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Kyle Monroe Yates TH.D., PH.D., D.D., LL.D., LITT.D.

Pastor, Theologian, Scholar

“True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.”

(Malachi 2:6, Revised Standard Version)

Dedicated to and written for

Judy Yates Hooks a great lady in her own right,

who led me to know about her extraordinary uncle.

by Dr. Grover B. Proctor, Jr.

© 2012, 2015, 2017

(Special thanks to Ben Rogers, Director, Mary Goolsby, and Bill Hair of Poage Library, Baylor University.)

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As noted in the title of this monograph, Dr. Kyle Yates was best known to the world as a pastor, a theologian, and a scholar. And there is no question that he was nationally renowned for his extremely high levels of contribution and service to each. He did all of this, in an 80-year lifespan, while maintaining a gentleness, benevolence, empathy, humility, and deep Christian love for all those with whom he came in contact. One former student of his at Baylor University, in a book called People Sharing Jesus, said Dr. Yates was “one of the kindest, most gracious men I have ever known.”1 Another former student unequivocally called him “Statesman, scholar, and stimulator!” – describing Dr. Yates walking into class the first day as a man “with such poise and dignity that I wanted to stand and welcome him. His tall stature, flowing gray hair, and radiant smile captured me immediately. If I were to paint a picture of a president or world statesman, it would be this man.” This same former student suggested that the verse from Malachi (which forms a part of the title page of this paper) truly describes Dr. Yates.2 My attempt here is to bring together the story of his life. The Kyle Yates Family Kyle Monroe Yates was born February 7, 1895, in Apex, North Carolina, the first of eleven children of William Charles Manly Yates and Della (Jones) Yates. Here is an abbreviated version of his family tree:3

- B. M. Yates b.abt.1818; widower bef. 1880 - William Yates d.bef.1880; mar. Nancy Catherine Barker

- William C. M. Yates (“Willie”) b.1861; d.1931; mar. Della Jones (1873-1948), 1894

- Kyle Monroe b.1895; d.1975; mar. Margaret W. Sharp (1896-1987), 1922

- Kyle M., Jr. b.1924; d.2004 - Margaret Jean b.abt.1927;

mar. Rev. Robert Wooddy - Ellen b.aft.1930;

mar. Rev. William Tanner - Andrew Gleason b.1896 - Katie b.1898 - Wray b.1900 - Belo b.abt.1903 - Hunter b.abt.1906 - Basil b.abt.1908 - Harvey b.abt.1910 - Olive b.1912; mar. Catherine Clark - Ruth b.abt.1916; mar. Rev. R.L. Costner - Robert b.abt.1919

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Education Yates was a preeminent scholar, having held nine university degrees and speaking five languages.4 He began by earning a diploma from Campbell College in Buies Creek, N.C., in 1911, after which he graduated from Wake Forest College with an A.B. degree in 1916 and an A.M. degree in 1917,5 working as a farm hand to pay his way through school.6 He was Secretary of the Senior Class at Wake Forest and President of the college’s BYPU. (See his Senior photo at left.) Always a keen athlete, Yates played varsity basketball for Wake Forest, and was part of the team that still boasts the “most successful season in the history of the college.” Yates’ team had the largest full season winning percentage (88.9% in 1915-16) of any team in Wake Forest’s entire basketball history. “Eighteen

games were played in all, resulting in sixteen victories, with over half of the eighteen games staged on foreign floors.” (Wake defeated the University of North Carolina 27-22 and twice beat Trinity College, the forerunner of Duke University.) “By establishing a perfect record in the State, Wake Forest won the undisputed championship of North Carolina for 1916.”7

The 1916 Wake Forest yearbook noted Yates, at age 20, was “6 feet, weight 165,” and had this to say about him:

This “long, keen, good ’un” has graced our Campus for the full four years, and has been one of the shining lights of the community from the first. During that time he has won many honors in the various phases of college life – in the classroom, in debate – never overcome by defeat nor unduly exalted by success. “Kyle” is by no means a paragon of human virtues, but most of his failings are so microscopic that we can proudly say of him “Behold a man and brother.” 8

He continued his education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he received both a Master’s (Th.M.) degree in 1920 and a Doctorate (Th.D.) in 1922.9 His doctoral Thesis at the Seminary was titled The Prophetic Movement in Israel, and he would go on to become one of the world’s acknowledged and leading experts in the Old Testament in general, and specifically in the Prophets. After completion of his doctorate, he joined the faculty of Southern Baptist Seminary (see section titled “Academic, Author and Scholar” below). During the time that he was on faculty there, Yates took a sabbatical year and went to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he earned a Ph.D. degree in 1932,10 writing a Dissertation on Aramaic and Greek.11 In addition to further study he undertook at Princeton University, during his distinguished career he was awarded honorary doctorates from Baylor, Wake Forest, Union, and Mercer Universities.12 He was expert and fluent in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic and Latin.13 “Miss Margaret” and the Family Yates taught courses during the time that he was working on his doctorate at the Southern Baptist Seminary, including some classes for the Seminary’s Women’s Training School. One student especially impressed the young Yates, a Miss Margaret Webb Sharp from Clinton, Mississippi, herself a graduate of Mississippi College, where her father (J. M. Sharp) was a

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professor.14 (In some sources, her name and that of her daughter is spelled “Margarette,” including in the 1930 U.S. Census.15 However, all newspaper mentions of her in later years use the more conventional spelling.) Not long after she ceased being his student, Yates began to court her, and they were wed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on August 24, 1922 – the year he earned his doctorate.16 They were married until Yates’ death 53 years later, during which time Margaret Yates was acknowledged as a woman of “understanding and discernment … of great charm, reared in the tradition of the Old South” and one of “the great ladies of Baylor” University.17 Yates showed his total love and affection for his wife by the references he repeatedly made to her (in class and elsewhere) as his “little bride,” his “princess,” his “little one,” and “a sweet little thing that keeps in me in line.”18 A feature article in the Waco News-Tribune in 1970 gave a glimpse of how “Miss Margaret” was never far from his thoughts:

His students could tell how much the marriage means to Yates. Many times he would jump from one subject to the next, then catch himself and say “here I am again. My wife would get on me if she knew I was hopping around like this.” “I’m going to have to bring my wife up here some day for all of you to meet,” he would say. “She’d like you just fine. She’s a sweet little thing, and she would keep me in line.” Every Tuesday and Thursday after Yates ended his Religion 101 class … he would walk down the front steps of Tidwell Bible Building where Margaret would be waiting to take him to lunch.19

The two seemed inseparable throughout their lives together. She routinely joined him on the golf course and on his transcontinental auto tours.20 Family was of paramount importance to Kyle and Margaret Yates. The couple had three children, and a Baylor University publication in 1969 listed them: “Kyle M. Jr. is a professor at Oklahoma State University; Margaret Jean is married to Dr. Robert Wooddy, pastor of Polytechnic Baptist Church in Fort Worth; and Ellen is married to Dr. William G. Tanner, president of Mary Hardin-Baylor College.”21 By 1995, their extended family included nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren (one of whom died as a young boy).22 Three years after Yates’ retirement from Baylor University, in August of 1972, he and Margaret celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The Waco newspaper’s social pages gave special coverage of the party given by their three children, which was also attended Dr. Yates’ two sisters from North Carolina, Katie and Ruth, and Ruth’s husband Rev. R. L. Costner of Raleigh.23 Dr. Yates summed up his devotion to and love for his wife when he dedicated his 1948 book Preaching from the Psalms to her: 24

DEDICATED To

MY WIFE a devoted lover

a treasured helper a constant inspiration

a consecrated Christian

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Margaret Yates died on August 8, 1987, at the age of 91. Her funeral was at Waco’s Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, where she and Dr. Yates had attended since he accepted the position to teach at Baylor University in 1956. At the time of her death, she had nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is buried next to Dr. Yates in the Oakwood Cemetery in Waco.25 Academic, Author and Scholar Immediately after having been awarded his Th.D. in 1922, Yates became Professor of Old Testament at the school which conferred that degree, Southern Baptist Seminary, where he would teach for the next twenty years.26 His career there was summarized in the school’s internal publication Seminary News when he left in 1942:

Dr. Yates has been connected with the Seminary since his graduation in 1922, first as Instructor and then as Professor in the department of Old Testament Interpretation…. In response to the need for an introductory Hebrew grammar he prepared and published The Essentials of Biblical Hebrew which soon won for itself wide recognition. In 1938 it was revised and enlarged, particularly in its treatment of Hebrew syntax. Today it is among the most popular introduction textbooks, its method being simplified to aid the student in gaining a reading knowledge of the Old Testament in Hebrew.27

His volume on the Hebrew language would come to be among the most widely used and well respected books in this field. The Houston Chronicle noted the book’s origin and ultimate reach beyond Christian seminaries:

His reputation as a Hebraic scholar was growing and in the mid-20s, he was approached by the publisher, George Doran, who wanted a handbook on Biblical Hebrew grammar. In revised form, this text is still in use in Jewish rabbinical schools. Dr. Robert I. Kahn of Temple Emanu El [in Houston], for example, recalls using it in his student days at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.28

While being known for being “slow to list his many accomplishments over the years,”29 Yates always acknowledged that his proudest achievement30 was being selected as one of the nine original scholars commissioned to translate and prepare what would become known as the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), a project that ran from 1938 to 1952.31

