Joseph Lightfoot

Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828–1889), also known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham. He attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham before attending Trinity College in Cambridge where he was elected a Fellow of his college. From 1854 to 1859, he edited the Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology.

Lightfoot became a tutor of Trinity College in 1857 and later became professor of divinity. In 1871, he became canon of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Lightfoot preached regularly and participated in various ecclesiastical activities. He gained enormous popularity for his work Essays on the Word Entitled Supernatural Religion, a defense of the New Testament in response to Walter Richard Cassel’s Supernatural Religion. In 1870, Lightfoot became Bishop of Durham, where he continued his theological study, writing, and preaching.

Lightfoot wrote commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, and Colossians and Philemon. Lightfoot’s lecture notes and unpublished commentary manuscripts can be found in the 11-volume Joseph Barber Lightfoot Collection which includes several volumes of essays, including Essays on the Word Entitled Supernatural Religion, and sermons.