Henk de Jong (theologian)

Henk de Jong (8 February 1932 – 21 March 2023) was a Dutch minister, theologian, and biblical scholar.[1]

He was born in Alblasserdam and studied at the Theological College in Kampen and the University of Leiden.[1] He became a minister in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) but was suspended at the time of the denominational split that formed the Netherlands Reformed Churches and he left to join that body in 1968.[2]

de Jong was involved in theological education from 1969 to 1998 through the Theological Study Advice Service (Theologische Studiebegeleiding), which in 2006 became the Netherlands Reformed Pastor Training (Nederlands Gereformeerde Predikantenopleiding), a seminary programme operating in conjunction with the Theological University of Apeldoorn.[3][4][5]

de Jong wrote a number of books, the most significant of which was Van oud naar nieuw: de ontwikkelingsgang van het Oude naar het Nieuwe Testament [From old to new: The development from the Old to the New Testament] (2002). In it he argued that the Davidic covenant was a strengthening of the Mosaic covenant, meant to anchor and reinforce it.[6][7] de Jong rejected the inerrancy of Scripture and wrote in favour of homosexual relationships.[2]

Koert van Bekkum and Eric Peels note that de Jong wrote a "remarkable MA thesis" on Old Testament biblical narrative in 1966, long before the ground-breaking studies of Robert Alter and J. P. Fokkelman. They note that he became "especially famous for his creative exegetical contributions to Reformed biblical theology," but suggest that "struggles in the Church frustrated his academic studies."[8]

A professorial chair at the Theological University of the Reformed Churches is named in his honour.[5]

References
  1. Bruins, Gerald (22 March 2023). "Henk de Jong (91) overleden: Tegendraadse theoloog die heilige huisjes omver wierp". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  2. Kuijper, Eline (19 July 2019). "Henk de Jong krijgt eredoctoraat. 'De Bijbel is niet foutloos.'". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  3. Dekker, Jaap (2007). Zion's Rock-Solid Foundations: An Exegetical Study of the Zion Text in Isaiah 28:16. Brill. p. xi. ISBN 978-9004156654. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. "Eigen predikantenopleiding NGK een feit". Nederlands Dagblad (in Dutch). 7 November 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  5. "Henk de Jong-leerstoel" (in Dutch). Theological University of the Reformed Churches. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  6. Burger, Hans (2023). Life in Christ: The Significance of Jesus' Story. Wipf and Stock. p. 43. ISBN 9781666745085. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  7. Dekker, Jaap (2021). "What Does David Have to Do with It? The Promise of a New Covenant in the Book of Isaiah". Covenant: A Vital Element of Reformed Theology: Biblical, Historical and Systematic-Theological Perspectives. Brill. p. 120. ISBN 9789004503328. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  8. van Bekkum, Koert; Peels, Eric (2016). "Revelation, History, and Religious Plurality. Old Testament Studies from the Apeldoorn / Kampen Reformed Perspective". The Present State of Old Testament Studies in the Low Countries: A Collection of Old Testament Studies Published on the Occasion of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap. Brill. pp. 33–34. ISBN 9789004326255. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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