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Yates’ leadership role in this endeavor puts him inside the highest levels of the English language Bible tradition. The RSV Bible was a modernization of the American Standard Version (ASV, 1901), which was an updating of the Authorized (King James) Version (AV or KJV, 1611). The RSV has itself been modernized by both the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV, 1989) and the English Standard Version (ESV, 2001). (See Appendices 1a and 1b for comparisons of these translations.) He was one of the 40 theologians who collaborated on the Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published in 1962, for which he wrote the entire commentary on the book of Genesis.32 His son, Dr. Kyle Yates, Jr., wrote the commentary on the Psalms. (See Appendix 8 for an extended 5500-word excerpt from Dr. Yates’ Commentary on Genesis.) Dr. Yates also served as a “Contributing Editor for the Old Testament” for the mammoth 2,592-page The Bible from 26 Translations, which began to be published in sections in 1967, and then all together in one volume in 1988. It is still in print today from Mathis Publishing, under the title The WORD: The Bible From 26 Translations.33 (See Appendix 2 for excerpts from The Bible from 26 Translations.) In addition to the above, he was sole or co-author of many books, some of which became classics in the field.34 Among these were:

- Beginner’s Grammar of the Hebrew Old Testament, 1927 - From Solomon to Malachi, 1934 - The Essentials of Biblical Hebrew, 1938 - Preaching from the Prophets, 1942 - Old Testament Biographies, 1942 (co-author) - Preaching from the Psalms, 1948 - Studies in Psalms, 1953 - Preaching from Great Bible Chapters, 1957 - Preaching from John’s Gospel, 1964 - Psalms of Joy and Faith, 1973; reprint, 1984

So profound was the impact of Dr. Yates’ two books on the Hebrew language, Beginner’s Grammar and The Essentials, that it became known throughout the world of scholarship as the standard for teaching Old Testament Hebrew, not only in Christian Seminaries but also in Jewish ones as well. When Dr. Yates lived in Houston, one of his best friends was a Rabbi who had studied Yates’ Hebrew Grammar in a Hebrew Theological Seminary. A strong but highly unusual recognition of Yates’ book’s approbation appeared in the mid-1950’s in a learned monograph on the Hebrew language that appeared in the New Yorker, in which the writer referred in complimentary terms to Yates’ grammar book. A contemporaneous press account of this stated, “I know of no other Baptist preacher’s name that has appeared in this sophisticated journal of the intelligentsia with the exception of Billy Graham’s”35 By the time of his retirement, his book Preaching from the Prophets had gone through 27 editions. His Preaching from the Psalms, later reissued with the title Psalms of Joy and Faith, was dictated onto tapes while he was on a brief vacation in Palacios, and within 31 days of its publication it had sold 250,000 copies.36 (See Appendix 7 to read the Preface to his Psalms volume.) Yates’ last book in the “Preaching from…” series was on the Gospel of John. In his preface to the book, he challenged the reader: “The Gospel of John is the richest treasure possessed by man. Would you dare follow John as he presents the proofs of the deity of Jesus of Nazareth?”37

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Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville When Yates left the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he had spent five years as a graduate student and then the next 20 years on its faculty, the school had glowing words to say about his gifts and abilities in the pastoral area:

Dr. Yates goes with unusually promising equipment. His friendly approach will reach to all members of his great congregation and beyond in his pastoral ministry. His understanding of people and his ability as a public speaker will give to his preaching a powerful popular appeal. His long study in the field of Biblical interpretation will give to his message a solid content and educational value. And the evangelistic note in all his preaching will carry on the fine tradition of the great evangelistic church.38

Yates’ career, even while on faculty at Southern Baptist Seminary, had always included a ministerial focus. He had been ordained to the Ministry of the Southern Baptist Church in 1916, at the age of 21.39 “He served as pastor in Fort Barnwell, North Carolina, New Castle and New Salem, Kentucky, and at Beechmont in Louisville, before he became pastor of Walnut Street [Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky] January 1, 1942.”40 Established in 1815 and originally known as First Baptist Church, Walnut Street Church came into existence as the result of a merger of Second Baptist Church into First Baptist, and was touted as “Kentucky’s largest congregation.”41 Yates was the eleventh pastor of the church,42 and he would pastor there for four years.43 Upon Yates’ death, Walnut Street published an In Memoriam article for him, in which they made a point of listing some of his achievements while pastor of the church:

During the four years he was pastor, there were added to the church 688 by baptism, 1,087 by letter, 29 by relation, 5 by restoration, making a total of 1,809. The total contributions were $469,327.81 of which $270,324.73 was for benevolence. Seven young men were set apart for the ministry, and two new churches became independent: Kenwood in 1944; and Oakdale in 1945.44

Second Baptist Church in Houston At age 50, Dr. Yates received a telephone call on Sunday afternoon, November 18, 1945 from Federal Judge T. M. Kennerly, chairman of the Pulpit Committee of Second Baptist Church in Houston, delivering to him the church’s call to become their new pastor. More than 2000 parishioners attended the morning service that day, and the vote to call Dr. Yates was described as spontaneous and with one accord. The Pulpit Committee had considered more than 50 people for the position, but they ultimately selected Yates, whom they described as “God’s man.”45 Judge Kennerly was known as a frugal man, but spent 30 minutes of expensive long distance time, in

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an effort to convince Yates to accept the congregation’s call to become their pastor. “I remember telling him I saw no reason to give up my pastorate in Louisville,” Dr. Yates recalled. “But his response was, ‘The only reason, my boy, is that you should follow the will of the Lord.’”46 He was on a plane to Houston for meetings on Thursday and Friday of that week, and was reportedly back in Louisville the following Sunday, announcing his resignation. While details of the financial side of the offer from Second Baptist were never made public, unofficial sources at the time told the press that Dr. Yates’ starting salary would not be less than $10,000.47 After ten years at the church in Houston (January 1946 through January 1956), when Dr. Yates announced his intention to resign in order to move to Baylor University in Waco to resume his academic career, it was “in the face of a standing ovation of 1,000 church members to a resolution asking him to stay in the Houston church.”48 A press account at the time of Dr. Yates’ resignation from Second Baptist Church noted his “urban graces” and reminisced that,

His church will miss his preaching, a masterly amalgam of profound scholarship and simplicity, that edified adults and fascinated children. They will miss his warm greeting and handshake at the end of the services. He had invested this usually routine procedure with an intimacy that made one forget the pressing crowds from behind.49

As was the case when he left Walnut Street Baptist Church ten years earlier, honor was bestowed on Dr. Yates by way of a summary of the accomplishments and “sound growth” that occurred under his pastorate:

Over 6,000 members were added to the church. Contributions totaled $3,755,581. A $253,000 Memorial Building was erected and the auditorium and another educational building were remodeled. Recently one of the finest pipe organs in the South, a Casavant, and costing $65,000, was given to the church.50

While he was the pastor at Second Baptist in Houston, Yates served as the 2nd Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1956, and later as Vice President for one year.51 Baylor University In 1956, Yates left the active, full-time ministry in Houston to travel up to Waco, Texas to join the faculty of Baylor University, where he held the rarely accorded rank of “Distinguished Professor.”52 The Houston Chronicle noted that “Baylor lured him away not with gold but with the opportunity to devote more time to his studies and writings.”53 Scholarship In moving to Baylor, Dr. Yates said it was not only to enable him to resume his teaching career but also to spend more time on his writing. At that time, he had published six books, including two he had completed in his “Preaching From…” series, to which he hoped to add another four volumes. Preaching from the Prophets was published in 1942, and that was followed by Preaching from the Psalms in 1948. While at Baylor, Dr. Yates published Preaching from Great Bible Chapters in 1957 and then in 1964 came Preaching from John’s Gospel.54 (See above for more on this last book on John’s Gospel.) In addition to his scholarly research and writing while at Baylor, Yates continued to find avenues of preaching outreach. Among the many honors and awards he received during this

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time was an Award of Merit presented by the Radio Television Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, recognizing him “for teaching the International Sunday School lesson on the Baptist Radio Hour every week for two years” to a documented audience of 2 to 5 million people weekly.55 Teaching For all the scholarly and ministerial opportunities which he tackled with fervor, it was no doubt the Baylor students on whom Yates left his most indelible mark. His courses were consistently among the most popular offered by the Baylor Department of Religion.56 Students were effusive in their praise, some agreeing that they found it hard to write down all the facts Yates presented in class, because “they weren’t really like facts, but sort of like parts of a simple conversation.” One student called Dr. Yates “the greatest man and the greatest professor I’ve ever met. He knows so much it really scares me because I sometimes think he was there when it all happened.”57 The press once noted that Yates “eschews the ‘sweetness and light’ in his works. He strives not to uplift so much as to educate and he has been an eminently successful author.”58 As one former student recently blogged,

From that first lecture and interchange, I was fascinated with the Bible and the study of it. I could not believe that the Bible could be so alive…. Dr. Yates was one of the most learned men I have ever known. Yet, he was able to reduce all the facts into such a flowing narrative that students felt they were walking in biblical times.59

It was no wonder that students understood the genuineness of Yates’ character, as he clearly loved and valued them all. When interviewed some years later by a Baylor student, Yates’ daughter and granddaughter gave an informative glimpse into his character:

Yates kept file cards, with pictures attached, on each of his students, studying these until he could call each student by name, and inquire about their family. His daughter recalls the comments a former student made to her about her father as a professor at Baylor. The student remembered seeing Yates in the hall and thinking him to be “too good to be true.” However, when the student had the opportunity to meet Yates, he found him to be “real and genuine all the way through.”60

