Benno Jacob

Benno Jacob ( Benno Jacob, born September 7, 1862 in Frankenstein, today Zabkowice; † January 24, 1945 in London ) was a German liberal rabbi in Göttingen and Dortmund, Jewish Bible commentator, apologist of Judaism and fighter against anti-Semitism.

Life

He studied at the University of Breslau ( Ph.D. degree. 1899) as well as at the city's Jewish Theological Seminary. From 1891 to 1906 he was rabbi in Göttingen, then from 1906 until his retirement in 1929 in Dortmund. He then moved to Hamburg in 1932 and devoted himself to continue the exegesis. In 1939 he fled from the Nazis to London.

Although he can not be expected to Orthodoxy, the conclusions were from his text studies in complete contradiction to the modern ( mainly Christian ) biblical criticism. In his opinion, the traditional text was more reliable than the old translations, and arbitrary text corrections of Biblical criticism he considered unscientific because its sole purpose in the confirmation was their own conditions. He also accused the representative of biblical criticism to cultivate anti-Semitic ideas and prejudices against Judaism. His views he published in The Pentateuch, exegetical- critical research and source analysis and exegesis of the Pentateuch.

His most important exegetical work is the first book of the Torah: Genesis, translated and explained. Jacob accepted neither Moses authorship of the Pentateuch nor the idea of verbal inspiration, but found in the structure of the Torah as much literary unity and spiritual harmony that any search of their " sources " seemed to him useless hypothetical exercise.

Benno Jacob was the founder of the beating and colors wearing fraternity Viadrina in KC, a Jewish connection, which was founded in Breslau in 1886 by Jewish students to combat anti-Semitism at the universities with the scale length. He was an opponent of Zionism, not only because of his belief in a German - Jewish synthesis, but also because for him, Zionism meant a complete secularization of Judaism and provide a basis for Jewish atheism.

A grandson Jacobs is the American Rabbi Walter Jacob, President of the Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, winner of the Grand Cross of Merit, and Commander of the Pontifical Gregory the Great.

Quote

"If a country of culture has no room for freedom, then waived the servant of God on culture. "

Publications (selection)

  • The book of Esther in the Septuagint, in ZAW 10 (1890 ), pp. 241-298
  • In the name of God, Berlin 1903
  • The Pentateuch, exegetical and critical research. Leipzig 1905
  • The Abzählungen in the books of Leviticus and Numbers, Frankfurt 1909
  • The Torah Moses, Frankfurt am Main 1912/13,
  • Source analysis and exegesis of the Pentateuch, Leipzig 1916
  • War, Revolution and Judaism. Dortmund 1919
  • Eye for an eye, Berlin 1929
  • The first book of the Torah, Genesis. Translated and explained by Benno Jacob, Schocken Verlag, Berlin, 1934 ( reprint 2000 / Calw Verlag Stuttgart )
  • The Book of Exodus, Stuttgart 1997
Liberal Judaism Biblical inspiration Wrocław Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg Order of St. Gregory the Great Salman Schocken Salomon Wininger Integrated Authority File
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