The Complex Case of Franz Delitzsch and its Reception

Franz Delitzsch is well-known as a profound specialist in and a defender of Judaism in late 19th-century Germany. However, the conservative Lutheran theologian, who interpreted biblical texts always also with regard to Jewish philology, was convinced of the mission to Jews and oscillated between contradictory notions of Judaism. His mainly christological biases, far more complex than evidently antisemitic prejudices of other theologians of his time, are a challenge for research. The paper shortly points out the main steps of Delitzsch's view of Judaism along with his biography as reconstructed by recent research. With regard to selected current evaluations of his heritage, it identifies hermeneutical issues important for the general debate about antisemitism in Protestant exegesis.