The Independence Baptist Association, when honoring Dr. Yates some years later, noted, “To young and old, rich and poor, he is considerate and courteous to all. He speaks to professor and student alike on the campus. Cafeteria lines halt momentarily for many visits when he goes to lunch.”61 (See Appendix 3 for an excerpt of a feature story on Yates which gives further illustrations of his classroom style.) As befitting not only Baylor’s Christian commitment but also his own deep-seated faith, Yates always ended his classes with a prayer. He

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was known to warn the class on certain days, “We may have to cut short so we can spend a bit more time with our prayer. There’s plenty to pray for these days.”62 While it was not unusual for Baylor religion professors to open or close their classes with a prayer in those years, students soon realized that Yates’ prayers “seemed more like real conversations with God.”63 Baylor Athletics and the “Fair Golfer” Yates’ life did not end with his teaching, scholarship, writing, and ministry, even though he often said he considered work to be his hobby.64 Always a huge sports fan, Yates loved football, baseball, and especially basketball, and rarely missed attending Baylor athletic events.65 Going back as far as his undergraduate college days, he enjoyed playing golf (often joined by his wife Margaret), and was once (perhaps diplomatically) referred to in the press as “a fair golfer.”66 His family recalled that, during his time at Baylor, he had the opportunity to play with such famous people as Billy Graham and John D. Rockefeller. While attending the University of Edinburgh, Yates was able to play on the world famous St. Andrews course.”67 Yates was once quoted in the press saying, “In the dark ages I shot in the mid-70s, but now I have trouble breaking 90. Not because of my age – the courses are just a lot tougher!”68 Yates and Hollywood While not an opportunity that he sought for himself, Yates did make one important and indelible impact on Hollywood. It concerned the making of the classic film The Ten Commandments in 1957. Perhaps the best way to summarize how it all came about is to quote a contemporary press clipping, noting that Yates was…

…one of the authorities consulted by Cecil B. DeMille on the authenticity of certain portions of the motion picture, The Ten Commandments. Dr. Yates happened to be in California last summer when the $9.5 million DeMille picture was nearing completion. When DeMille, who spared no effort or expense to authenticate every detail of this project, learned of Dr. Yates’ presence on the West Coast and of his eminence as a Bible scholar, he immediately contacted the Baylor professor and invited him to lunch…. Dr. Yates reports that it was a most interesting and stimulating experience…. Dr. Yates’ personal opinion of The Ten Commandments is that “It is

probably the greatest motion picture that has ever been made.” He says it is “remarkably true to Scriptural and secular history and amazingly free from the flagrant liberties so often taken with such material.” Commenting on the criticism which many church people have had for the licentiousness of the scene of the reveling people, following Moses’ descent from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Law, Dr. Yates says that the DeMille script was not exaggerated. He points out that the Bible is pretty plain in its description of the revelries which took place and that Moses

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himself was sickened with disgust at what he saw. “I consider the whole work a powerful depiction of truth,” Yates says, adding that he believes that everyone who reads and believes the Old Testament should see the filmed story.69

Yates would later say that some Wacoans (perhaps Baylor Baptists?) thought the movie exaggerated “the high jinks among the Israelites while Moses is on Mount Sinai.” He answered them by repeating that the film is no exaggeration – “It’s all in the Bible!” He called the filmmakers’ approach “scholarly” based on “a vast knowledge of fact and detail.”70 The relationship that was forged between Yates and DeMille ultimately resulted in the famous director being brought to the Baylor campus for the benefit of the students. Never one to let any Biblically teachable moment go to waste, Yates turned the discussion to one of heaven and everlasting life. DeMille was quoted as responding, “If the grave was all there was after death, then life would be a cruel joke” – to which one of Yates’ students would later reply: “That is a classic statement!”71 The Baylor Experience Including the ten years that he served on Baylor’s Board of Trustees while he was pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Houston, Yates would end up being associated with the Waco school for a total of 23 years. As noted before, the Bible classes he taught there for an additional 13 years made him one of the most popular professors at the university. The Chair of the Religion Department, in which Yates taught, noted that his classes “have been some of the most sought after by the students”72 Yates repeatedly and succinctly summarized what, for him, made the magic work there: “I love Baylor University.”73 Retirement and Beyond

In announcing Dr. Yates’ retirement in 1969 at the venerable age of 74, Baylor University noted that “his prolific writing is in part responsible for his decision to retire. Dr. Yates is under contract to complete three books within the next few months, and the pressure of these deadlines will not permit him to continue teaching. He also wants to devote more time to preaching engagements, so his only retirement will be from teaching on a semester basis.”74 (See Appendix 4 for a contemporaneous press account of his retirement from Baylor University.) Kyle Yates retired with the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus. It’s not surprising that time was an issue for Yates, who was “famous for his unique correspondence. His letters were addressed to a wide range of people

including prisoners in Huntsville, Texas; Hollywood movie producers; governors; and newborn babies. Yates was especially unique in his response to birth announcements. He would compose a letter to the newborn instead of the parents, complimenting the child upon his unique wisdom to choose such wonderful parents. Also, he would calculate the year in which each child would come to Baylor.”75

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Not content just to sit and work on his promised books, in November 1969, at age 74, just weeks after announcing his retirement from Baylor, Yates accepted the duties of interim pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston. The month before, he had preached three sermons a day for a Bible conference at First Baptist Church in Humble, Texas.76 As if these professional activities were not enough, it was noted that after retirement he taught Sunday School at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, was an active member of the church’s pulpit committee,77 played a daily round of 18 holes of golf, and continued his average of 25,000 to 30,000 miles a year, driving his own car, delivering sermons from California to Florida.78 Honors On June 11, 1972, Dr. Yates was honored as the Texas Baptist Elder Statesman of the Year, at ceremonies held at the homecoming of Independence Church. The award, which is presented annually by the Independence Baptist Association to persons who have rendered long-time distinguished service “to God and Texas Baptists,” noted that “Biblical scholars have acclaimed Dr. Yates as ‘the world’s authority on the prophets’.“79 The program cited him this way: “Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Bible, Baylor University, seminary instructor, minister of the Gospel, translator of the Scriptures and author as God’s Servant for almost six decades, comes now to be honored as Texas Baptists’ ‘Elder Statesman’.”80 As a capstone and memorial to his life, career, and ministry, Baylor University and Yates’ family have established the Kyle and Margaret Yates Scholarship Fund.

He Goes To His Rest Just eight days after his eightieth birthday, on Saturday, February 15, 1975, Dr. Yates passed away in a Waco nursing home, as a result of congestive heart failure. He was survived by his wife Margaret, this three children, two sisters (Katy and Ruth), five brothers (Belo, Basil, Harvey, Olive and Robert), and nine grandchildren. His funeral was held the next Monday at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, with Rev. Marshall Edwards and Dr. Bob

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Patterson officiating. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Waco.81 (Appendix 5 is one of the many obituaries written at the time of his death.)

On Dr. Yates’ tombstone is the Greek word (transliterated as hypernikomen), which is the first person plural form of the Greek verb hypernikao, meaning “to be more than a conqueror, to gain a surpassing victory.” The word is only used once in the Bible, in Romans 8:37, and both the word and that verse may have been Dr. Yates’ most quoted from Scripture. (See Appendix 6 for a true life story of how that word, the verse, and Dr. Yates himself changed the life of one of his students.) Shown in the context of the surrounding verses, here is the Revised Standard Verson translation:

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” [Psalm 44:22] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:33-39, RSV) As shown in The Bible from 26 Translations, the Greek word hypernikomen has been translated in various translations as, “we more than conquer,” “we keep on gloriously conquering,” and “we win an overwhelming victory.”82 It is no wonder, then, that this word appears as the lasting memorial of the life and service of Dr. Kyle Yates.

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References

Baylor’s Distinguished Professor of Bible. (1956, May-June). Baylor Report. p.22. Black, J. (1970, April 9). Yates stands as tall man. Waco News-Tribune. p.3-D. Carroll, G. (1945, November 19). Dr. Kyle M. Yates called as pastor of Second Baptist. The

Houston Post. Carter, C.J. (n.d.). Should Christians trust the Revised Standard Version? Retrieved from

http://www.maranath.ca/rsv.htm ‘Commandments’ Depiction of Truth. (1957, March 31). Newspaper clipping. From the Texas

Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” DeMille Consults Baylor Prof on Movie. (1957, March 3). Newspaper clipping. From the Texas

Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” Dr. and Mrs. Kyle Yates to Mark 50th Anniversary. (1972, August 20). Newspaper clipping.

From the Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” Dr. Kyle Yates Dies; Retired Baylor Prof. (1975). Newspaper clipping. From the Texas

Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” Dr. Yates Honored as Baptist Elder Statesman. (1972, June 22). Newspaper clipping. From the

Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” Dr. Yates Resigns. (1942, February). Southern Seminary News. Edwards, S. (1995, April 28). Kyle Monroe Yates. Unpublished biographical paper, written for

HIS 3380, Baylor University. From the Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.”

Howler, The. (1916). Wake Forest, NC: Wake Forest College. Independence Baptist Association. (1972, June 11). Program: Texas Baptist Elder Statesman of

the Year. Independence, TX. From the Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.”

Jaynes, S. (1995, February 24). Interview with Sara Edwards. Referenced in paper “Kyle M. Yates” (Edwards, 1995), q.v.

