Hermann Gunkel | |
|---|---|
 Gunkel before 1890 | |
| Born | 23 May 1862 |
| Died | 11 March 1932 (aged 69) |
| Education | University of Göttingen |
| Occupation | Biblicalhistorical criticism |
| Known for | Foundingform criticism,Sitz im Leben |
Hermann Gunkel (German:[gʊŋkl̩]; 23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a GermanOld Testament scholar, foundedform criticism.[1] He also became a leading representative of thehistory of religions school.[2] His major works coverGenesis and thePsalms, and his major interests centered on the oral tradition behind written sources and in folklore.
Gunkel was born inSpringe,Kingdom of Hanover,[2] where his father and grandfather wereLutheranpastors.[3] He studied at theUniversity of Göttingen and theUniversity of Giessen. He eventually taught at both universities in addition to those ofBerlin andHalle.[4]
Gunkel started his career inNew Testament studies atGöttingen in 1888. However, he was soon transferred toHalle (1889–1894) and told to concentrate on theHebrew Bible by the Prussian academic appointments authority. He went on to teach inBerlin (1894-1907), where he made many inter-disciplinary contacts. His 1895 bookCreation and Chaos in the Primeval Era and the Eschaton compared the symbolism inGenesis andRevelation 12. In 1901, he produced the first of three editions of commentary on Genesis,Genesis Translated and Explained.[4]
In 1907, Gunkel finally obtained a full professorship at theUniversity of Giessen. There he produced the third and final edition ofGenesis in 1910 andThe Prophets in 1917. He moved to theUniversity of Halle-Wittenberg in 1920. He published another standard work, his commentary on the book ofPsalms,The Psalms: Translated and Explained in 1926.Introduction to the Psalms was his last major project, brought to completion by his studentJoachim Begrich in 1933.[4]
Gunkel founded the seriesResearch into the Religion and Literature of the Old and New Testaments (1903–) withWilhelm Bousset.[2] He also co-edited with Leopold Zscharnack the second edition of the German religious encyclopediaReligion in History and the Present (1927–1931), in which he authored over one hundred articles.[5]
"The influence of the methods pioneered by Gunkel upon subsequent Old Testament study can scarcely be overestimated."
Gunkel became a leading representative of the "history of religions school" (Religionsgeschichtliche Schule), which addressed the history of traditions behind the biblical text. In addition to Gunkel, the original group also includedAlbert Eichhorn,William Wrede, Heinrich Hackmann,Alfred Rahlfs,Johannes Weiss,Wilhelm Bousset,Ernst Troeltsch, andWilhelm Heitmüller.[6] Gunkel and the school thought that the oral traditions that form the origins of the Hebrew Bible were directly tied to other Near Eastern religions.[7]Gunkel arguably produced his most important work in his commentary onGenesis, published in three editions from 1901 to 1910.[8] In these works he created the new critical methodology ofform criticism (Formgeschichte).[9] Form criticism examined the genres used in the biblical text to identify theSitz im Leben (setting in life) that produced the text. This approach was based on the assumption that each genre is organically associated with a particular social and historical situation. Nineteenth-centurysource criticism had examined the biblical text, especially thePentateuch, on the basis of style, vocabulary, theology, and other criteria to identify the basic literary sources used to create the text. Form criticism allowed scholars to go behind these larger literary sources by identifying the smaller and older sources used by their authors.[10] Because of its utility, form criticism became immensely influential in Germany and Europe during the 20th century, with important scholars likeGerhard von Rad andMartin Noth applying and developing it.[citation needed]
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