Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette
Life and education
Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette was born 12 January 1780 in Ulla (now part of the municipality of
In 1807, de Wette became a professor of theology at
De Wette retired to Weimar, where he occupied his leisure in the preparation of his edition of Martin Luther and in writing the romance Theodor oder die Weihe des Zweiflers (1822), in which he describes the education of an evangelical pastor. He began preaching, at which he proved to be very popular. In 1822, he accepted the chair of theology in the University of Basel, which had been reorganized four years before. Though his appointment had been strongly opposed by the orthodox party, De Wette soon won for himself great influence both in the university and among the people generally. He was admitted a citizen and became rector of the university, which owed to him much of its recovered strength, particularly in the theological faculty.[1]
Marriages and family
De Wette married three times, first with Eberhardine Boye, then Henriette, née Frisch, widowed Beck, the mother of Charles Beck, and the third time in 1833 Sophie, née Streckeisen, widow of the Berne pastor Abraham Rudolf von May.[citation needed]
Studies
In his 1805 doctoral dissertation, de Wette proposed that the "book of law" discovered in the temple by the priest
Death
De Wette died in Basel on 16 June 1849.[1]
Selected works
His most important works are:[1]
- Beiträge zur Einleitung in das Alte Testament (Contributions to the Introduction of the Old Testament. 2 vols, 1806–1807).
- Kommentar über die Psalmen (Commentary on the Psalms. 1811), which has passed through several editions.
- Lehrbuch der hebräisch-jüdischen Archäologie (Textbook of Hebrew-Jewish Archaeology. 1814).
- Über Religion und Theologie (On Religion and Theology. 1815); a work showing its author's general theological positions.
- Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmatik (Textbook of Christian Dogmatics. 1813-1816).
- Lehrbuch der historisch-kritischen Einleitung in die Bibel (Textbook of the Historical-Critical Introduction to the Bible. 1817).
- Christliche Sittenlehre (Christian Moral Teaching. 1819–1821).
- Einleitung in das Neue Testament (Introduction to the New Testament. 1826).
- Religion, ihr Wesen, ihre Erscheinungsform, und ihr Einfluss auf das Leben (Religion, its nature, its appearance, and its influence on life. 1827).
- Das Wesen des christlichen Glaubens (The Essence of the Christian Faith. 1846).
- Kurzgefasstes exegetisches Handbuch zum Neuen Testament (Concise Exegetical Handbook on the New Testament. 1836–1848).
De Wette also edited Luther's works (5 vols., 1825–1828).[1]
Selected works online
From Google Books:
- Dr. Martin Luthers Briefe, Sendschreiben und Bedenken: vollständig aus den verschiedenen Ausgaben seiner Werke und Briefe, aus andern Büchern und noch unbenutzten Handschriften gesammelt, kritisch und historisch bearbeitet, 5 vols., Berlin: Georg reimer, vol. 6, ed. by Johann Karl Seidemann - German (Fraktur) and Latin. Reviewed here (July 1845), books.google.com
- vol. 1, Erster Theil, 1825
- vol. 2, Zwenter Theil, 1826
- vol. 3, Dritter Theil, 1827
- vol. 4, Vierter Theil, 1827
- vol. 5, Fünfter Theil, 1828
- vol. 6, Sechster Theil, 1856
- Lehrbuch der historisch-kritischen Einleitung in die Bibel Alten und Neuen Testamentes, Erster Theil, Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1852
- Commentar über die Psalmen nebst beigefügter Übersetzung, fünfte auflage, herausgegeben von Dr. Gustav Baur, Professor der Theologie an der Universität Giessen, Akademische Verlagshandlung, Heidelberg, 1811, 1856, which passed through several editions, and was long regarded as of high authority.
- An Historico-Critical Introduction to the Canonical Books of the New Testament, Frederick Frothingham, tr., Boston: Crosby, Nichols and Company, 1858
- Lehrbuch der hebräisch-jüdischen Archäologie nebst einem Grundrisse der hebräisch-jüdischen Geschichte, 4th edition, Leipzig: F.C.W. Vogel, 1864
- Christliche Sittenlehre , Berlin, 1819
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm 1911, p. 138.
- ISBN 9780567424266.
- ^ Pfleiderer, O. and Smith, J. F., The Development of Theology in Germany since Kant: and its Progress in Great Britain since 1825, accessed 3 September 2022, p. n117
- Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "De Wette, Wilhelm Martin Leberecht". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 138. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Howard, Thomas Albert, Religion and the Rise of Historicism: W.M.L. De Wette, ISBN 0-521-65022-4
- John W. Rogerson, W.M.L. de Wette, Founder of Modern Biblical Criticism. An Intellectual Biography, Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.
- John W. Rogerson, Old Testament Criticism, pages 28–49. Wipf and Stock 2010. ISBN 978-1608997336
- Smend, Rudolf, Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wettes Arbeit am Alten und am Neuen Testament (Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette's Work on the Old and New Testament), Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1958
- ISBN 978-1-57506-112-2