Jolly, L. (2010, May 16). Statesman, scholar, stimulator. From the blog Lawson writes…sharing thoughts and memories. Retrieved from http://lawsonjolly.com/2010/05/16/statesman-scholar-stimulator.

Mrs. Kyle M. Yates. (1987, August 11). Obituary; newspaper clipping. From the Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.”

Mulvany, T. (1969, October 24). Rev. Kyle M. Yates: First Baptist minister is scholar, golfer, traveler. Houston Chronicle.

News from Baylor. (1969). Dr. Kyle Yates retires from Baylor University. From the Texas Collection, Waco, TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.”

Norman, N. (1972, June 11). Baptists to honor ex-BU Bible prof. Waco, TX: Waco Tribune-Herald, p.3-B.

North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics. (1931). North Carolina Death Certificates. Microfilm S.123. Rolls 19-242, 280, 313-682, 1040-1297. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.

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Pfeiffer, C.F., & Harrison, E.F., (eds.) (1962). The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Moody Publishers.

Risenhoover, C.C. (1969, August-September). Distinguished Professor, Kyle Yates, ‘Retires’ to Preach and Write. Baylor Report.

RSV. (1952). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version Containing the Old and New Testaments. New York: Oxford University Press.

Robinson, D.W. (1995). People sharing Jesus. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. The Baylor Line. (1956, January-February). Dr. Kyle M. Yates. Waco: Baylor University. p.10. The Baylor Line. (1964, November-December). Dr. Yates writes new book on John’s Gospel.

Waco: Baylor University. p.9. Total Church Life Ministries. (n.d.). Darrell Woner Robinson. Retrieved from

http://www.totalchurchlife.net/aboutus.html U.S. Census. (1880). Census Place: White Oak, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: 985; Family

History Film: 1254985; Page: 494B; Enumeration District: 279; Image: 0338. U.S. Census. (1900). Census Place: White Oak, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: 1221; Page: 1A;

Enumeration District: 153; FHL microfilm: 1241221. U.S. Census. (1910). Census Place: White Oak, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: T624_1136; Page:

3A; Enumeration District: 0133; Image: 758; FHL microfilm: 1375149. U.S. Census. (1920). Census Place: White Oak, Wake, North Carolina; Roll: T625_1325; Page:

6A; Enumeration District: 151; Image: 1061. U.S. Census. (1930). Census Place: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 753; Page: 7B;

Enumeration District: 6; Image: 230.0; FHL microfilm: 2340488. Vaughan, C. (1988). The Bible from 26 translations. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. Walnut Street Baptist Church. (1975, February 23). In memoriam: Dr. Kyle M. Yates. Church

Chimes. Self-published. Wooddy, M. (1995, February 6). Interview with Sara Edwards. Referenced in paper “Kyle M.

Yates” (Edwards, 1995), q.v. Wooddy, R.T., & Wooddy, M.J. (1995, March 28 & April 4). Interview with Sara Edwards.

Referenced in paper “Kyle M. Yates” (Edwards, 1995), q.v. Yates, K.M. (n.d.). Personal bio. Unpublished ms. (ca.1950). From the Texas Collection, Waco,

TX: Baylor University; subject file “Kyle M. Yates.” Yates, K.M. (1984). Psalms of Joy and Faith. Wake Forest, NC: Chanticleer Publishing.

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APPENDIX 1a Psalm 23 Complete in Five Translations The 17th-century translators of the Authorized (King James) Version (AV or KJV, 1611) of the Bible pulled from at least six existing English translations extant at the time, most especially the poetic William Tyndale translation (1525), keeping “felicitous phrases and apt expressions, from whatever source which had stood the test of public usage.”83 By the end of the 19th century, scholars perceived “grave defects” in the KJV, and so an English team was formed to revise and update it. This produced the English Revised Version (ERV, 1885), an American version of which was soon published called the American Standard Version (ASV, 1901). Starting in 1938, Dr. Yates and the group of scholars with which he was working were tasked with updating the ASV into “English diction which is designed for use in public and private worship and preserves those qualities which have given to the King James Version a supreme place in English literature.”84 Some differences and similarities are obvious: the RSV kept the thee’s and thou’s (“thy rod and thy staff”) but eliminated most of the Elizabethan verb “-eth” suffixes (“maketh” became “makes”). The four-letter Hebrew name of God, YWVH, which has lost its vowels and pronunciation since pre-Christian Israel, had been translated into “LORD” (written in all upper case letters) in the KJV but had been replaced with the cobbled-together and inaccurate “Jehovah” in the ASV. The RSV scholars, faced with no other apparent alternative to these two options, reverted back to the LORD translation. Two more modern translations, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV, 1989) and the English Standard Version (ESV, 2001), were updates into more modern language than the RSV. Here are the translations of the 23rd Psalm from all five versions, which show the seminal importance of the work done by Dr. Yates and his team.

PSALM 23

Verse AV / KJV ASV RSV NRSV ESV 1 The LORD is my

shepherd; I shall not want.

Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters.

he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

He restoreth my soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou hast anointed my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for ever.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

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APPENDIX 1b The “Virgin shall conceive” and “God was manifest” Controversies in Five Translations The Revised Standard Version (RSV) was not without some controversy from detractors. In addition to some quibbling about a loss of some of the poetic nature of the KJV, there were areas of theological dispute. One among them was perceived bias by the translator scholars against the Deity of Christ.85 Two of the many examples given by the critics are shown below. First is from the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 7, in which the KJV said, “…a virgin shall conceive.” The RSV changed the reading to “a young woman shall conceive.” As one of the leading experts on the Old Testament Prophets, Dr. Yates would have reviewed this language, as having been called upon to vote on its inclusion. (We do not know how he voted.) The second example often cited is Paul’s profession of the Mystery of the Faith. The KJV says that “God was manifest in the flesh…,” but the RSV decided to stay with the modern rendering from the ERV and ASV, “He was manifested in the flesh.” The evolution of the translations of these two passages is given below.

ISAIAH 7:11-14

Verse AV / KJV ASV RSV NRSV ESV 11 Ask thee a sign of the

LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

Ask thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

"Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven."

Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.

“Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt Jehovah.

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test."

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.

But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.”

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye will weary my God also?

And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?

And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman'u-el.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

I TIMOTHY 3:16

Verse AV / KJV ASV RSV NRSV ESV 16 And without

controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

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APPENDIX 2 The Bible from 26 Translations "The aim of The New Testament from 26 Translations is to combine in one volume the complete King James text and the most significant variations from 25 later translations." – from the dust jacket. 2 excerpts: Psalms 23:1-2 and Exodus 20:8-10 86

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APPENDIX 3 “Personality Portrait: Yates Stands as Tall Man”87 (excerpt) by John Black, Waco News-Tribune, April 9, 1970 Whenever Kyle M. Yates would get off the subject during one of his religion classes at Baylor University, he would stop and say, “Here I am chasing rabbits again.” The truth was that Dr. Yates would get so involved in teaching his students about the New Testament of the Bible that he couldn’t keep from telling everything he knew about each subject. Yates lectured many hours as a Baylor religion professor until his retirement last year . . . but it never seemed like a lecture. It was more like a conversation. Just Yates and his class. Each respected the other, and each was willing to give the other a chance. “Now we’ve got to talk about Moses today,” Yates would announce at the beginning of the hour. “Mr. Moses was quite a man, so we can’t have any rabbit chasing.” He would then proceed to write as many as 50 different names and dates on the blackboard, giving a short explanation about each. And he never used a note or a book. “Now if anyone has a question he better come out with it now,” Yates would say. “I’d sure like to help you on that test we’ve got coming up, but our good friend President McCall would want me to answer all your questions before we have the test and not while we’re taking it.” Questions would come from all parts of the room. Some would pertain to the subject, and some would not. Many students would give their opinions, and Yates would welcome them. Just as the class period began rolling along, some student would try to slip in the back door and slide unnoticed into the nearest seat. “Come right in my son,” Yates would boom, and the victim would turn a bright red, usually get flustered and drop a book or make some other miscue. “We’re always happy to see you, my son,” Yates would say, while the tardy chap fumbled to get control of himself. “It was nice of you to drop by, and come again soon if you please.” Laughter would erupt from all corners of the room, but order was soon restored and more facts from the New Testament were written on the board. Some students say they found it hard to write down all the facts, because “they weren’t really like facts, but sort of like parts of a simple conversation.” “He (Yates) always presented things in a way that made you know he not only knew what he was talking about, but had also visited the places he was telling us about,” one student said. Another student was so moved to call Yates “the greatest man and the greatest professor I’ve ever met. He knows so much it really scares me because I sometimes think he was there when it all happened.”

