Hermann Spieckermann (born October 28, 1950 in Dortmund) is a German biblical scholar, historian of ancient Near Eastern religion, and

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 ...

. He currently holds a chair for Old Testament, or

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Faculty of Theology 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 ...

, in Germany. Through extensive authorial, editorial, and organizational undertakings, Spieckermann has exerted considerable influence on

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' assyriology at the universities of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

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 ...

from 1969 to 1975. Having already specialized in the field of Old Testament, or

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' scientific assistant to the Göttingen Old Testament scholar Lothar Perlitt after his exams (1975–88). In 1982, he earned a doctor theologiae and secured habilitation in the field of Old Testament Studies five years later, in 1987. While in Göttingen, Spieckermann also worked closely with the renowned Dutch assyriologist Riekele Borger. He served as Privatdozent for two years in Göttingen before receiving a call to the

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

as associate professor of Old Testament and the history of Near Eastern religion, in 1989. Three years later, in 1992, he moved to the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

to hold a full professorship in the same field. Since the 1999–2000 academic year, Spieckermann has served as professor of Old Testament at the

Areas of expertise

With his first monograph, ''Juda unter Assur in der Sargonidenzeit'', Spieckermann demonstrated a mastery of biblical criticism, assyriology, and ancient Near Eastern history. His primary research then shifted to the Psalter and

Wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it w ...

. More recently, he has helped turn biblical scholarship—as both author and editor—to the field of reception history, working closely with Choon-Leong Seow in this regard. Throughout all his academic undertakings, Spieckermann has maintained a strong interest in the history of theology as reflected in biblical texts as well as the history of biblical scholarship itself. In 2011, he coauthored—with New Testament scholar and Göttingen professor Reinhard Feldmeier—an acclaimed volume, in both German and English translation, that presents the conceptualization of God across the Old and New Testaments.

Academic honors

Among other honors and awards, Spieckermann was guest professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, in 1999, and received an honorary doctorate in theology from Sweden's

University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

. He is also a former member of the

Göttingen Academy of Sciences 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 or ...

Professional activities

Spieckermann currently serves on the board of directors for the Academy's ''Septuagint-Unternehmen'' as well as its

Qumran Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...

dictionary. He also sits on the prestigious board of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, together with that of its journal,

Vetus Testamentum ''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international ...

, and book series, Vetus Testamentum Supplements. Spieckermann holds positions on any number of other editorial boards in addition: from

Walter de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

's ''

Theologische Realenzyklopädie The ''Theologische Realenzyklopädie'' (''TRE'') is a German encyclopedia of theology and religious studies. It contains some 2000 articles in 36 volumes. The first installment was published in 1977, the last in 2004. Genesis and editors The '' ...

'' (TRE) and, formerly, ''Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception'' (EBR) through Mohr Siebeck's ''Forschungen zum Alten Testament'' (FAT) and ''Topics of Biblical Theology'' (TOBITH) to

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (V&R) is a scholarly publishing house based in Göttingen, Germany. It was founded in 1735 by (1700-1750) in connection with the establishment of the Georg-August-Universität in the same city. After Abraham Vandenhoec ...

's ''Altes Testament Deutsch'' (ATD). In 2004, he became speaker of the nine-year-long German Research Foundation Research Training Group (''Graduiertenkolleg'') 896 "Concepts of the Divine – Concepts of the World," and the next year, he joined Göttingen's Graduate School of Humanities (GSGG). Furthermore, Spieckermann hosted Nathan MacDonald's major research project "Early Jewish Monotheisms," which was funded through the

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...

Sofia Kovalevskaya Award The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany bestows the Sofia Kovalevskaya Award every two years. Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891) was the first major Russian female mathematician, who made important contributions to mathematical analysis, ...

. He also helped found the Northern European research network Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods

OTSEM OTSEM (''Old Testament Studies: Epistemologies and Methods'') is a research network of several Northern European universities. Originally Nordic-German in nature, it now includes British universities as well, which gives it a Nordic-German-Anglo pro ...

. In many of these endeavors, he has worked closely with his Göttingen Old Testament colleague, Reinhard Gregor Kratz.

Select publications

* Juda unter Assur in der Sargonidenzeit (Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 129; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1982). * Heilgegenwart (Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments H148; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989). * Der Gotteskampf: Jakob und der Engel in Bibel und Kunst (Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 1997). * Gottes Liebe zu Israel: Studien zur Theologie des Alten Testaments (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 33; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011). * With Reinhard Feldmeier, Der Gott der Lebendigen: Eine biblische Gotteslehre (Topoi Biblischer Theologie 1; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011). nglish Translation: God of the Living: A Biblical Theology. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. (Waco: Baylor University Press, 2011) ortuguese Translation: O Deus dos vivos: Uma doutrina bíblica de Deus. Translated by Uwe Wegner. (São Leopoldo: Ed. Sinodal, 2015) * Lebenskunst und Gottlieb in Israel (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 91; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014).

Literature on Spieckermann

Werner Schuder Werner Schuder (25 February 1917 - 20 October 2006) was a German publisher. Life Born in Berlin, Schuder completed an apprenticeship in book trade and librarianship. After his studies, he first worked as a librarian in the university library a ...

(ed.): ''Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender 1980. Bio-bibliographisches Verzeichnis deutschsprachiger Wissenschaftler der Gegenwart.'' Vol 3: ''S – Z, Register.'' 13. ed. Saur et al., München et al. 1979, .

References

External links

*
Publications by Hermann Spieckermann

* [http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/götterbilder-–-gottesbilder-–-weltbilder-polytheismus-und-monotheismus-in-der-welt-der-antike/78054.html Homepage of the Special Research Program "Götterbilder - Gottesbilder - Weltbilder" (Concepts of the Divine – Concepts of the World)]
Homepage of the Septuaginta-Unternehmen

Homepage of the Qumran Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spieckermann, Hermann 1950 births Living people 20th-century German Protestant theologians 21st-century German Protestant theologians German biblical scholars Old Testament scholars Writers from Dortmund University of Münster alumni University of Göttingen alumni University of Zurich faculty University of Hamburg faculty University of Göttingen faculty