Walther Eichrodt (August 1, 1890 in

Gernsbach Gernsbach () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest. Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the hist ...

, Baden – May 20, 1978 in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

scholar and

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 ...

. From 1908 to 1914 he studied theology in

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, obtaining 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 ...

at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1918. In 1922 he succeeded

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 ...

as an associate professor of

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 ...

and Old Testament studies at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

, where from 1934 to 1960 he taught classes as a full professor. In 1953 he was named

university rector A rector (Latin for 'ruler') is a senior official in an educational institution, and can refer to an official in either a university or a secondary school. Outside the English-speaking world the rector is often the most senior official in a un ...

. Eichrodt believed that the book of Genesis was added as a prologue to the Old Testament after the writing of

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

had been completed.

Literary works

* ''Die Quellen der Genesis'' (1916). * ''Die Hoffnung des ewigen Friedens alten Israel'' (1920). * ''Theologie des Alten Testaments'', 3 volumes (1933–39); translated into English and published in 2 volumes as ''Theology of the Old Testament'' (1961, 1967). * ''Das Menschenverständnis des Alten Testaments'' (1944); translated into English and published as ''Man in the Old Testament'' (1951). * ''Ezekiel; a commentary''; English translation by Cosslett Quin (1970).

References

External links

* German biblical scholars 20th-century German Protestant theologians 1890 births 1978 deaths People from Gernsbach Old Testament scholars University of Basel faculty German male non-fiction writers {{Germany-theologian-stub