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APPENDIX 4 Dr. Kyle Yates Retires From Baylor University 88 Dr. Kyle Yates is retiring after 13 years of teaching religion at Baylor University. The 74-year-old Apex, N. C., native has resigned to devote his time to writing and preaching at Bible conferences. Dr. Yates will continue to have an office in the Tidwell Bible Building, but will be missed in the classroom. Among Dr. Yates’ most notable achievements was 12 years on a committee to produce the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Books he has written include Beginner’s Grammar of the Hebrew Old Testament, Essentials of Biblical Hebrew, Preaching from the Prophets, Preaching from Great Bible Chapters, Solomon to Malachi, Genesis, Preaching from the Psalms, Preaching from John’s Gospel, Studies in the Psalms. His prolific writing is in part responsible for his decision to retire. Dr. Yates is under contract to complete three books within the next few months, and the pressure of these deadlines will not permit him to continue teaching. He also wants to devote more time to preaching engagements, so his only retirement will be from teaching on a semester basis. “Dr. Yates has served very effectively as a teacher during his years here. His classes have been some of the most sought after by the students,” Dr. Ray Summers, chairman of the religion department, said. “We especially appreciate his teaching for the past four years—beyond actual retirement age.” Dr. Yates has actually been associated with Baylor for some 23 years. For 10 years he was on the board of trustees while pastoring Second Baptist Church of Houston. Prior to his pastorate in Houston, he was pastor of Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. For 20 years Dr. Yates was a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., the theological school where he earned both his Th.M and Th.D degrees. He also earned a Ph.D degree at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). He earned his undergraduate degrees and an M.A. degree at Wake Forest College, now Wake Forest University. He did further study at Princeton University. Dr. Yates has honorary degrees from Baylor, Wake Forest, Union University and Mercer University. In 1922 Dr. Yates married Margaret Sharp, a native of Clinton, Miss., and a graduate of Mississippi College where her father was a professor. The couple have three children and nine grandchildren. Kyle M. Jr. is a professor at Oklahoma State University; Jean is married to Dr. Robert Wooddy, pastor of Polytechnic Baptist Church in Fort Worth; and Ellen is married to Dr. William G. Tanner, president of Mary Hardin-Baylor College.

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APPENDIX 5 In Memoriam Dr. Kyle M. Yates February 7, 1895—February 15, 1975 89 Dr. Yates was the only living former pastor of Walnut Street Baptist Church. He died in Waco, Texas and the funeral was Monday, February 17, at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. Dr. Kyle Monroe Yates was the eleventh pastor of the Walnut Street Baptist Church. He was born February 7, 1895, in Apex, North Carolina. He graduated from Wake Forest College with the A.B. degree in 1916, and the A.M. degree in 1917. He then entered Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he received the Th.M. degree in 1920, and the Th.D. in 1922. He married Miss Margaret Webb Sharp of Mississippi on August 24, 1922. He became Professor of Old Testament at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1922, and taught there twenty years. He received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Edinburg, Scotland in 1932, and the L.L.D. degree from Union University, Jackson, Tennessee in 1939. He served as pastor in Fort Barnwell, North Carolina, New Castle and New Salem, Kentucky, and at Beechmont in Louisville, before he became pastor of Walnut Street January 1, 1942. During the four years he was pastor, there were added to the church 688 by baptism, 1,087 by letter, 29 by relation, 5 by restoration, making a total of 1,809. The total contributions were $469,327.81 of which $270,324.73 was for benevolence. Seven young men were set apart for the ministry, and two new churches became independent: Kenwood in 1944; and Oakdale in 1945. Dr. Yates left Walnut Street out of debt, and with a membership of over 4,000 to take up his new work with the Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas.

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APPENDIX 6 People Sharing Jesus by Darrell W. Robinson Chapter 1: You Can Live Abundantly (excerpt) 90 You are a HYPER-NIKE! What on earth does that mean? Life had caved in on me! I was reaching up for bottom. My wife had died a few weeks earlier. I was alone raising our four-year-old son, working as a bivocational pastor in a small church while teaching school. Financially, I was struggling to pay hospital and funeral bills that accompanied a long period of deterioration before Betty’s death. That morning I was walking across the university campus reflecting on precious memories of my dear wife. I had come back to visit the campus where I had graduated the year before. I am sure there were tears in my eyes as I remembered the pleasant strolls we had taken in this very place not so long ago. I was thinking how quickly a life situation changes and how I would never feel the glow of her presence at my side again. Questions about my future were heavily on my mind. “What am I to do? Should I come back to Baylor and prepare to teach in college? Should I go to seminary and continue to prepare for a pastoral or evangelistic ministry? Should I look toward the chaplaincy? I am a single parent! Will a church want me as their pastor?” Suddenly I felt an arm around my shoulders. The voice said, “Son, how are you today?” I looked up into the eyes of the tall man quietly walking beside me. He was one of my professors, Dr. Kyle Yates. He was one of the kindest, most gracious men I have ever known. We talked for a while. He spoke comforting words and pointed me again to Romans 8:37: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (NIV). Later, I remembered the textbook he had written and autographed. He had signed it, Kyle M. Yates, and below his name was the Greek word hypernikomen, then the Scripture reference Romans 8:37. Back home in my office, I studied the verse. I discovered that the five English words “we are more than conquerors” translated one Greek word: “Hyper-Nike!” Hyper means “more than, super, or far above.” Nike means “a conqueror, a winner, a victor.” This wonderful word says that you and I through Jesus are far above any conqueror who ever won a victory. In recent years the word nike has been popularized as an athletic equipment brand name. The implication is Nikes are winners! God was impressing my heart about the victory He had for me even in this situation. Through prayer, the study of God’s Word, and several meaningful books, God showed me that life could never be the same for me, but that it did not have to be the same for me to experience His joy and victory. I realized that the One who gave me a meaningful life in the past is still on the throne. He is at work through all things to work out His purpose of making me like

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Jesus (Rom. 8:28). Therefore, because of Him, my life can be just as meaningful, or even more so, in the future. Because of who He is in us and who we are in Him, we are Hyper-Nikes. I made the choice to claim the victory in Christ, to choose to be a winner, because of my position in Him who loves me. ____________________________________ Follow-up to Darrell Robinson’s story Darrell Robinson’s poignant encounter with Dr. Yates that day, which he credits with turning his life around at its lowest point, has an event happier outcome that this excerpt told. After absorbing the meaning behind Dr. Yates’ hypernikomen message, Robinson went on to study at both Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, and Luther Rice Seminary, Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Robinson founded and serves as President of Total Church Life Ministries in Conroe, Texas. He re-married, to Kathleen Robinson – who, like Margaret Yates, was from Mississippi. They have four children. His previous experience included pastorates at several churches; Vice President of HMB Evangelism in Atlanta; and Minister of Evangelism at Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia. Like his mentor Dr. Yates, Dr. Robinson has served a term as First Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition to the book excerpted above, People Sharing Jesus, Dr. Robinson has authored five additional books: Total Church Life, How to be a Growing Christian, Doctrine of Salvation, What's Next, and Incredibly Gifted. He has received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Houston Baptist University and Global Korean Seminary.91

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APPENDIX 7 Preface (excerpt) Psalms of Joy and Faith Dr. Kyle M. Yates You have a treasure. You have heard of “acres of diamonds.” How about the rich gems that are at your very finger tips? For three thousand years men have been in possession of these priceless poems. Holy men of God prepare them for perplexed hearts. They hold the remedy so sorely needed in our generation. When hungry hearts find the living truths new strength is given for daily living. A vital faith in the eternal God springs up within the soul. Clearly and distinctly a new pattern takes shape. Hope is born afresh in the inner being. Pain and sorrow and grief lose their terrors. Fear flies away as the sacred pages reveal hidden truths uttered by men of the long ago who won victories in the same arenas. Life takes on new meaning as the plan of God is viewed in its full perspective. Instead of doubt and impatience and despair one finds himself rejoicing in the safety of God’s marvelous presence. In some strange way the heart is stilled as if by a magic wand when the troubled child feels the cooling touch of the divine fingers. God is in the Psalms. He reveals Himself as a precious Companion, always alert, available, interested, able, anxious to provide every gift that His beloved children can need. Every tragic situation is met by One who knows how to deal with the delicate strands of the heart with tenderness and care. In each spot a frail human being with very little equipment for meeting trials and sufferings found a strange and previous guidance by turning to God. Every phase of life is pictured. Joys, victories, struggles, defeats, shameful disgraces, and monotonous plodding come in for their place in human experience. Any experience in a man’s life can find its picture in these ageless poems. The solution for all of life’s problems can be discovered in these pages. Human interest stories call the reader on from page to page…. My prayer is that many, many hearts may be richly blessed as these pages suggest rich truths for needy souls.

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APPENDIX 8 Excerpt from Commentary on Genesis Genesis 1:1 through 3:24 Dr. Kyle M. Yates from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary (1962; pp. 2-9) I. The Early Beginnings. 1: 1 – 11: 32. A. The Creation. 1: 1–2: 25. God is the Creator of all things. From the outset in the Book of Genesis, the focus of the strong light of revelation turns upon the Almighty. He is the Beginning, the Cause, the Source of all that is. He brought into being all the things and the persons that were to fit into his plan for the ages. All the matter necessary for his later working, he miraculously created. 1. In beginning (ber’ēshîth). The author takes the reader back before time, into the unfathomable reaches of eternity, though language fails him as he seeks to suggest the state of things before time was. He gives no hint of a tangible date for this beginning. His account reaches back into the time before the dating of events. God created. The sublime certainty of revelation is based on this one mighty assertion. God did it. Nothing more astounding could be declared. ’Elōhîm is the usual word for “God” in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. It is actually plural in form, but it is used with a verb in the singular. Perhaps the plural is best explained as indicating “plenitude of might” or exceptional dignity and unlimited greatness. In this One are united all the powers of eternity and infinity. Created (bārā’) is a verb used exclusively of God. Man could not reach up to the powers inherent in this word, for it describes full miracle. By the sovereign, originative power of God something absolutely new was brought into being. The heavens and the earth. Here the author focuses interest upon all the areas of the world above, around, and below. In this phrase he includes the completed universe as it was known (or might come to be known) by the Hebrews, and all the raw material needed to make suns, planets, stars, nebulae, galaxies, molecules, atoms, electrons, and all the specific things and beings on the earth. Men of science reveal that our galaxy contains more than 100 billion stars, and that our sun is 150 trillion miles from the center of our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of a small cluster of 19 galaxies, the nearest of which is 30 million light years from us (150 million trillion miles). Our research scientists, by using powerful telescopes, have made reasonably sure that there are more than a billion galaxies. They estimate the number of stars in these galaxies as close to 100 quintillion. The candle power of one of the galaxies is equal to that of 400 million suns. As a man looks on this vast creation and compares what he sees with the inspired writer’s account of its origin, his heart must be filled with awe. He recognizes the hand of God in the beauty and order of the solar system and in the power at the center of the atom. Whether he looks upon the sun (positively charged), holding the planets (negatively charged), or whether he examines the nucleus (positively charged) at the heart of the atom, holding each electron (negatively charged) in its sway, he senses the wisdom, power, and grandeur of God. In the light of all this,

