Old Testament Criticism in the Nineteenth Century ENGLAND AND GERMANY john Rogerson To the Memory of William Gordon Fallows Principal of Ripon Hall, Oxford, 1959-68 Bishop of Pontejract, 1968- 71 Bishop of Shefield, 1971- 9 Liberal Churchman Historian Father in God Published in the United Kingdom by the Societyfor Promoting Christian Knowledge London, England Copyright 0 1984 by John W. Rogerson First Fortress Press edition 1985 A21 rights reserved. Noparr offhispublicarion may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or rransmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, withoul the priorpermission ofrhepubfisher, Fortress Press. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Rogerson, J. W. (John William), 1935- Old Testament criticism in the nineteenth century. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Bible. O.T.-Criticism, interpretation, etc.- History-19th century. I. Title. BSl160.R6 1985 221.6’09’034 84-47933 ISBN o-80064737-6 K977d84 Printed in the United Kingdom l-737 Contents Preface ix Abbreviations xi . Author’s Note Xl11 Introduction PART ONE Germany 1800 - 60 1 The Results of Old Testament Criticism in Germany prior to 1800 15 2 W. M. L. de Wette 28 3 In the Footsteps of de Wette : Gesenius, Gramberg and George 50 4 Vatke’s ‘Biblical Theology’ 69 5 Confessional Opposition to the Critical Method 79 6 Heinrich Ewald 91 7 Hofmann and Delitzsch : Confessional Scholars with a Difference 104 8 Christian Carl Josias von Bunsen : Diplomat and Scholar 121 9 Various Critical Scholars: Bleek, Hupfeld, Hitzig and Umbreit 130 10 Conclusions to Part One 138 Appendix: Table of Old Testament Professors in Protestant Faculties in Germany 1800 - 1900 141 PART TWO England 1800 - 80 11 English Critical Old Testament Scholarship prior to 1800 147 12 German Old Testament Criticism in England 1790- 1859 158 13 English Critical Old Testament Scholarship 1800-57 180 14 Samuel Davidson and his Dismissal in 1857 197 15 Essays and Reviews 1860 209 16 John William Colenso 220 . vu1 Contents 17 English Critical Old Testament Scholarship 1864-80 238 18 Conclusions to Part Two 249 PART THREE Reface Englandfrom 1880 and Germany from 1860: The Streams Converge 19 Germany from 1860 : the Path to Wellhausen 257 20 England from 1880 : the Triumph of Wellhausen 273 This book is not a history of Old Testament scholarship in the nineteenth century. It is not even a history of British Old Testament scholarship in the Conclusion 291 nineteenth century; for as the title implies and the introduction makes clear, Bibliography 294 the main concern of the book is with Germany and England, and although there are important references to Scottish and Irish scholars, the discussion Index of Biblical References 310 concentrates upon the reception of biblical criticism among English (some Index of Modern Authors 314 reviewers might want to add Anglican) Old Testament experts. Index of Subjects and Biblical Names 318 The deliberate lack of reference to Dutch, French and American scholarship, not to mention Scottish, Irish and Welsh scholarship, is not meant in any way as a slight on the achievements or importance of these countries’ scholars. When I began to write the text of this book, I fully expected that, before I had completed it, the centenary project of the [American] Society for Biblical Literature would be so well advanced, that there would have appeared a number of monographs on the history of American critical scholarship. In the event, less has been published than I had expected, but I did not want in any way to compete with the project. Again, there already exist monographs on aspects of the history of Dutch and French criticism, and I did not want to try to duplicate these. In fact, as originally conceived and executed, the book is an attempt to deal with two specific questions: how did the critical method arise in Germany in the nineteenth century, and how was its reception into England affected by the theological and philosophical climate prevalent in England in the nineteenth century? These questions have been investigated before but not, I believe, in the detail that is presented here. Indeed, in spite of the areas that I have not covered through lack of expertise, I think that I can claim that there is no book in English which discusses the German material as fully as is done here, and that there is no book in any language that attempts to trace in such detail the effect of German critical Old Testament scholarship upon England. My reason for investigating these two questions is that I have long wanted to explore some of the implications of the fact that although the critical method is the basis of academic Old Testament studies in Britain today, the home of the method and still the place of its most creative use, is Protestant Germany (although German Catholic scholarship is equally creative since its wholehearted acceptance of the critical method). This fact affects any ix X Preface attempt to teach Old Testament studies in a British university. Although we are presenting to our students results that ought simply to be evaluated on intellectual grounds