Claus Westermann (7 October 1909 – 11 June 2000) was a German

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Old Testament scholar.Luther Seminar

Word & World (1/2) 1981 He taught at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

from 1958 to 1978. Born to African missionaries, he finished his studies in 1933 and he became a pastor. During his theological studies he started studying the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

, and became particularly interested in the content of the Psalms. During the Nazi regime he served in the German army for five years where he was a translator on the Russian front. After the war Westermann started preaching again and also went to teach Old Testament at Heidelberg, where he would continue to teach for twenty years with colleagues such as

Gerhard von Rad Gerhard von Rad (21 October 1901 – 31 October 1971) was a German academic, Old Testament scholar, Lutheran theologian, exegete, and professor at the University of Heidelberg. Early life, education, career Gerhard von Rad was born in Nurem ...

Hans Walter Wolff Hans Walter Wolff (December 17, 1911 – October 22, 1993) was a German Protestant theologian. He was professor at the University of Mainz from 1959 to 1967, and from 1967 to 1978 he was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelber ...

, and Rolf Rendtorff. Westermann is considered one of the premier Old Testament scholars of the twentieth century. Particularly notable among his scholarship is his lengthy and comprehensive commentary on the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

, especially the volume covering Genesis 1-11.

Select Publications of Westermann

; Some works that have been translated into English * ''A Thousand Years and a Day: Our Time in the Old Testament'' German orig. 1957 (English translation, 1962) * ''Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech'', German orig. 1960 (English translation by Hugh Clayton White, 1967) * ''Handbook to the Old Testament'' German orig. (English translation by Robert Boyd, 1969) * ''Creation'' German orig. 1971 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1974) * ''The Psalms: Structure, Content and Message'' German orig. (English translation, 1980) * ''Elements of Old Testament Theology'' German orig. (English translation, 1982) * ''Genesis 1 - 11'', German orig. 1972 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1984) * ''Genesis 12 - 36'', German orig. 1981 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1985) * ''Genesis 37 - 50'', German orig. 1982 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1986) * ''The Living Psalms'' German orig. (English translation by J. R. Porter, 1989) * ''The Gospel of John: In the Light of the Old Testament'', German orig. 1994 (English translation by Siegfried S. Schatzmann, 1998)

References

; Notes ; Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westermann, Claus 1909 births 2000 deaths 20th-century German Protestant theologians German Lutheran theologians German biblical scholars Old Testament scholars German male non-fiction writers Lutheran biblical scholars 20th-century Lutherans