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a reverent man bows before his Creator in awe and genuine dedication, and pours out worship, adoration, thanksgiving, and unrestrained praise. The sublime creation of the Lord is that being, greatly beloved, whom he chose to create in his own image. 2. The earth was without form, and void (tōhû wābōhû). The inspired author quickly turns his attention to the earth, for his story has to do with God’s plans and provision for human life on this planet. He describes the earth in its unfinished state. There was plenty of material at hand for every work God planned to create, though in a chaotic state—waste, void, dark. Six full creative days were to make phenomenal changes. God’s purpose could not be satisfied until his miraculous touch had made something of this chaos. Even darkness (often, in Scripture, associated with evil) was to be made subservient to his will. The Spirit of God was hovering (rûaḥ …meră-ḥepet). The words portray the energy-giving presence of God, swathing and caressing the chaos and unfinished earth as he prepared to complete his creation. Like a devoted mother bird, he moved about, lavishing his love on the newborn world. 3. Then said God, Let be light. The author presents God’s first creative word. With unbelievable ease and deliberate consciousness, the omnipotent God brought light into existence. He uttered his word, and instantly his will was accomplished (Ps 33: 6,9). Light was God’s answer to the dominance of darkness. It was the Lord’s first positive move toward completing the full program of creation. Without it, the other steps would have been meaningless. The Apostle John tells us that “God is light” (I Jn 1: 5). 4. God saw …that it was good. When the Creator looked upon the product of his will, he found it perfectly complete and admirable; and he was pleased. Seven times this statement is made. Every one of God’s creative acts was perfect, complete, pleasing, satisfying. It is good to remember that this was the same light man sees and enjoys today. 5. Evening and morning. In the book of Genesis evening always precedes morning. The creation of light ended the reign of darkness and brought on the first day. Since it was still some time before the creation of the sun and moon, it is incorrect to speak of actual twenty-four-hour days until after that point in the program of the Creator. The reference here is to a day of God, and not to an ordinary day bounded by minutes and hours. The beginning of each act of creation is called morning, and the close of that specific divine act is called evening. 6. A firmament (expanse) in the midst of the waters. The Hebrew word rāqî‘a represents something beaten out or pressed out so as to extend over a wide surface. The writer suggests here an expanse above the earth, holding vast reservoirs of water to be released for rain. 9. Let the dry land appear. At one stage, water covered everything. On the third day, however, the Lord made the land and the vegetable kingdom. By his divine power he caused the land to emerge from the great mass of waters, and formed the earth (cf. Ps 104: 6–8; Job 38: 8–11). From the soil, at the express command of God, living vegetation sprang forth, and soon clothed the earth with beauty and provided food for living creatures. 14. Let be lights. Hebrew me’ōrōt describes the luminaries or instruments of light. By means of these luminaries, the earth received the light necessary for maintaining life. They were to rule over the day and the night (v. 16), to be for signs and seasons, and to give light upon the earth. The account makes it clear that God made them and then set them in place. According to the divine blueprint, the sun, moon, and stars were all brought into being to carry out his specific will.

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20. Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures. This verse describes the sudden coming of hosts of winged things and fishes. They were designed to provide another visible demonstration of the Creator’s power. With their appearance, there was life on the earth and also activity. And there was, furthermore, an endless succession of living creatures, all made by God’s mighty hand. 21. Sea monsters (AV, great whales). Literally, stretched-out animals that creep, crawl, or glide upon the earth, in or out of the water, such as, serpents, eels, fish, and dragons. 22. The Lord breathed his blessing upon these and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. The progress of God’s creative activity was upward toward the creation of man. 26. Let us make man. The supreme moment of creation arrived as God created man. The narrative presents God as calling on the heavenly court, or the other two members of the Trinity, to center all attention on this event. Some commentators, however, interpret the plural as a “plural of majesty,” indicating dignity and greatness. The plural form of the word for God, ’Elōhîm, can be explained in somewhat the same way. The Lord is represented as giving unusual deliberation to a matter fraught with much significance. In our image (ṣelem), after our likeness (demût). Though these two synonyms have separate meanings, there is here seemingly no effort to present different aspects of God’s being. It is clear that man, as God made him, was distinctly different from the animals already created. He stood on a much higher plateau, for God created him to be immortal, and made him a special image of His own eternity. Man was a creature with whom his Maker could visit and have fellowship and communion. On the other hand, the Lord could expect man to answer him and be responsible to him. Man was constituted to have the privilege of choice, even to the point of disobeying his Creator. He was to be God’s responsible representative and steward on the earth, to work out his Creator’s will and fulfill the divine purpose. World dominion was to be granted to this new creature (cf. Ps 8: 5–7). He was commissioned to subdue (kābash, “tread upon”) the earth, and to follow God’s plan in filling it with people. This sublime creature, with his unbelievable privileges and heavy responsibilities, was to live and move in kingly fashion. 31. Very good (tôb meōd). When the Lord looked upon the completed result of his creative acts, he expressed peculiar delight and extreme satisfaction. Everything in the universe, from the biggest star to the smallest blade of grass, brought joy to his heart. It was a beautiful symphony. The Creator’s satisfaction is here expressed in terse yet vivid language. 2: 1,2. Finished (kālâh) …. rested (shābāt) …. hallowed (kādăsh). When the Creator had pronounced his approval of everything he had made, including man, the crown of creation, he declared the work finished. For the present, he would undertake no further creation. However, he sanctified, or hallowed, a day of complete rest. The Hebrew word shābăt can be translated “desisted” or “ceased” or “cut off.” During this time even God would rest from creative activity (cf. Ex 20: 11; 31: 17). 3. The seventh day was set apart to be hallowed and honored through the years as a reminder that God had appointed a season of rest, refreshment, and complete cessation of all ordinary work, toil, and struggle. 4. These are the generations (tôle-dôt). The Hebrew word comes from a verb meaning to beget or bear children. It could be translated “begettings.” This statement may be a reference to Genesis 1. The LXX translates: This is the Book of the Genesis. Some would

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translate it, The history of the heavens and the earth. The offspring of heaven and earth were thus pictured. Jehovah, the Lord God. For the first time, the name Yahweh, or Jehovah (cf. Ex 6: 2,3) is presented. Jehovah is the personal covenant God of Israel, who is at the same time the God of heaven and earth. The name connotes the eternal self-existence of the Author of all existence. It is expressive of God’s loving-kindness, his grace, his mercy, his lordship, and his eternal relationship to his own chosen ones who are created in his image. Jehovah’s special relationship to Israel would be described more distinctly when he would appear at the burning bush near Sinai. Here the Author of life is identified with the divine Creator of Genesis 1. 6. A mist used to go up … and water. In order to prepare the ground to perform its appointed work, the Creator supplied moisture. The usual translation refers to a very slight drizzle of rain, or a mist. It is possible that the word translated mist in the AV (’ēd) could be translated “river” or “stream.” The former is to be preferred. In any event, the mist was God’s way of working out his will for the soil. Continuous action is expressed. 7. The Lord God formed (yāṣār) man of the dust of the ground. Again the two names for God are joined in anticipation of the epoch-making event. The word yāṣār is used to give the figure of a potter at work, molding with his hands the plastic material he holds (cf. Jer 18: 3,4). The same verb is used to picture the shaping of a people or a nation. Man’s body was fashioned from the dust of the ground, while his spirit came from the very “breath” of God. He is literally a creature of two worlds; both earth and heaven can claim him. Notice the three statements: Jehovah formed (yāṣār) man of the dust … Jehovah God breathed (nāpaḥ) into his nostrils the breath of life … man became (ḥāyāh) a living soul. The first step was exceedingly important, but the moistened dust was far from being a man until the second miracle was complete. God communicated his own life to that inert mass of substance he had previously created and molded into form. The divine breath permeated the material and transformed it into a living being. That strange combination of dust and deity produced a marvelous creation (cf. I Cor 15: 47–49), made in God’s own image. As a living being, man was destined to reveal the qualities of the Giver of life. This language of Scripture does not suggest that man bore physical resemblance to God. Rather, he was made like God in spiritual powers. To him were given the powers to think and feel, to communicate with others, to discern and discriminate, and, to a certain extent, to determine his own character. 8. A garden (gan) … in Eden (be‘ēden). The author represents God as planting a beautiful garden for his new creatures. The word means an enclosure or a park. The LXX here uses a term that forms the basis for our word “paradise.” Man’s work in that garden was to exercise dominion while serving—a good combination. The duties probably were rigorous but enjoyable. Eden, or the land of Eden, probably lay in the lower part of the Babylonian valley. Though many rival claims for the location of Eden have been advanced, the evidence seems to point to the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates as the cradle of civilization. The Hebrew word Eden probably means “enchantment,” “pleasure,” or “delight.” In this quiet place of indescribable beauty, man was to enjoy fellowship and companionship with the Creator, and to work in accord with the divine blueprint to perfect His will. Magnificent trees furnished sustaining food, but man had to work to care for them. Adequate water supply was ensured by a vast irrigation system, a network of rivers that flowed in and about the garden with its life-

