Alfred Rahlfs (; ; 29 May 1865 – 8 April 1935) was a German
Biblical scholar
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament).''Introduction to Biblical Studies, Second Edition'' by Steve Moyise (Oct 27, 2004) pages 11–12 ...
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, and studied
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 ...
Theology
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 th ...
, Philosophy, and Oriental Languages in
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hal ...
and
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The ori ...
, where he received a Dr. Phil. in 1887. His professional career developed in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The ori ...
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
(from 1891),
Extraordinarius
''Extraordinarius'' is a genus of South American huntsman spiders. It was first described by C. A. Rheims in 2019, and it has only been found in Brazil.
Species
it contains four species:
*'' E. andrematosi'' Rheims, 2019 ( type) – Brazil
*'' ...
(from 1914), and Professor for
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 ...
(from 1919). He retired in 1933 and died in
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The ori ...
.
Influenced by his teacher
Paul de Lagarde
Paul Anton de Lagarde (2 November 1827 – 22 December 1891) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, sometimes regarded as one of the greatest orientalists of the 19th century. Lagarde's strong support of anti-Semitism, vocal opposition t ...
, Rahlfs's academic interest focused on the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
, the Greek translation of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Rudolf Smend and others, Rahlfs was responsible for the creation of the Septuaginta-Unternehmen under Göttingen's and Berlin's Academies of Sciences and Humanities in 1907, which he directed from 1908 until 1933. Its goal has been to reconstruct the original wording of the Septuagint, and since Rahlfs' death it had published twenty volumes.
Rahlfs edited a preliminary but influential edition of the Septuagint, which appeared in two volumes in the year he died, in addition to one critical volume (''Psalmi cum Odis'') and two slim volumes on the
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth ( he, מגילת רות, ''Megilath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings (Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of th ...
and
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
. In 2006, a revision of his ''Septuaginta'', made by Robert Hanhart, was published by the
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
The Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft ("German Bible Society") is a religious foundation regulated by public law. It is involved in publishing and in spreading the message of the Bible.
The Society publishes the Bible in the original languages and in ...
. This ''editio altera'' includes over a thousand changes to the text and apparatus. Rahlfs' sigla of Septuagint manuscripts are still cited.
Select bibliography
*Alfred Rahlfs ''Septuaginta-Studien'' 3 vols., Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1904-11.
*Alfred Rahlfs ''Verzeichniz der griechischen Handschriften des Alten Testaments, für das Septuaginta-Unternehmen'' Göttingen 1914.
*Alfred Rahlfs (ed.), ''Das Buch Rut griechisch als Probe einer kritischen Handausgabe der LXX'', Stuttgart: Privileg. Württ. Bibelanstalt, 1922.
*Alfred Rahlfs (ed.), ''Genesis, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum graecum I'', Stuttgart: Privilegierte Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1926.
*Alfred Rahlfs (ed.), Psalmi cum Odis, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum graecum X.1 ', Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1931.
*Alfred Rahlfs (ed.), ''Septuaginta: id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes'', 2 vols., Stuttgart: Privileg. Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1935.