Newman moved to England in 1814, and was soon afterwards appointed minister to the Jewish community of Plymouth by Chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschell.
[2] Newman also delivered regular Shabbat sermons at the Jews' Free School, the building being always crowded by anxious listeners.
As a Jew, Newman was debarred from a professorship, but among his pupils were many distinguished Christian and Jewish scholars, including Morris Jacob Raphall, David Woolf Marks, and future Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait.
[3] Newman left for the United States in about 1849 and settled in New York City, gaining a livelihood as teacher and writer.
The work explained crucial biblical passages, mostly in the Books of Genesis and Isaiah, and then moved on to question the authenticity of the gospel literature based on inner contradictions.