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giving waters. In order to lead man to full moral and spiritual development, God gave him specific commands and a specific prohibition to govern his behavior. He also gave him the power of choice and set before him the privilege of growing in divine favor. Thus began the moral discipline of man. 18. An help meet for him (‘ēzer kenegdô). The inspired author indirectly reveals man’s natural loneliness and lack of full satisfaction. Though much had been done for him, yet he was conscious of a lack. The Creator had not finished. He had plans for providing a companion who would satisfy the unfulfilled yearnings of man’s heart. Created for fellowship and companionship, man could enter into the full life only as he might share love, trust, and devotion in the intimate circle of the family relationship. Jehovah made it possible for man to have an help meet for him. Literally, a help answering to him, or, one who answers. She was to be one who could share man’s responsibilities, respond to his nature with understanding and love, and wholeheartedly co-operate with him in working out the plan of God. 21. Deep sleep (tardēmâ) … made her (bānâ). Today physicians use various anaesthetics to produce deep sleep. We do not know what means or method the Creator used to induce in Adam such deep sleep that he was unconscious of the events. That remains a mystery. Certainly divine mercy was displayed in this miracle. The Eternal was bringing into being not only another individual, but a new one, totally different, with another sex. Someone has said that “woman was taken not from man’s head to rule over him, nor from his feet to be trampled upon, but from his side, under his arm, to be protected, and closest his heart, to be loved.” She is also represented in the story of creation as wholly dependent upon her husband and not complete without him. Similarly, man is never fully complete without the woman. It is God’s will that it should be so. Since woman was formed from man’s side, she is bound to him and obligated to be a help to him. He is obligated to give her the full protection and devoted shielding of his arm. The two beings make up the completed whole, the crown of creation. The author of Genesis declares that God builded (bānâ) the rib which he had taken from man into a woman. The hand that had molded clay into the material for the body of man took a part of the living body of man and builded it into the woman. 22. Brought her unto the man. When God was ready with this new creation, he “gave her away” in marriage to her husband, thus establishing the eternally significant institution of marriage. As the Creator instituted marriage, it was a sacred relationship of man and woman, with deep mystery at its center proclaiming its divine origin. The loving heart of God doubtless rejoiced in the institution of a relationship that was to be high, clean, holy, and pleasant for mankind. 23. This is now … flesh of my flesh. The man recognized in this new creation a divinely created companion who was fashioned to provide all that his hungry heart would need to carry out God’s holy will. Woman (’ishshâ) … man (’îsh). These two Hebrew words are much alike, even in sound. The only difference between them is that the word for “woman” has a feminine ending. More recent lexicons declare that these words are not etymologically related. There is, however, no actual ground for rejecting the earlier view that the word for “woman” is derived from the word for “man.” 24. Therefore doth a man … cleave (dābaq) unto his wife. The Creator had established the full basis for monogamous marriage. The great Hebrew commentator, Rashi, declares that these words are a specific comment by the Holy Spirit. The final commentary on the union of

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man and wife was given by our Lord, when he said: “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mk 10: 7–9). God planned that the marriage bond should be forever indissoluble. Cleave (dābaq) means to “glue himself to” his wife (his own wife). The word for “wife” is singular. The man, who is stronger, is the one who is to cleave. The wife will be held when the husband exerts the kind of loving power described in this verse. Love is strong and enduring. “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” This is an old statement, but it is truly God’s word for all our hearts today, and always. How remarkable it is that a relationship so accurately described centuries ago by Moses should still be rooted in eternal truth and divine decree! The sacredness of marriage is founded in the very heart of the Scriptures, and eternally underlined as basic by the Holy Spirit. God willed that the beings he created in his image should be his chosen vessels to build a home pleasing to him. In the NT the Spirit reveals: the divinely ordained relationship of man and woman, based on the order of creation; the headship of the family resident in the husband; the eternal sacredness of the marriage vow; the kind of love that should unite husband and wife; and the purity that should characterize those who typify the Bride for whom Christ gave his life. _____________________________ B. The Temptation and Fall. 3: 1–24. The author of Genesis here lists the steps leading to the entrance of sin into the hearts of these divinely created individuals, who had started life with such clean hearts and so much promise. Disobedience and sin becloud the picture. Though these beings were morally upright, they had been given the power of choice; and they were subject to the power of the tempter at any moment. Hence the test was inevitable. The garden was an exquisite creation, filled with plenteous provisions. Man’s environment left nothing to be desired. One prohibition, however, had been placed upon the man and woman. Every tree, shrub, and delicacy could be theirs, except the fruit of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This prohibition seems to have produced the atmosphere in which human minds welcome the appeal of the tempter. 1. The serpent (nāḥāsh). The narrative presents the seducer as one of the animals, which was much more subtil than the others. The Hebrew word contains the idea of exceptional shrewdness. (Rabbinic legend has it that the serpent walked erect.) He had the power of speech and talked freely with his victim. He was wily, insidious, crafty. Later exegesis will identify the serpent with Satan or the devil. In the light of later Scripture truths, we are justified in concluding that the serpent was a specially chosen instrument of Satan for this test. In Rev 12: 9 the tempter is called “the great dragon …that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan” (cf. Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IX). The word nāḥāsh, meaning to make a hissing sound, undoubtedly refers to the kind of being known to us as a serpent. Paul declares that Satan fashions himself into “an angel of light” (II Cor 11: 14). He chose the craftiest, the most subtle, the most cautious of the animals and took full control of him for his disastrous work. Jesus said of Satan: “He is a liar, and the father thereof” (Jn 8: 44, ASV; cf. Rom 16: 20; II Cor 11: 3; I Tim 2: 14; Rev 20: 2).

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The method of deceit the serpent employed with Eve was to distort the meaning of God’s prohibition and then hold it up to ridicule in its new form. The tempter feigned surprise that God should be guilty of issuing such a command. Then he sought to break down the woman’s faith by sowing in her mind doubts, suspicions, and false pictures of the Almighty and his motives. It was a deliberate attempt to reflect on God. When faith fails, the sure foundation of moral conduct collapses. It is only a small step from unbelief to sin and disgrace. 2,3. The woman said. To parley with the tempter is always dangerous. Unconsciously, the woman was revealing a willingness to come to terms with the tempter. She did not have the advantage of Jesus’ words in Mt 4: 10 and James’ admonition in Jas 4: 7. She was innocent, guileless, and unsuspecting, and no match for the wily antagonist. She was unwilling to stand by and see God misrepresented, and so she courageously attempted to correct the serpent’s statement. But she quoted God’s prohibition inaccurately, adding the word touch. 5. Ye shall be as God (AV, gods). Now that Eve had entered into the conversation, the seducer advanced his more powerful argument. He quickly suggested that man’s great desire to be on a par with and truly like God had been deliberately thwarted by divine command. He charged the Creator with selfishness and with a malicious falsehood, representing him as envious and unwilling for his creatures to have something that would make them like the omniscient One. (The word ’Elōhîm can be translated God or gods, since it is plural. The former is preferred.) 6. The woman saw … took … did eat … gave. The strong verbs tell the story vividly and clearly. Something happened in the thinking of the woman. Gradually the fruit took on new significance. It was attractive to the eye, desirable to the taste, and powerful to give new wisdom. She took a new step into the field of self-deception. She not only wanted food that was delicious and attractive, but she was desirous of power. She believed this fruit would satisfy all her desires. The next step was automatic and immediate. She took … and did eat. The tempter was not needed after that moment. Eve took up his work and presented the well-recommended fruit to her husband, and he did eat. 7. The eyes … were opened (pākaḥ) … they knew. The word pākaḥ pictures a sudden miracle. The promise of the tempter was fulfilled quickly; instant perception was given. They saw and knew. But what they saw was far different from the rosy picture painted by the serpent. Conscience was rudely awakened. They saw their nakedness, spiritual as well as physical. And then shame and fear were born. When Adam and Eve realized that they were out of touch with God, a terrible loneliness overwhelmed them. Remorse and its inevitable miseries followed. Their loss of faith had subjected them to all these attendant woes. They hastily made aprons or girdles to provide some measure of concealment as they sought a remedy for their bewilderment, loneliness, and guilt. 8. The voice of the Lord God … in the cool of the day. (Kol, “voice,” is, lit., sound; lerûaḥ, “cool,” is wind or breeze.) They might hide from God, but they could not escape him. The loving Creator could not overlook their disobedience, nor could he leave quivering sinners in their poignant need. They were his own. His holiness must come, clothed with love, to seek, find, and judge them. Ordinarily, the approach of God’s footsteps brought them joy. Now, terror and dread paralyzed them, though the Lord did not approach in thunder nor call harshly. 9. It is easy to imagine the sweetness of the divine voice, as it sounded forth through the trees in the stillness of the evening, calling, “Where art thou?” Of course God knew where the

