An Archaeologist Who Appreciated Bible Truth

“THE last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed.” These words of Sir Frederic Kenyon, taken from page 289 of his book The Bible and Archæology (1940), are quoted on page 53 of the Watch Tower Society’s book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Why had Kenyon come to this conclusion? It was because newly discovered papyrus manuscripts were dated so close to the time of the composition of the Scriptures that he could describe the interval as “negligible.” Yet these papyruses showed no significant variation from more recent manuscripts. This confirmed “the authenticity and the general integrity” of the later texts from which the Bible has been translated.

Interestingly, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses writes concerning this famous archaeologist: “Sir Frederic Kenyon had several of the Society’s publications, for over the years it was my privilege to leave various books with him and to correspond with him. I became acquainted with him in early 1936. . . . It was a book by Dr. Kenyon that enlightened me as to the origins of the Bible. I wrote and told him so. His book The Story of the Bible in time came to me inscribed, ‘With the best wishes of the author, F. G. Kenyon, May 1st, 1937.’

“On receiving the book ‘The Truth Shall Make You Free,’ published by our Society, he wrote me: ‘Your object is the same as my own, to persuade people to read and believe the Bible; but you appeal to a much wider public. My books are addressed primarily to those who are disturbed by what they are told about the results of modern criticism and discovery, while your book speaks to readers of all classes and kinds. I wish you all success to your work.’

“Writing regarding two more of our Society’s publications, he again referred to our common objective, ‘to encourage people to read the Bible, and to read it intelligently,’ and he added: ‘I am glad to hear that your books are circulating widely and in many lands.’ . . .

“In 1948 Sir Frederic published the book The Bible and Modern Scholarship, to counter a book by Dr. Barnes, Bishop of Birmingham, who had described parts of the Bible, including those dealing with redemption by Christ Jesus, as ‘folklore.’ In his introduction Dr. Kenyon says: ‘A detailed examination of the Bishop’s book had convinced me that it was no up-to-date representation of the results of modern scholarship, but, on the contrary, was a revival of a school of criticism which had some vogue about seventy years ago, and ignored almost wholly the results of the last fifty years.’ Concerning his own book, Kenyon said: ‘I believe that the time has come . . . to restore confidence in the Bible as a guide to truth and a basis for the conduct of life. . . . I can only hope that [this book] may be of some assistance to those who look to Christianity as the one hope of our distracted world, and to the Bible as an assured foundation for the Christian belief.’

“This world-renowned Bible scholar, who had written so kindly regarding the work and publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was a humble man, with a genuine kindness. . . . In 1889, after excelling as a student at Oxford, he entered the British Museum as an assistant in the Department of Manuscripts. Later he was promoted to be assistant keeper of manuscripts and in 1909 to be Director and Principal Librarian of the British Museum. During the first part of his long tenure, Biblical manuscripts and the discovery of papyruses were his principal concern; later, he was responsible as Director for the archaeological expeditions to Carchemish and Ur. After his retirement he had a hand in the acquisition of the Codex Sinaiticus and the publication of the Chester Beatty papyruses that helped toward authenticating the Greek Scriptures.

“In conclusion, it is fitting to quote from his book The Story of the Bible as follows: ‘The Bible has a human history as well as a divine inspiration. It is a history full of interest, and it is one which all those who value their Bible should know. . . . It is reassuring at the end to find that the general result of all these discoveries and all this study is to strengthen the proof of the authenticity of the Scriptures, and our conviction that we have in our hands, in substantial integrity, the veritable Word of God.’”