Higher
Criticism under attack by Karl F. Keil in 1859
The famous
anti-higher critical studies scholar of the Victorian Age was the New Testament
professor K. F. Keil. The following is a summary of his notes.
HC was not
known in the early church or Middle Ages. (Keil 1859: 6). Augustine (died
430); Junilii (550); M. A. Cassiodorus (died 562); N. Lyrani (died 1340); The Reformation
woke up the spirit of scriptural investigation because too long people were
busy studying useless things (Keil 1859: 7). In the 17th
century a fight erupted again between the Catholics and Protestants, this time
on the canon question and integrity of the Hebrew scriptures. On the Catholic
side was Pagninus Lucensis (a Dominican who died in 1541); S. Senensis (died in
1599); L. Ellies Du-Pin who died in 1718 and was a professor in Paris; C. Frassenii
in 1682. On the
Protestant side was P. Palladius (prof. of Coppenhagen who died in 1560); A.
Rivetus (Prof. of Leiden who died in 1643); M. Walther who died in 1662); A.
Calov who died in 1686 who wrote critical studies on the Bible (Keil 1859: 7). J. H. Hottinger
(Prof. of Heidelberg who died in 1667). J. Leusden (Prof. of Utrecth who died
in 1699). J. Buxdorf (Prof. in Basel who died in 1629). His Rabbinic Bible
edition in 1620 is important as well as historical, didactic and critical notes
in 1665. L. Cappellus
(died in 1658). He wrote a critical sacred scriptures book in 1650. Against
Cappellus critical work against the Hebrew text was J. Buxtorfi (Prof. in Basel
who died in 1664) and who wrote anti-critical notes on the veracity of the
Hebrew text against Cappellus in 1653. J. Morinus who
died in 1659 and who studied differences between the Hebrew and Greek text in
1669. B. Walton died
in 1661 and gave out the London Polyglot in 1657. H. Hodii was
prof. in Oxford and died in 1706. He worked on the biblical text in the Greek
and Latin of the Vulgate in 1705. R. Simon died
in Paris in 1712. He worked on the historical criticism of the Old Testament in
1678 (Keil 1859: 7). The role of B.
Spinoza (who died in 1677) and other English naturalists (like T. Hobbes who
died in 1679) brought doubt on the inspiration of the Word of God and Semler
was impressed by this. A prof. of
Leipzig, J. G. Carpzov who died in 1767, wrote a critical work on the origin of
the texts of the Old Testament in 1728 with a second edition in 1748. J. S. Semler, a
professor of Halle who died in 1791 pleaded for a freer hand to study the canon
of the Bible. He focused on an Apparatus towards a “Liberal Old Testament
Interpretation” in 1773 (see Keil 1859: 8). J. G. Eichhorn
who was a professor at Göttingen and who died in 1827, wrote critical notes on
the Old Testament between 1780-1783. Reaction
against Eichhorn came from J. D. Michaelis, a professor of Göttingen who died
in 1791. He talked about the “divine” scriptures in 1787 which would be foreign
to the idea of Eichorn. Also against
Eichhorn was the catholic scholar J. Jahn, professor of Wien who died in 1816.
He also talks about the “divine” scriptures. But Eichhorn
had his disciples in a professor at Heidelberg, G. L. Bauer who died in 1806.
He wrote a critical introduction to the Old Testament. Also G. C. W. Augusti
who died in 1841 who wrote on historical criticism of the Old Testament in
1806. The historical
criticism of this time was strengthened by the rationalism of W. M. L. de Wette
who was professor at Basel and died in 1849 (Keil 1859: 9). He wrote about
historical criticism of the Canon and Old Testament in 1817. A synthesis of
critical views were made by L. Bertholdt who was professor in Erlang and who
died in 1822. Critical of the
Skeptics were a list of scholars of these times: E. W. Hengstenberg in his
works between 1831-1839. Also H. A. C. Hävernick who died in 1845. C. F. Keil
from Erlang also worked against the skeptics between 1836-1849; also 1854-55. In England T.
H. Horne of Cambridge published a critical study of the scriptures in London in
1818; revised 1856. It was in three volumes but the first one focused on
evidence for genuiness, authenticity, uncorrupted preservation and inspiration
of the holy scriptures. The second volume was reworked by S. Davidson focused
on the sacred interpretation of the scriptures and the third volume on geography
and the fourth one on the New Testament.
Source:
Karl
Friedrich Keil, 1859. Lehrbuch historisch-kritischen: Einleitung in die
kanonische und apokryphischen Schriften. Frankfurt am Main:Verlag von
Heyder & Zimmer.