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man and woman were. But he was appealing to them, seeking through tenderness and love to win a favorable response. And he was seeking to lead the transgressors gently to a full conviction of their sin. Though Justice was dictating the procedure, Mercy was leading. The Judge would render the decision and pronounce the sentence. 12. The woman … gave me of the tree, and I ate. God’s questions were direct and unusually specific. Instead of making full confession and pleading for mercy, Adam and Eve began to offer excuses and pass the responsibility on to another. The man somewhat recklessly threw a part of the blame back on God—whom thou gavest … me. 13. The woman, refusing to take responsibility, cast it all on the serpent. The serpent had no way of passing it on. Beguile (hish-shîanī). The verb conveys the idea of deception (cf. Paul’s use of this concept in II Cor 11: 3; I Tim 2: 14). 14. Cursed (’ārûr) art thou. The Lord singled out the originator and instigator of the temptation for special condemnation and degradation. From that moment he must crawl in the dust and even feed on it. He would slither his way along in disgrace, and hatred would be directed against him from all directions. Man would always regard him as a symbol of the degradation of the one who had slandered God (cf. Isa 65: 25). He was to represent not merely the serpent race, but the power of the evil kingdom. As long as life continued, men would hate him and seek to destroy him. 15. I will put enmity. The word ’êbâ denotes the blood-feud that runs deepest in the heart of man (cf. Num 35: 19,20; Ezk 25: 15–17; 35: 5,6). Thou shalt bruise (shûp). A prophecy of a continuing struggle between the descendants of woman and of the serpent to destroy each other. The verb shûp is rare (cf. Job 9: 17; Ps 139: 11). It is the same in both clauses. When translated crush, it seems appropriate to the reference concerning the head of the serpent, but not quite so accurate in describing the attack of the serpent on man’s heel. It is also rendered lie in wait for, aim at, or (LXX) watch for. The Vulgate renders it conteret, “bruise,” in the first instance and insidia-beris, “lie in wait,” in the other clause. Thus, we have in this famous passage, called the protevangelium, “first gospel,” the announcement of a prolonged struggle, perpetual antagonism, wounds on both sides, and eventual victory for the seed of woman. God’s promise that the head of the serpent was to be crushed pointed forward to the coming of Messiah and guaranteed victory. This assurance fell upon the ears of God’s earliest creatures as a blessed hope of redemption. An unfortunate translation in the Vulgate changes the pronoun his (v. 15c) from the masculine to the feminine, providing spurious support for unfounded claims concerning “the Blessed Virgin Mary.” 16. Unto the woman he said. For the woman, God predicted subjection to the man, and suffering. Pregnancy and childbirth would be attended by pain. The word ‘asvon pictures both mental and physical pain. Eve would realize her womanly longings and desires, but not without agony. In other words, as wife and mother, she was to be subject to the discipline of Jehovah. Woman’s love and man’s lordship are both presented in the vivid description. We cannot fully comprehend the nature of such judgments of the Lord. 17. Unto Adam he said. Physical hardship, painful toil, disappointing vexations, and hard struggle were appointed as the lot of the man, who was definitely adjudged a guilty sinner. Formerly the earth had yielded its produce easily and freely to man, in great abundance. Adam had only to “dress” the garden (2: 15) in order to enjoy its luscious fruits. But now God pronounced a special curse on the ground. Henceforth it would yield its grains and fruits

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reluctantly. Man would have to work hard cultivating the soil to make it produce life’s necessities. And he would have to wrestle with troublesome thorns and weeds not previously in evidence. Drudgery, difficulties, and weariness would be his daily lot. For Adam, as well as for Eve, sin exacted a heavy toll. 20. Eve (ḥawwâ). The Hebrew word has to do with life, and the verb to which it is related speaks of living. All life originated with the first woman. She was the mother of each person and, therefore, the mother of each clan and people. In accordance with the divine purpose, life must go on, even though the pronouncement of death had been spoken—unto the dust thou shalt return (v. 19). 22–24a. So he drove out (gārash) the man. A necessary and merciful act. The Lord could not allow rebellious man access to the tree of life. With loving care he kept Adam and Eve away from the fruit that would make them immortal and thus perpetuate the terrible condition into which sin had brought them. From the lovely garden he drove them out into an unfriendly wilderness. 24b. Cherubims, and a flaming sword (AV). The Hebrew interpreter, Rashi, claimed that these instruments were “angels of destruction,” designed to destroy anyone who sought entrance. Hebrew kerubim indicates divinely formed figures: that serve as bearers of the deity or as special guardians of sacred things. In one instance they are shown upholding the throne on which God sits. In another, they are used to describe the dread unapproachability of Jehovah. In general, their function seems to be to guard the sacred habitation of God from encroachment or defilement. The tree of life was perfectly safe with the cherubim standing guard at the gate. And sinful man was safe from the harm that could have come to him had he not had the majestic protector. 24c. The flame of a whirling sword (mithhapeket). The way back into Eden was guarded not only by the cherubim but also by a revolving sword-like flame. This gave further assurance that man would not make his way to the tree of life. Though man’s paradise was closed to him because he had become a sinner, Jehovah did not forget his creatures. He had already made provision for their triumphant return.

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ENDNOTES 1 Robinson, 1995. 2 Jolly, 2010, par.1,3. 3 North Carolina State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1931; U.S. Census, 1880; U.S. Census, 1900; U.S.

Census, 1910; U.S. Census, 1920; U.S. Census, 1930; Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975; Yates, n.d. 4 The Baylor Line, 1956, p.10. 5 Edwards, 1995, p.1. 6 Mulvany, 1969. 7 The Howler, 1916, p. 172. 8 The Howler, 1916, p. 74. 9 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2. 10 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2; Mulvany, 1969. 11 Wooddy, 1995. 12 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23. 13 Mulvany, 1969 14 Black, 1970; Edwards, 1995; Dr. and Mrs. Kyle Yates to Mark 50th Anniversary, 1972. 15 U.S. Census, 1930 16 Dr. and Mrs. Kyle Yates to Mark 50th Anniversary, 1972; Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2; Wooddy, 1995; Mulvany, 1969; News from Baylor, 1969, p.23; Yates, n.d., p.1. 17 Baylor’s Distinguished Professor of Bible, 1956, p.22. 18 Wooddy & Wooddy, 1995; Wooddy, 1995; Independence Baptist Association, 1972, par.5. 19 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 20 Mulvany, 1969. 21 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23; Yates, n.d., p.1. 22 Wooddy & Wooddy, 1995. 23 Dr. and Mrs. Kyle Yates to Mark 50th Anniversary, 1972. 24 Yates, 1984, p.v. 25 Mrs. Kyle M. Yates, 1987. 26 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2; Yates, n.d., p.1; The Baylor Line, 1964, p.9; Carroll, 1945. 27 Dr. Yates Resigns, 1942, par.1. 28 Mulvany, 1969 29 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 30 Mulvany, 1969. 31 Yates, n.d., p.1. 32 The Baylor Line, 1964, p.9; Pfeiffer & Harrison, 1962. 33 Vaughan, 1988 34 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23. 35 Baylor’s Distinguished Professor of Bible, 1956, p.22. 36 Mulvany, 1969. 37 The Baylor Line, 1964, p.9. 38 Dr. Yates Resigns, 1942, par.4. 39 Yates, n.d., p.1. 40 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2. 41 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975. p.4. 42 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2. 43 Carroll, 1945. 44 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2. 45 Carroll, 1945; Mulvany, 1969. 46 Mulvany, 1969. 47 Carroll, 1945.

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48 The Baylor Line, 1956, p.10. 49 Baylor’s Distinguished Professor of Bible, 1956, p.22. 50 Baylor’s Distinguished Professor of Bible, 1956, p.22. 51 Edwards, 1995. 52 The Baylor Line, 1964, p.9. 53 Mulvany, 1969. 54 The Baylor Line, 1956, p.10; The Baylor Line, 1964, p.9. 55 Edwards, 1995. 56 Risenhoover, 1969. 57 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 58 Mulvany, 1969. 59 Jolly, 2010, par.4,5. 60 Wooddy & Wooddy, 1995. 61 Independence Baptist Association, 1972, par.4. 62 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 63 Edwards, 1995. 64 Wooddy & Wooddy, 1995. 65 Risenhoover, 1969; Black, 1970, p.3-D. 66 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 67 Wooddy & Wooddy, 1995. 68 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 69 DeMille Consults Baylor Prof on Movie, 1957. 70 ‘Commandments’ Depiction of Truth, 1957. 71 Jolly, 2010, par.9. 72 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23. 73 Risenhoover, 1969. 74 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23; Risenhoover, 1969. 75 Jaynes, 1995. 76 Mulvany, 1969. 77 Wooddy, 1995. 78 Mulvany, 1969. 79 Independence Baptist Association, 1972; Norman, 1972, p.3-B. 80 Independence Baptist Association, 1972, par.1. 81 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975; Dr. Kyle Yates Dies; Retired Baylor Prof, 1975; Wooddy, 1995. 82 Vaughan, 1988, p.2263. 83 RSV. (1952). Preface. 84 Ibid. 85 Carter, n.d. 86 Vaughan, 1988, pp. 1001, 119. 87 Black, 1970, p.3-D. 88 News from Baylor, 1969, p.23. 89 Walnut Street Baptist Church, 1975, p.2. 90 Robinson, 1995. 91 Total Church Life Ministries, n.d.