Johannes Cocceius (also Coccejus; ; 9 August 1603 – 5 November 1669) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

born in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

Life

After studying at

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis'' o ...

, where

Sixtinus Amama Sixtinus Amama (also Sextinus) (13 October 1593 – 9 November 1629) was a Dutch Reformed theologian and orientalist. Amama was among the first to advocate a thorough knowledge of the original languages of the Bible as indispensable to theologians ...

was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 professor of biblical

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

at the Gymnasium illustre in his native town. In 1636 he was transferred to

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12, ...

, where he held the chair of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, and from 1643 the chair of theology also, until 1650, when he succeeded the elder

Friedrich Spanheim Friedrich Spanheim the elder (January 1, 1600, Amberg – May 14, 1649, Leiden) was a Calvinistic theology professor at the University of Leiden. Life He entered in 1614 the University of Heidelberg where he studied philology and philosophy, a ...

as professor of theology at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

. His chief services as an oriental scholar were in the department of

and

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

. As one of the leading exponents of the covenant or federal theology, he spiritualized the

Hebrew scriptures The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

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

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

found him nowhere. He taught that before as much as after the

fall of man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God in Christianity, God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * ...

, the relation between God and man was a

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

. The first covenant was a Covenant of Works. For this was substituted, after the Fall, the Covenant of Grace, necessitating the coming of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

for its fulfillment. He held

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...

views, and was the founder of a school of theologians who were called Cocceians. His most distinguished pupil was

Campeius Vitringa Campegius Vitringa Sr., or Kempe VitringaEijnatten (2003), p.84 (May 16, 1659 at Leeuwarden – March 31, 1722 at Franeker) was a Dutch Protestant theologian and Hebraist. His youngest of four children was Campeius Vitringa (1693-1723). Vitring ...

Works

His major work was his ''Lexicon et commentarius sermonis hebraici et chaldaici'' (Leiden, 1669), which has been frequently republished. His theology is fully expounded in his ''Summa Doctrinae de Foedere et Testamento Dei'' (1648), where he worked out what would eventually be considered a biblical-theological, redemptive-historical perspective for presenting covenant theology. This Cocceian procedure, known today as “biblical theology”, was set against the analytical doctrine-by-doctrine approach of his contemporaries in Holland—most famously, Voetius. For more than half a century, the biblical theology of Cocceius and the systematic theology of Voetius stirred controversy in the church of Holland, each side trying to prove the errors and illegitimacy of the other. As an exponent of

federal theology Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an orga ...

he was tacitly influenced by his teachers in Bremen,

Matthias Martinius Matthias Martinius (Martini) (1572 – 30 December 1630) was a German Calvinist theologian and educator. Life He was born in Freienhagen, Waldeck and educated at Herborn Academy. He became court preacher at Dillenburg, and then taught at Her ...

and

Ludwig Crocius Ludwig Crocius (also Ludovicus Crocius; 29 March 1586 – 7 December 1653 or 1655) was a German Calvinist minister. He was a delegate at the Synod of Dort and professor of theology and philosophy in Bremen. Background and career Ludwig Crocius w ...

.. His collected works were published in 12 folio volumes (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1673-75).

References

Sources

External links

The Correspondence of Johannes Coccejus
i
EMLO
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocceius, Johannes 1603 births 1669 deaths Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Christian Hebraists Writers from Bremen University of Franeker alumni University of Franeker faculty Leiden University faculty Burials at Pieterskerk, Leiden 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians

Life

Works

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links