Otto Eißfeldt, spelled alternatively Otto Eissfeldt, (September 1, 1887, in

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document r ...

– April 23, 1973, in Halle) 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 ...

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 ...

, known for his work on 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 comparative near-east religious history. His magisterial 860-page ''The Old Testament: An Introduction'' (1934, 1965), giving a detailed literary-critical assessment of the history of the formation of each part of the Old Testament on the basis of the

documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...

, has been called the "best of its kind".

Life

Born in

in Germany, Eissfeldt studied Protestant theology and Oriental languages from 1905 to 1912 at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of ...

. He earned his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

in Berlin in 1913 with a thesis on Old Testament, and his PhD in Göttingen in 1916. From 1913 to 1922 he taught in Berlin, before being appointed in 1922 to the chair of Old Testament at the

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where he remained professor for the rest of his life, also serving as a visiting professor at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. He retired in 1957, and died at Halle in 1973.

Work

Eissfeldt was one of the leading representatives of the literary-critical approach in

Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

, following in the school of

Julius Wellhausen Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, he moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhausen contributed to t ...

and Rudolf Smend, with

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major inte ...

and

Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich von Baudissin Wolf Wilhelm Friedrich Graf von Baudissin (26 September 1847 – 6 February 1926) was a German Protestant theologian who was a native of Sophienhof, near Kiel. Education Baudissin studied theology and Oriental studies at Berlin, Erlangen, Leipz ...

his teachers in the area of religious history. A prolific writer, his ''Hexateuchsynopse'' (''

Hexateuch The Hexateuch ("six scrolls") is the first six books of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah (''Pentateuch'') and the book of Joshua. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. Overview The term ''Hexateuch'' came into scholar ...

synopsis'', 1922) and ''Einleitung in das Alte Testament'' (''Introduction to the Old Testament'', 1934, 1956, 1964, 1976) are outstanding examples of his literary-critical research achievements, while his numerous works on

Phoenician religion The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases ...

(based in particular on the texts from

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = F ...

) were leading works in the field of near-east religious history. He also edited the

bible commentary Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...

series ''Handbuch zum Alten Testament'' (''Guide to the Old Testament'', 1937–77), and Joseph Aistleitner's ''Wörterbuch der ugaritischen Sprache'' (''Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language'', 1963),Otto Eissfeldt, in Richard N. Soulen (ed., 2001),
Handbook of Biblical Criticism
', p.53. as well as the third edition of '' Biblia Hebraica'' (1929–37) with

Albrecht Alt Albrecht Alt (20 September 1883, in Stübach (Franconia) – 24 April 1956, in Leipzig), was a leading Germany, German Protestantism, Protestant theology, theologian. Eldest son of a Lutheran minister, he completed high school in Ansbach and stud ...

after the death of

Rudolf Kittel Rudolf Kittel (28 March 1853, in Eningen, Württemberg – 20 October 1929, in Leipzig) was a German Old Testament scholar. Kittel studied at University of Tübingen (1871–76). He was a professor of Old Testament studies at the universities of ...

Philosophy

Eissfeldt's scholarship was influenced particularly by

Gabler Gabler (or Gäbler) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Christoph August Gabler (1767–1839), German composer *Frank Gabler (1911–1967), American baseball player * Fritz Gäbler (1897–1974), German politician *Gabe Gabler (1 ...

and

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...

to see an uncrossable chasm between history and faith, with ''Religionsgeschichte'' or the

history of religions The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

being the prerogative of the former and

biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. Description Although most speak of biblical theology as a particular method or emphasis within biblical studies, some scho ...

being the prerogative of the later. He defined the faith displayed by the

(and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

) as well as necessary of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

believer, to be only that which is timeless and eternal and which can neither be judged by history and reason, nor judge them. Thus it was only and always from this sort of "faith" that one could pursue or benefit from biblical theology. In this respect, he agreed with the absolutism or idealism of

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

. He defined history as the enterprise which sought to make known, through

historical-critical method Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

, the particulars of

(and

) religious times and events without accepting any value or truth judgments concerning them. Thus it was only and always from this sort of "historical" inquiry that one could pursue or benefit from ''Religionsgeschichte''. In that respect, he agreed with the scientific

positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...

of liberal scholarship. In order for Eissfeldt to maintain both positions, it was necessary that they be held perpetually separate and in tension. This was also the only way each one as so defined could achieve its purest expression. His way of resolving the paradox of this separation between history and faith was a

relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...

that arbitrarily chose the answers from one side over the other when it seemed most beneficial to the objective or was judged to belong to the category of one side and not the other.

References

External links

Eißfeldt, Otto
wibilex.de * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eissfeldt, Otto 1887 births 1973 deaths People from Northeim 20th-century German Protestant theologians Old Testament scholars Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Göttingen alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty German male non-fiction writers Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy

Life

Work

Philosophy

See also

References

External links