Matthew Poole facts for kids
Matthew Poole (1624–1679) was an English Nonconformist theologian and Bible expert. He wrote important books that helped people understand the Bible better.
Contents
Early Life and Work (before 1662)
Matthew Poole was born in York, England, in 1624. He went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, starting in 1645. After finishing his studies, he became a minister in London. His church was St Michael le Querne.
Matthew Poole was a Presbyterian, a type of Christian who believed in a certain way of organizing churches. After the king returned to power in England in 1660 (this was called the Restoration), new laws were made. One important law was the Uniformity Act 1662. This law said that all ministers had to follow the rules of the Church of England. Because Matthew Poole was a Nonconformist and disagreed with some of these rules, he chose to leave his job as a minister in 1662.
Later Life and Challenges
Even though he could no longer be a minister in a church, Matthew Poole continued to write and preach sometimes. He had his own money, so he could support himself.
In 1678, there were rumors about a "Popish plot" to harm Protestants in England. A man named Titus Oates claimed that Matthew Poole was a target because of a book he wrote. This book, from 1666, argued against some beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. Because of these claims, Matthew Poole felt it was safer to leave England. He moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Matthew Poole died in Amsterdam on October 12, 1679. He was buried there in the English Reformed Church, Amsterdam. His wife had passed away earlier, in 1668.
Important Writings
Matthew Poole is best known for two major works about the Bible.
Synopsis of Bible Experts
His most famous work is the Synopsis criticorum biblicorum. This huge work has five large volumes and was published between 1669 and 1676. In this book, Matthew Poole summarized the ideas of over 150 different Bible experts. He spent ten years working on it! He included thoughts from many different scholars, even those from Jewish and Roman Catholic traditions. The book was written in Latin, but a project is now translating it into English.
English Bible Notes
Matthew Poole also started writing English Annotations on the Holy Bible. This book provided his own notes and explanations for the Bible. He finished writing notes up to the book of Isaiah, chapter 58, before he died.
After his death, his friends and fellow Nonconformist ministers finished the rest of the Bible notes. The first full edition of this work was printed around 1685. It became a very important book for people studying the Bible.
Here are some of the people who helped finish the English Annotations:
- John Jackson (for parts of Isaiah)
- Dr. John Collinges (for parts of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Gospels, and some letters like Corinthians and Revelation)
- Henry Hurst (for Ezekiel and Minor Prophets)
- William Cooper (for Daniel)
- Peter Vinke (for Acts)
- Richard Mayo (for Romans)
- Edward Veale (for Ephesians, James, and Peter's letters)
- Matthew Barker (for 1 and 2 Thessalonians)
- Richard Adams (for Philippians and Colossians)
- Obadiah Hughes (for Hebrews)
- John Howe (for 1, 2, and 3 John)
