Higher criticism

Higher criticism
Higher criticism High"er crit"i*cism Criticism which includes the study of the contents, literary character, date, authorship, etc., of any writing; as, the higher criticism of the Pentateuch. Called also {historical criticism}.

The comparison of the Hebrew and Greek texts . . . introduces us to a series of questions affecting the composition, the editing, and the collection of the sacred books. This class of questions forms the special subject of the branch of critical science which is usually distinguished from the verbal criticism of the text by the name of higher, or historical, criticism. --W. Robertson Smith. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Higher Criticism — • Biblical criticism in its fullest comprehension is the examination of the literary origins and historical values of the books composing the Bible, with the state in which these exist at the present day Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • higher criticism — n. the study of the authorship, dates of writing, meaning, etc. of the books of the Bible, using the techniques or findings of archaeology, literary criticism, comparative religion, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Higher criticism — Historical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of a text: as applied in biblical studies it naturally investigates foremost the books of the Bible. In Classical studies, the new higher… …   Wikipedia

  • higher criticism — noun Date: 1836 study of biblical writings to determine their literary history and the purpose and meaning of the authors compare lower criticism • higher critic noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • higher criticism — the study of the Bible having as its object the establishment of such facts as authorship and date of composition, as well as determination of a basis for exegesis. Cf. lower criticism. [1830 40] * * * …   Universalium

  • HIGHER CRITICISM —    that part of BIBLICAL CRITICISM which seeks to discover the sources used by Biblical authors and in doing so trace the ideas involved to non scriptural roots. In general it is a highly RATIONALISTIC practice which removes all SUPERNATURAL… …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • higher criticism —    See biblical criticism …   Glossary of theological terms

  • higher criticism — noun the scientific study of biblical writings to determine their origin and meaning • Hypernyms: ↑textual criticism …   Useful english dictionary

  • higher criticism — noun the study of the literary methods and sources discernible in biblical texts …   English new terms dictionary

  • higher criticism —  Высшая критика …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”