Franz Delitzsch
Franz Delitzsch (23 February 1813, in
Delitzsch's son, Friedrich Delitzsch (1850–1922), was an influential Assyriologist and author of works on Assyrian language, literature, and history.
Biography
Although Delitzsch was Christian, he was often supposed to be of Jewish ancestry, due to the unusual breadth of his rabbinical learning, as well as his strong sympathy with the Jewish people, whom he defended against attacks. His family circumstances were also unusual, in that he had a Jewish benefactor who lived in the family house, and a Jewish godfather.
Delitzsch was baptized on March 4, 1813, at the big St. Nicholas Church in central Leipzig, with the name "Franz Julius". His father Johann Gottfried Delitzsch was a peddler, craftsman and day laborer. His mother's name was Susanna Rosina. Franz was the youngest of three children, but the only one to survive early infancy. His godfather's name was given on the baptismal record as Franz Julius Hirsch, a dealer in second-hand furniture. The fact that the godfather's given name was the same as his own is a first indication of possible filiation.[1]
Another unusual detail has to do with his schooling. Despite his parents' humble circumstances, Delitzsch was able to attend school and university thanks to the patronage of one Lewy Hirsch, a Jewish antiques dealer whom Delitzsch called his "benefactor". Hirsch lived in the same house as the Delitzsch family.
Delitzsch specialized early on in
Delitzsch had two sons, Johannes (1846-1876), who became a theologian, and Friedrich (1850-1922), the noted Assyriologist.
Delitzsch collaborated with
Delitzsch's translation of the New Testament into
In 1880 Delitzsch established the Institutum Judaicum in Leipzig for the training of Christian missionary workers among Jews.
Another Christian missionary to the Jews, John Duncan, wrote that Delitzsch "stood firm in maintenance of the divine authority and inspiration of the whole Old Testament" at a time when many "seemed willing to surrender".[7]
Works
Old Testament Commentary
From the commentary compilations by Keil and Delitzsch:[8]
- Volume 1: Pentateuch
- Volume 2: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel
- Volume 3: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles
- Volume 4: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job
- Volume 5: Psalms
- Volume 6: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
- Volume 7: Isaiah
- Volume 8: Jeremiah, Lamentations
- Volume 9: Ezekiel, Daniel
- Volume 10: Minor Prophets
Other
- Die Genesis ausgelegt (Leipzig 1852)
- Handschriftliche Funde: Die Erasmischen Entstellungen des Textes der Apokalypse (Leipzig 1861)
- Jesus und Hillel, essay of 1865/66[9]
- ברית חדשה (Berit Khadasha), Hebrew New Testament, Leipzig 1877
- Rohling's Talmudjude beleuchtet, Leipzig 1881 (Delitzsch's arguments on the misrepresentation of the Talmud by August Rohling)
- Neuer Kommentar über die Genesis, mit einem Geleitwort von Prof.Dr. Siegfried Wagner, Gießen/Basel (Brunnen), 1999 (Nachdruck der Ausgabe Leipzig [Dörffling und Franke] 1887). Sophia Taylor's 'A New Commentary of Genesis' (1888, 1889) is the English translation (in two volumes).
- Messianische Weissagungen in geschichtlicher Folge, mit einem Geleitwort von Dr. Gerhard Maier, Gießen/Basel (Brunnen), 1992. (Nachdruck der ersten Auflage Leipzig [Faber] 1890).
- Die Psalmen, Gießen/Basel (Brunnen), 2005 (Nachdruck der fünften, bearbeiteten Auflage Leipzig Dörffling und Franke 1894)
- System der biblischen Psychologie, (Leipzig: Dorffling & Franke, 1861); English Translation: A System of Biblical Psychology, (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1869); 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966).
- Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews by Franz Delitzsch, translated from the German by Thomas L. Kingsbury (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952) 2 volumes
References
- ^ a b S. Wagner, Franz Delitzsch, 1991, p. 9 ff.
- ^ a b Rudolf Smend, Franz Delitzsch - Aspects of Life and Work, 2009, p. 347 f.
- ^ See Amos Elon, The Pity Of It All: a history of Jews in Germany, 1743-1933, Penguin Books, 2004, p. 81 ff. At the time of Delitzsch's baptism Germany was under French rule and had enacted Jewish emancipation, but the law still excluded Jews from government positions and teaching posts; and after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the emancipation edict was repealed.
- ^ Crawford Howell Toy and Richard Gottheil, "Franz Delitzsch", Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), accessed 12 January 2017.
- ^ Klock and Klock published a 1978 reprint of the English translation by Sophia Taylor.
- ^ Dalman, G., "The Hebrew New Testament of Franz Delitzsch", The Old and New Testament Student, Vol. 15, No. 3/4 (Sep. - Oct., 1892), pp. 145-150, available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/3158076
- ^ Rich Gleanings from Rabbi Duncan. Free Presbyterian Publications. 1984. p. 387.
- OCLC 2363963.
- ^ Charlesworth, J. H. and Jones, L. J., Hillel and Jesus, Comparisons of Two Major Religious Leaders Archived 2015-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1997
External links
- Institutum Judaicum
- Franz Delitzsch, Jewish Encyclopedia.com
- HabBrit HaChadasha (Delitzsch's translation of the New Testament into Hebrew)
- The Delitzsch Hebrew Gospels Archived 2017-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, (A new Hebrew/English translation of the four Gospels based on Delitzsch's Hebrew translation)
- delitz.fr (site dedicated to Delitzsch's Hebrew New Testament)
- Messianic Prophecies: Lectures
- Jewish artisan life in the time of our Lord
- A Day in Capernaum
- Iris: Studies in Colour and Talks about Flowers
- Biblical Commentary on the Psalms
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wood, James, ed. (1907). The Nuttall Encyclopædia. London and New York: Frederick Warne.
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(help) - Digitized works by Franz Delitzsch at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York