Claus Westermann

Claus Westerman
Born(1909-10-07)October 7, 1909
Berlin, German Empire
DiedJune 11, 2000(2000-06-11) (aged 90)
Heidelberg, Germany
EducationUniversity of Tübingen
University of Marburg
University of Berlin
University of Zurich
Parent(s)Mother: Katharina
Father: Diedrich Westermann
Ecclesiastical career
ChurchLutheran
WritingsSee section on Writings of Westermann
CongregationsBerlin-Dahlem
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin
Offices heldProfessor Emeritus of Old Testament, University of Heidelberg
TitleReverend Doctor

Claus Westermann (7 October 1909 – 11 June 2000) was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar. He taught at the University of Heidelberg from 1958 to 1978.

Biography

Born to African missionaries, he began his theological studies in Germany as Hitler rose to power. He finished his studies in 1933 and became a pastor, aligning with the Confessing Church rather than the (pro-Nazi) German Christians. During his theological studies he started studying the Old Testament, and became particularly interested in the content of the Psalms. He was jailed a number of times due to not supporting the German Christians and was eventually drafted into the German army during the Nazi regime. He served in the German army for five years where he was a translator on the Russian front. After Germany’s defeat he was sent to a Russian prison camp where he endured very harsh conditions. In this prison camp, with only a copy of Luther’s German translation of the New Testament and Psalms for reference, he laid the groundwork for what would become “The Praise of God in the Psalms”. After the war Westermann started preaching again and also went to teach Old Testament at Heidelberg, where he would continue to teach for twenty years with colleagues such as Gerhard von Rad, Hans Walter Wolff, and Rolf Rendtorff.,

Westermann is considered one of the premier Old Testament scholars of the twentieth century. Particularly notable among his scholarship is his lengthy and comprehensive commentary on the Book of Genesis, especially the volume covering Genesis 1-11.

Select Publications of Westermann

Some works that have been translated into English

References

  1. 1 2 Luther Seminary Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine Word & World (1/2) 1981
  2. ↑ Brueggemann, Walter (1999). "Westermann, Claus". In John H. Hayes (ed.). Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, v. 2. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press. pp. 633–634. ISBN 9780687055319.
  3. ↑ Claus Westermann (1993). "The Bible and the Life of Faith: A Personal Reflection" (PDF). Word & World, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN (13/4).

Further reading