Johann Georg Herbst (13 January 1787 – 31 July 1836) was a German
Orientalist.
Biography
Herbst was born in
Rottweil
Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years.
Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...
in the
Duchy of Württemberg
The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...
. His college course, begun in the
Gymnasium of his native city, was pursued in the
Benedictine monastery of
St. Peter in the Black Forest and in 1806 Herbst registered at the
University of Freiburg. After some time spent in completing his mathematical and philosophical studies, he devoted his talents to mastering Oriental languages and Biblical science under the tutorship of Johann Leonard Hug. From the university Herbst went, in 1811, to the
seminary of
Meersburg
Meersburg () is a town in Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany. It is on Lake Constance.
It is known for its medieval city. The lower town ("Unterstadt") and upper town ("Oberstadt") are reserved for pedestrians only, and connected by t ...
, to prepare himself for
Holy orders, and was ordained to the priesthood in March, 1812. Called at once to the seminary of
Ellwangen to discharge the office of repentant, he at the same time accepted the chair of
Hebrew and Arabic at the newly erected University of Ellwangen, and, two years later, was promoted to the professorship of Oriental languages and
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 ...
exegesis. In 1817, the theological faculty of Ellwangen was transferred to
Tübingen, and there, in addition to the courses already entrusted to him, Herbst taught introduction to the Holy Scriptures and Biblical archæology; he also occasionally was prevailed upon to lecture on
New Testament exegesis, church history, and pastoral theology. The new faculty of theology, which, with such men as
Johann Sebastian von Drey,
Johann Baptist von Hirscher, and
Johann Adam Möhler on its staff, and pupils of the stamp of Carl Joseph von Hefele (1809-1893), was winning a conspicuous place in the realm of scholarship.
His first publication was a volume entitled: ''Observationes quædam de Pentateuchi quatuor librorum posteriorum auctore et editore'' (Gmünd, 1817). From the foundation, in 1819, of the Tübingen ''Theol. Quartalschrift'', he was a steady contributor thereto; but his principal work, left unfinished, is an introduction to the Old Testament, which was completed and edited by his pupil
Benedict Welte Benedict Welte ( Ratzenried, Württemberg, 25 November 1825 – 27 May 1885, Rottenburg am Neckar) was a German Catholic exegete.
After studying at Tübingen and Bonn, where he made special studies in the exegesis of the Old Testament and ...
(1841–44). In 1832, Herbst was appointed head librarian of the Royal University; but perhaps through overwork his health soon failed, and he died in Tübingen after a short sickness.
References
* cites:
**''Theol. Quartalschrift'' (Tübingen, 1836),
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbst, J
1787 births
1836 deaths
People from Rottweil (district)
German biblical scholars