HASTINGS, JAMES (1852–1922), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and compiler and editor of voluminous works dealing with Christian texts and the subject matter of religions. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Hastings attended the University of Aberdeen and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1884; he later held pastorates in Free Church parishes in Kincardineshire and Dundee. Founder of the Expository Times, he is best known for his indefatigable zeal as an editor of numerous works, which may be grouped into four types.

First are those comprising articles dealing with the texts of early Christianity (e.g., A Dictionary of the Bible, 1898–1904; A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, 1906–1908; and the Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, 1915–1918). Exegetical and expository in character and intended to provide students of biblical literature with the most recent findings of scholarship, the articles in these volumes were written by established (largely theologically conservative) scholars in...