Claus Westermann
Claus Westermann (7 October 1909 – 11 June 2000) was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar.[1] He taught at the University of Heidelberg from 1958 to 1978.[1]
Claus Westerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1909 |
| Died | June 11, 2000 (aged 90) |
| Education | University of Tübingen University of Marburg University of Berlin University of Zurich, Zurich |
| Parent(s) | Mother: Katharina Father: Diedrich Westermann |
| Church | Lutheran |
| Writings | See section on Writings of Westermann |
Congregations served | Berlin-Dahlem Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin |
Offices held | Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, University of Heidelberg |
| Title | Reverend Doctor |
Born to African missionaries, he finished his studies in 1933 and he became a pastor. During his theological studies he started studying the Old Testament, and became particularly interested in the content of the Psalms. During the Nazi regime he served in the German army for five years where he was a translator on the Russian front. After the war Westermann started preaching again and also went to teach Old Testament at Heidelberg, where he would continue to teach for twenty years with colleagues such as Gerhard von Rad, Hans Walter Wolff, and Rolf Rendtorff.[2]
Westermann is considered one of the premier Old Testament scholars of the twentieth century. Particularly notable among his scholarship is his lengthy and comprehensive commentary on the Book of Genesis, especially the volume covering Genesis 1-11.
Select Publications of Westermann
- Some works that have been translated into English
- A Thousand Years and a Day: Our Time in the Old Testament German orig. 1957 (English translation, 1962)
- Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech, German orig. 1960 (English translation by Hugh Clayton White, 1967)
- Handbook to the Old Testament German orig. (English translation by Robert Boyd, 1969)
- Creation German orig. 1971 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1974)
- The Psalms: Structure, Content and Message German orig. (English translation, 1980)
- Elements of Old Testament Theology German orig. (English translation, 1982)
- Genesis 1 - 11, German orig. 1972 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1984)
- Genesis 12 - 36, German orig. 1981 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1985)
- Genesis 37 - 50, German orig. 1982 (English translation by John J. Scullion, 1986)
- The Living Psalms German orig. (English translation by J. R. Porter, 1989)
- The Gospel of John: In the Light of the Old Testament, German orig. 1994 (English translation by Siegfried S. Schatzmann, 1998)
References
- Notes
- Luther Seminary Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine Word & World (1/2) 1981
- Brueggemann, Walter (1999). "Westermann, Claus". In John H. Hayes (ed.). Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, v. 2. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press. pp. 633–634. ISBN 9780687055319.
- Further reading
- James Limburg in Word & World (1981). "Old Testament Theology for Ministry: The Works of Claus Westermann in English Translation" (PDF) (1/2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - T.L. Hettema. "Review of Claus Westermann, Joseph. Studies of the Joseph Stories" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on May 21, 2005. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
- Claus Westermann in Word and World (1989). "The Human in the Old Testament" (PDF) (9/4). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
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