Charles Hodge

Charles Hodge was a Presbyterian theologian and a long-serving professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. Trained in biblical languages and theology, he became a leading figure in the Princeton tradition and edited the Biblical Repertory for decades. Introductory lecture delivered in the Theological Seminary, Princeton N.J. Nov. 7, 1828 appeared in the journal’s first 1829 number and outlined the responsibilities of theological study. On the Necessity of a Knowledge of the Original Languages of the Scriptures argues that ministers need Hebrew and Greek to assess texts, interpretation, and theological literature with independence. The two works belong to Hodge’s early teaching career, before the publication of his later Systematic Theology and major biblical commentaries. They show him addressing the practical formation of clergy as well as scholarly method. Across both titles, Charles Hodge treats language study not as ornament but as a foundation for careful reading, doctrinal judgment, and responsible instruction within the seminary.