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Delitzsch, Friedrich (1850–1922)

Article · June 2018

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30402

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Delitzsch, Friedrich But Delitzsch remains best known today for

his role in the “Babel und Bibel” controversy,
(1850–1922) which aroused heated debate throughout the
GARY BECKMAN Christian world. The ruckus began with a
lecture he delivered before the Deutsche
Orient-Gesellschaft in January 1902, with Kai-
Friedrich Delitzsch, son of the prominent
ser Wilhelm II in attendance. Pointing out cul-
Lutheran theologian Franz Delitzsch, was born
in Erlangen on September 3, 1850. Following tural features shared by the HEBREW BIBLE and
cuneiform texts from ancient Mesopotamia,
study of Indo-European and Semitic languages
Delitzsch rightly concluded that the world of
at the universities of Leipzig and Berlin, he
received his doctorate in Leipzig in 1873 for a the Old Testament had been strongly influ-
enced by the civilization of Babylonia. This
dissertation entitled Studien über indogerma-
implicit challenge to the uniqueness and
nisch-semitische Wurzelverwandschaft (Studies
on the relationship between Indo-European and revealed nature of what many believers then
held to be the literal word of God led to strident
Semitic roots), written under the direction of
discussion in the popular press. The second lec-
Eberhard Schrader, himself the pioneer of
Assyriology in germanophone lands. ture in the series, presented in January 1903,
once more in the presence of the emperor, only
From 1877 to 1892 Delitzsch taught Assyr-
sharpened the debate when Delitzsch openly
iology at his alma mater in Leipzig, establish-
ing the field on a firm footing both in questioned the relevance of the Old Testament
for contemporary German Christians.
Germany and in the entire world through
Kaiser Wilhelm felt compelled to distance
the education of the first generation of spe-
himself publicly from the professor, and the
cially trained cuneiform scholars. Among the
third and final talk was consequently held
many graduates of his Leipzig seminar were
not in Berlin, but before two provincial literary
PAUL HAUPT (1878) and Hermann Hilprecht
societies in October 1904. Delitzsch now took a
(1883), who together introduced the discipline
distinctly anti-Semitic stance, pointing out that
to the United States.
Mesopotamian civilization had been founded
In 1893, Delitzsch accepted a post at the
by the non-Semitic Sumerians, and questiona-
University of Breslau and five years later was
bly claiming that at the time of the birth of
called to the University of Berlin, where he also
Jesus, Galilee had been populated largely by
became Director of the Near Eastern Section of
non-Semites, perhaps including Aryans. Was
the Royal Museum and was a co-founder of the
Jesus then really a Jew? This argument is car-
Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft. His heavy duties
ried to an extreme in Delitzsch’s final major
in the capital city limited, but by no means cur-
work, Die Grosse Täuschung (The Great Decep-
tailed, the volume of his scholarly publications
tion) (1920–1), in which he not only condemns
on Akkadian, Sumerian, and biblical topics (see
the Hebrew Bible as basically “untruthful,” but
partial bibliography in Weissbach 1938 and an
condemns the Jewish people as “a great, a ter-
evaluation of his work by Arnold and Weis-
rible danger for all other peoples of the earth.”
berg 2004).
Friedrich Delitzsch died on November 21,
Delitzsch’s contributions to Assyriology
1922, in the spa town Bad Schwalbach (then
include the earliest (for the time) comprehen-
Langenschwalbach), Hesse.
sive Akkadian dictionaries (1887, 1894–6), an
Assyrian (i.e., Akkadian) grammar (1889),
and a Sumerian grammar and glossary (both
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
1914). While all have been superseded, these
were indispensable tools for the cuneiformists Arnold, B. T. and Weisberg, D. B. (2002) “A centen-
of their day. nial review of Friedrich Delitzsch’s ‘Babel und

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, and Andrew Erskine.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30402
2
Bibel’ lectures.” Journal of Biblical Literature 121:
441–57.
Arnold, B. T. and Weisberg, D. B. (2004) “Delitzsch
in context.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testa-
ment Supplement Series: 37–45.
Larsen, M. T. (1995) “The ‘Babel/Bible’ controversy
and its aftermath.” In J. Sasson et al., eds., Civiliza-
tions of the Ancient Near East 1: 95–106. New York.
View publication stats
Lehmann, R. G. (1994) Friedrich Delitzsch und der
Babel-Bibel-Streit. Fribourg.
Weissbach, F. (1938) “Delitzsch, Friedrich.” Reallex-
ikon der Assyriologie 2: 198. Berlin.
Zimmern, H. (1923) “(Nachruf auf ) Friedrich
Delitzsch und Carl Bezold.” Zeitschrift der
Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 77:
121–36.