1899 - 1930'.  Ph.D thesis SOAS (London) 2004.

      Balyuzi, H. M.

      • `Abdu'l-Bahá... Oxford: George Ronald, 1971.

      Blomfield, Lady [Sitárih Khanum].

      • The Chosen Highway. Wilmette, Illinois, 1967.

      Lambden, Stephen.

      • `Thomas Kelly Cheyne (1841-1915), Biblical Scholar and Bahā'ī  (forthcoming). See URL below for a very brief synopsis.
      • ADD URL

      Sohrab, Mirza Ahmad,

      • Diary mss.

      Zarqanī, Mirza Maḥmūd,

      • Kitāb Badā`-yi al-āthār, 2 vols, Bombay:     2nd ed. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, ADD

      The Hollywell Cemetery (Oxford U.K.) Gravestone of  T. K Cheyne and his wives.

       

      Celtic Cross with the Inscription Abideth Faith Hope Love.

      Facets of the inscribed portions of the Gravestone of  T. K Cheyne and his first and second wives in Holywell cemetery Oxford:

       "In memory of Frances Elizabeth  Wife of Rev. Dr. Cheyne born 18 March 1844

      Married 31 Jany. 1882 Died 30 Jany 1907.

      She loved much. 

      Also of Elizabeth Second wife of Rev. Dr Cheyne Died 24 April 1931."

      "Also in memory of Thomas Kelly Cheyne. Oriel Professor of the
      Interpretation of Holy Scripture  And Canon of Rochester 1885-1908
      Born 18 Sept 1848 Died 16 Feby 1915

      The Truth Shall Make you Free."

      "I have felt deeply sad at the passing away of Professor Cheyne at Oxford.  Send a copy of his book, which is (partly) on the [Baha'i] Cause", `Abdu'l-Baha: from a Tablet translated by Shoghi Rabbani, dated January 19, 1919 sent from the House of Abdul Baha, Haifa, Palestine, cited from Star of the West,  vol. 10:138. The book requested here is Cheyne's The Reconciliation of Races and Religions. Perhaps worth noting here is that a copy of this book signed and sent by Cheyne to the Cambridge orientalist E. G. Browne (d. 1926) is contained in the Baha'i World Centre Library.

      FOR SOME DETAILS REGARDING HOLYWELL CEMETERY REFER

      • URL
      • URL

      Note that the Notice board at the entrance to the cemetery does not contain reference to the fact that T. K. Cheyne and his 1st and second wives are buried here. Other important Oxford religious figures buried in Holywell cemetery include the German born orientalist Friedrich Max Müller (1823-1900) a key figure in the genesis of Indian Studies and Comparative religion as well, for example, as the editor of the 50 vols. of the Sacred Books of the East. 

      The Poetess Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne (1869-1931).

      Some Biographical Notes on E. G. Cheyne and her Poetry

      REFER:   UNDATE URL: 

      • Some Biographical Notes.
      • Bibliography Elizabeth G. Cheyne I
      • Bibliography Elizabeth G. Cheyne II.

       The first wife of TKC was Frances E. Godfrey (1844-1907) the third daughter of the Revd D. R. Godfrey, fellow of Queen's College, Oxford, and rector of Stow, Norfolk, whom he married on 31st January 1882. His second wife was the poetess Elizabeth Gibson Cheyne (1869-1931) daughter of John Pattinson Gibson (a chemist of Hexham) whom he married (aged 69) on August 28th [19th] 1911 about four years after the death of his first wife. Elizabeth Gibson was the sister of the `War Poet' Wilfred Wilson Gibson (b. Hexham 1878-1962) : see URL: http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/gibson.htm

      Both  of T. K. Cheyne's marriages were childless.

       

       

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