Claus Westermann
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Claus Westerman | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 7, 1909 |
| Died | June 11, 2000 (aged 90) |
| Education | University of Tübingen University of Marburg University of Berlin University of Zurich |
| Parent(s) | Mother: Katharina Father: Diedrich Westermann |
| Church | Lutheran |
| Writings | See section on Writings of Westermann |
Congregations served | Berlin-Dahlem Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin |
Offices held | Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, University of Heidelberg |
| Title | Reverend Doctor |
Claus Westermann (7 October 1909 – 11 June 2000) was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar.[1] He taught at the University of Heidelberg from 1958 to 1978.[1]
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.,[2] [3]
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.
