Background
Robert Moffat was born on December 21, 1795, in Ormiston, East Lothian, to pious but poor parents.
Robert Moffat was born on December 21, 1795, in Ormiston, East Lothian, to pious but poor parents.
The educational advantages afforded him were limited, so, at a young age, Moffat became an apprentice to learn gardening.
With little training, Moffat was assigned in 1816 by the London Missionary Society to go to South Africa. After spending seven years in several locations that were disrupted by warfare among Zulu tribesmen, he settled at Kuruman, southeast of the Kalahari (desert). There he lived for 49 years, building one of the foremost Protestant missionary communities in Africa. He traveled widely, and he encountered numerous tribes and mastered the Tswana language, into which he translated the Gospel According to Luke (1830). Through his influence the number of converts rose rapidly, and by 1857 he had completed a Tswana translation of the entire Bible. In 1838 he wrote A Book of Hymns in Chuana (Tswana).
Though criticized by some as paternalistic, he laboured not only to alter the conduct but also to raise the standard of living of African peoples by introducing improved methods of agriculture and irrigation. On his first meeting with Livingstone, in 1840, Moffat recognized Livingstone’s capacities and urged him to come to Africa, directing him to the region north of the Kalahari.
Among Moffat’s writings also are Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa (1842) and Rivers of Water in a Dry Place (1863).
Robert Moffat died on August 9, 1883, at Leigh, near Tunbridge Wells and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery.
Quotations:
"I will place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of
Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity. "
Robert Moffat was married to Mary (Gray) Smith. The couple had ten children.