Theodor Zahn or Theodor von Zahn (10 October 1838 in

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; archaic Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel. History Known earliest from 1186, the county of Mo ...

– 5 March 1933 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 ...

) was a German

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 ...

, a biblical

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times.

Career

Zahn was born in

of the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

(now

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). After studying at Basel, Erlangen and Berlin, he became professor of theology in 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 1871. He filled a similar chair at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

in 1877, at

in 1878, at

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 ...

in 1888 and in 1892 returned to Erlangen. He was distinguished for his eminent scholarship, especially in connection with the

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 Chri ...

canon. He stood at the head of the conservative

scholarship of his time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902, 1904 and 1908. Theologically, Zahn was conservative and approached New Testament theology from the perspective of a theological emphasis called ''Heilsgeschichte'' (usually translated into English as "

Salvation History Salvation history (german: Heilsgeschichte) seeks to understand the personal redemptive activity of God within human history in order to effect his eternal saving intentions. This approach to history is found in parts of the Old Testament writt ...

").

Works

Some of his more important writings are: * ''Marcellus of Ancyra'' (1867) * ''Der Hirt des Hermas untersucht'' ("The Shepherd of Hermas examined", 1868)
''Ignatius von Antiochien''
(1873) * ''Patrum Apostolicorum Opera'' (1875–78; fifth edition, 1905) * ''The Acts of Saint John'' (1880) * ''Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons und der altkirchlichen Litteratur'' (eight volumes, 1881–1908) * ''Cyprian of Antioch and the German Story of Faust'' (1882) * ''Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons'' ("Researches into the history of the New Testament canon", two volumes, 1889–92) * ''Das apostolische Symbolum'' (1892; English translation, ''The Apostles' Creed'', 1899) * ''The Gospel of Peter'' (1893) * ''Einleitung in das neue Testament'' (two volumes, 1897–1900; third edition, 1906–07; English translation, ''Introduction to the New Testament'', three volumes, 1909) * ''Brot und Salz aus Gottes Wort'', 20 sermons, (1901; English translation, ''Bread and Salt from the Word of God'', 1905) * ''Grundriss der Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons'' ("Outline of the history of the New Testament canon", 1901; second edition, 1904) * ''Das Evangelium des Lucas'' (1912)

References

Notes

External links

Zahn's New Testament Commentary series in Dr. B. A. Zuiddam's Tasmanian study. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Theodor 1838 births 1933 deaths People from Moers People from Erlangen 19th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German Protestant theologians German biblical scholars New Testament scholars University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty University of Göttingen faculty University of Kiel faculty Leipzig University faculty 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers