The Divine Unity of Scripture

Adolph Saphir demonstrates the intricate links between the books of the Old and New Testament, showing the Bible’s many spiritual parallels and its essential message.

This book is a collection of sixteen lectures delivered by the author to students of the Bible and theology. He adopts a multi-faceted approach to his Biblical commentary; the historical and cultural representations of ancient Israel, and the spiritual significance of the prophecies and principal figures in the Bible, are given due consideration. Saphir seeks to connect and tie the aspects of the Bible together, with the consideration that it is not a disparate collection of writings, but a united and comprehensive whole.

The author was born in 1831 to a Jewish family, but converted to Christianity at the age of twelve by participating in the mission of the Free Church of Scotland. Saphir later enrolled in the church, becoming a minister and scholar. Frail through much of his life, his parents originally thought he may die early in childhood due to the fragility of his health. His career was interrupted on multiple occasions by bouts of ill-health. However, Saphir’s talents for theology and knowledge of scripture gained him much respect; in 1882, so that he could return to the ministry and preach, funds were donated to pay for an assistant to handle some of the workload.