THAYER, Joseph Henry, biblical scholar, born in Boston, Massachusetts, 7 November, 1828. He was graduated at Harvard in 1850, and at Andover theological seminary in 1857, and was pastor of a church in Salem, Massachusetts, from 1859 till 1864, when he was appointed professor of sacred literature in Andover theological seminary. He resigned in 1882, and since 1884 has been professor of criticism and interpretation of the New Testament in the divinity-school of Harvard. In the mean time he was chaplain to the 40th Massachusetts regiment in 1862-'3, secretary of the New Testament company of the American revision committee, and a member of the corporation of Harvard in 1877-'84. The degree of D. D. was conferred on him by Yale in 1873 and by Harvard in 1884. He has published occasional sermons and reviews, and contributed to the American edition of Smith's "Bible Dictionary." His works include "A Grammar of the Idiom of the New Testament," a translation of Lunemann's enlarged and improved edition of Winer's well-known work (Andover, 1869) ; a translation, with additions, of Alexander Buttmann's "Grammar of the New Testament Greek" (1873) ; and "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, being Grimm's Wilke's 'Clavis Novi Testamenti,' translated, revised, and enlarged" (New York and Edinburgh, 1886). He has edited "Notes on Scrivener's Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament," by Professor Ezra Abbot (Boston, 1885), and has carried through the press a new edition of Professor Evangelinus A. Sophocles's "Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods" (New York, 1887) and a volume of " Critical Essays," selected from the published writings of Professor Ezra Abbot (Boston, 1888).