Language:
English
Year of publication:
2002
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Biblical Literature
Angaben zur Quelle:
121,3 (2002) 441-457
Keywords:
Delitzsch, Friedrich,
;
Bible Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
History
;
Bible Criticism, interpretation, etc.
;
Assyro-Babylonian literature Relation to the Bible
;
Antisemitism Philosophy
Abstract:
The views of Delitzsch, a leading German scholar of Semitics, reflected German nationalism of the pre-World War I period. Based on new archaeological discoveries, he denigrated the originality of the ancient Hebrew civilization and questioned the value of the Hebrew Bible as a moral basis for modern German Christians. Delitzsch's racism was apparent; he claimed that the ancient population of Samaria and Galilee was Babylonian in origin, and that Jesus was Aryan. He viewed ancient Israel as ethically inferior to Babylon. His last work, "Die Grosse Tauschung, " refers to the Hebrew Bible as "the great deception." Despite all this, Delitzsch did not acknowledge that his views were antisemitic. Kaiser Wilhelm was impressed with Delitzsch's views, which also contributed to the later historical and theological underpinnings of Nazism in the 1930s-40s. His views were also anti-Christian, especially in his denial of the importance of the "Old Testament" for Christianity.
Note:
Appeared also in his collected articles "Leaders and Legacies in Assyriology and Bible" (2012) 355-371.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
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