available to anyone of the requisite intelligence, we are in fact presenting results that originate from a theological and Abbreviations philosophical climate different from our own. The reluctance of some students to come to grips with the critical method is partly born of an unwillingness or an inability to bridge a small, but important cultural gap. In spite of the fact that the book concentrates on Protestant Germany and England, I hope that it will be a contribution both to aspects of the history ADB Allgemeine Deutsche Biogruphie of Old Testament scholarship, and to the history of ideas. AGTL Arbeiten zur Geschichte und Theologie des Lutherturns Among the people who have assisted me in the preparation of the book AKZ Allgemeine Kirchenzeitung over the past eight years, I should like to thank the staffs of the libraries of the Universities of Durham and Sheffield, and especially the inter-library BER Biblisch-Exegetisches Repertorium loan section in Sheffield. Much of the work on the German material was BEvTh Beitrdge zur evangelischen Theologie done at the library of the Eberhard-Karls-Universitat, Tubingen, the BFChTh Beitrdge zur Forderung christlicher Theologie Niederszchsische Staats- und Universitltsbibliothek, Glittingen, and the Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, West Berlin, to whose staffs I BGBE Beitrtige zur Geschichte der biblischen Exegese offer my thanks for their assistance and courtesy. My Sheffield colleagues, BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschriftfir die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Mr David J. A. Clines and Dr David M. Gunn, have kindly lent me books Beihefte der Zeitschriftftir Religions- und Geistesgeschichte on a long-term basis, my wife has spent countless hours in producing a BZRGG typescript from my longhand, and a graduate of the Sheffield Department DZCW Deutsche Zeitschrtftftir christliche Wissenchaft und christliches Leben of Biblical Studies, Mr Mark Satterly, has produced the bibliography from EKZ Evangelische Kirchenzeitung, Berlin my footnotes. Expository Times My most grateful thanks I reserve for Professor Rudolf Smend of ET Gijttingen, who is the greatest living expert on nineteenth century Old FGLP Forschungen zur Geschichte und Lehre des Protestantismus Testament scholarship in Germany. From his own library he has made me FKDG Forschungen zur Kirchen- und Dogmengeschichte many gifts of early nineteenth century German material, he has taken a Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen close interest in the present project, and together with his wife, he has been FRLANT Testaments my host on many occasions. It has been a great privilege to be able to discuss so many ideas with a German scholar, whose own family has had such close FSThR Forschungen zur systematischen Theologie und Religionsphilosophie contacts with some of the greatest names in German academic life. CGA Giittingischegelehrte Anzeigen J. W. ROGERSON HTIBS Historic Texts and Interpreters in Biblical Scholarship Shefield, 1983. JR Journal of Religion KEH Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Alten Testament NND Neuer Nekrolog der Deutschen SVT Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 2-B Theologische Bticherei ThLZ Theologische Literatur Zeitung TRE Theologische Realenzyklopadie TSK Theologische Studien und Kritiken xi xii Abbreviations TZS Theologische Zeitschrift (ed. Schleiermacher, de Wette, Luck TZTh Tiibinger Zeitschriftftir Theologie ZKM Zeitschrifrftir die Kunde des Morgenlandes Author’s Note ZThK Zeitschrijftir Theologie und Kirche I have left untranslated the terms Privatdozentand uusserordentlicher Professor. A Privutdozent is a recognized teacher in a theological (or any other) faculty of a particular university. To become a Privatdozent in the nineteenth century in Germany, it was necessary at the very least to have gained a doctorate by thesis. In most universities it was also necessary to have submitted an additional thesis (Hubilitationsschrift) or to have gained by further study a Licentiate in Theology. A Privutdozent had the right to give public lectures in the faculty which recognized him. He received no salary, but the students who attended his classes would pay him tuition fees. An uusserordentlicher Professor in the nineteenth century was a university teacher appointed by the Minister for Education in the state or Lund where the university was situated. He received a salary, but did not occupy an established chair. x111 Intvocluction In 1869, Ludwig Diestel published his ‘History of the Old Testament in the Christian Church’.’ This work of over eight hundred pages is never likely to be surpassed by one scholar working alone. It remains an indispensable source book for anyone studying the history of Old Testament scholarship, and it is a tribute to its abiding value that plans to reprint it have been made on more than one occasion in recent years, culminating in a reprint in 1981. In his preface, Diestel wrote that there could be no true writing of history without decisions that affected the selection and mode of presentation of the material.