Albrecht Alt (20 September 1883, in Stübach (

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

) – 24 April 1956, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

), was a leading

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 **Ge ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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 ...

. Eldest son of a Lutheran minister, he completed high school in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

and studied theology at Friedrich-Alexander-University in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

and the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. From 1907 to 1908 he was a candidate for the office of lecturer at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Predigerseminar (Lutheran preachers seminary). In 1908 he was a scholarship holder of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology of the Holy Land in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and undertook his first Palestine journey. In the same year he became a supervisor of the theological College in

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 Rosto ...

. In 1909 he wrote ''Israel und Aegypten'' ("Israel and Egypt") as part of his doctorate at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

. In 1912 he became an associate professor in Greifswald, and in 1914 was named by

Bernhard Duhm Bernhard Lauardus Duhm (October 10, 1847 – November 1, 1928) was a German Lutheran theologian, born in Bingum, today part of Leer, East Frisia. He was a member of the history of religions school. Early life and education Duhm studied theolo ...

as a professor 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 ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as a leader in the cartography department of the German Eastern Army. After the war he was again appointed a professor in Basel, and in 1920 Provost at the Evangelical Redeemer Church in Jerusalem. In 1921 he was appointed to the

University of Halle 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 in ...

, however, he went to Jerusalem during the winter of 1921/22 to serve as head of the German Protestant Institute for Ancient Studies of the Holy Land (DEI) as well as to perform duties at the Redeemer Church. In 1923 he succeeded

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 ...

at the University of Leipzig.Alt, Albrecht
Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. Albrecht Alt Gravestone

Works

*''Die Landnahme der Israeliten in Palästina; Territorialgeschichtliche Studien'', Leipzig: Druckerei der Werkgemeinschaft, 1925 *''Der Gott der Väter: Ein Beitrag zur Vorgeschichte der israelitischen Religion'', Stuttgart:

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-l ...

, 1929, (Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament; 48 = Folge 3, H. 12). Translation of the title: 'The God of the fathers. A contribution to the prehistory of Israelite religion'. *''Der Stadtstaat Samaria'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1954, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse; vol. 101,5). Translation of the title: 'The city state of Samaria'. *''Die Herkunft der Hyksos in neuer Sicht'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1954, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse; vol. 101,6). Translation of the title: 'A New View on the origin of the Hyksos'. *''Essays on Old Testament history and religion'' leine Schriften zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel. Auswahl in einem Band (besides the first edition of 1959 in 2 vols.), Berlin: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, 1962; English R.A. Wilson (trl.), Oxford: Blackwell, 1966, 274 pp. *"Origins of Israelite law" [Die Ursprünge des israelitischen Rechts, Leipzig: Hirzel, 1934, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-Historische Klasse; vol. 86,1); English], in: Albrecht Alt, ''Essays on Old Testament history and religion'', R.A. Wilson (trl.), Oxford: Blackwell, 1966, pp. 101–171. *''Völker und Staaten Syriens im frühen Altertum'', Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1936, (Der alte Orient: gemeinverständliche Darstellungen; vol. 34,4). Translation of the title: 'Peoples and states of Syria in early antiquity'. *''Where Jesus worked: Towns and villages of Galilee studied with the help of local history'' tätten des Wirkens Jesu in Galiläa territorialgeschichtlich betrachtet (1949); English Kenneth Grayston (trl.), London: Epworth Press, c1961.

References

* H. Bardtke: "Albrecht Alt. Life and work"; Article in: ThLZ 81 (1956); P. 513-522. * Matthias Köckert: "God the Father and promises. An argument with Albrecht Alt and his inheritance"; (Research for the religion and literature of the old person and new will 142); Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Goettingen 1988; . * * R. Smend: "German Old Testament over three centuries"; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Goettingen 1989; . * Manfred Weippert: "Albrecht Alt"; Article in: TRE 2 (1978), pp. 303-305.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alt, Albrecht 1883 births 1956 deaths Old Testament scholars People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Lutheran theologians University of Greifswald faculty Leipzig University alumni 20th-century German writers 20th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 20th-century Lutherans German expatriates in Mandatory Palestine