Collected Works of Erasmus: New Testament Scholarship, Paraphrases on Romans and Galatians

Richard C. Smith is a professor in the Classics Department of the
University of Alberta.

This volume of the translated works of Erasmus not only adds another volume to the admirable series of the Collected Works of Erasmus which has been undertaken by the University of Toronto but also forms the first volume of both Erasmus’ New Testament scholarship, in general, and the nine volumes of his Paraphrases on the New Testament, in particular. The editor of this volume (as well as being chairman of the New Testament Scholarship Committee) is R.D. Sider, Professor of Classical Languages at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

The work not only includes the Paraphrases of Paul’s letters to the Romans and the Galatians, both of which were especially of interest in this period (being published in 1517 and 1519, respectively), but also includes essays on the origin and character of the Paraphrases generally, their publication and sixteenth-century translations of Erasmus’ New Testament work into English, the original dedicatory letters, the translators’ notes and annotations and a full set of indices. A discussion of the general nature of Erasmus’ New Testament scholarship is due to be published later, as part of an introductory volume to this particular series (which will include not only the Paraphrases but also the Annotations on the New Testament of Erasmus).

Though concerned with establishing a correct Greek text for the New Testament, Erasmus also yearned to simplify and popularize the Bible and, through clarifying the original argument, to bring the reader into a direct confrontation with the author’s message (in this case, that of the Apostle Paul). Due to the tremendous interest in biblical literature in this period, his efforts met with quick appreciation and were quickly translated into English, French, German, and other modern languages. Though it is difficult to pinpoint the total influence of these Paraphrases (one translation, for example, being required to be purchased by all English parish churches in 1548), they undoubtedly gave increased prominence to the Reformers’ ideas of grace and faith (the revisions of 1532 specifically approximating their ideas) and thus had a considerable influence on the religious thought and political history of the modern world.