Johann Martin Augustin Scholz (8 February 1794 – 20 October 1852) was a German

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

orientalist, biblical scholar and academic

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was a professor at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

and travelled extensively throughout Europe and the Near East in order to locate manuscripts of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

Life

Scholz attended secondary school at the Catholic ''gymnasium'' in Breslau and then studied at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. In 1817 he was granted the degree of Doctor of Theology by the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, where he had studied under

Johann Leonhard Hug Johann Leonhard Hug (1 June 1765 in Constance – 11 March 1846 in Freiburg im Breisgau), was a German Roman Catholic theologian, orientalist and biblical scholar. Life In 1783 he entered the University of Freiburg, where he became a pupil in t ...

(1765-1846). Scholz then went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he studied

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and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

under

Silvestre de Sacy Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist. Life and works Early life Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...

, and collated numerous

codices The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

(Greek, Latin, Arabic and Syriac) of the New Testament. From Paris he went to

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, then travelled through France and Switzerland en route to Italy, the principal libraries of which he visited in order to conduct biblical research. In the autumn of 1821, upon his return from a journey through

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, Palestine and Syria, and having been ordained at Breslau (in October 1821), Scholz became professor of exegesis at the

, a chair to which he had been called in 1820, and which he filled until his death, despite the fact that he was not an interesting lecturer. In 1837, Scholz was appointed

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...

Work

In addition to his major work, his ''Novum Testamentum Graece'' (a text edition of the Greek New Testament), Scholz was also known for his efforts in Bible translation, in which he continued the work begun by

Dominikus von Brentano Dominik Anton Cajetan Brentano (October 6, 1740 – June 2, 1797) was a Swiss publicist, Enlightenment theologian, and Bible translator. From 1784 Brentano was the author of the Enlightenment newspaper '' Neueste Weltbegebenheiten''. Life He wa ...

and

Anton Dereser Anton Dereser (also known as Thaddaeus a Sancto Adamo, OCD) (3 February 1757, Fahr, Franconia –15 or 16 June 1827, Breslau) was a Discalced Carmelite professor of hermeneutics and Oriental languages. Dereser was a Catholic representative ...

. Scholz's work in textual criticism was particularly appreciated by the British. He was able to add to the list of Greek manuscripts of the New Testament 616 new minuscule manuscripts. His additions to the list of uncials comprise only

Codex Sangallensis Codex Sangallensis (plural ''Codices Sangallenses'') is the designation of codices housed at the Abbey library of Saint Gall in St. Gallen. The codices are index with a continuous arabic number (up to four letters), many of the codices have been ...

(Δ) and three fragments of the Gospels 0115 (formerly W^a),

054 The Type 054 (NATO Codename Jiangkai I) is a class of People's Republic of China, Chinese multi-role frigate, frigates that were commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 2005. They superseded the Type 053H3 frigates. Only ...

(his Y), and the Vatican portion of N022 (his Γ). These manuscripts were partially examined and collated by him. Results of his work were published between 1830 and 1836. Scholz's accession of new witnesses to the lists of New Testament manuscripts was extensive. He was responsible for adding codices 260-469 of the Gospels, 110-192 of the Acts, 125-246 of the Pauline epistles, 51-89 of the Apocalypse, 51-181 of the Evangelistaria, and 21-48 of the Apostoloi. Scholz collated the entire text of five manuscripts:

262 __NOTOC__ Year 262 ( CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less frequently, year ...

299 __NOTOC__ Year 299 ( CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, ...

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab ...

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 ( CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less frequently, year 1054 ...

and 346. Other manuscripts he collated in large part: (

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saecularis and Donatus (or, less frequently, year 1013 ''Ab ...

270 __NOTOC__ Year 270 ( CCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antiochianus and Orfitus (or, less frequently, year 10 ...

271 __NOTOC__ Year 271 ( CCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1024 '' ...

277 __NOTOC__ Year 277 ( CCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1030 ''A ...

284 __NOTOC__ Year 284 ( CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Numerianus (or, less frequently, year 1037 ...

, 285, 298,

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, 353,

382 Year 382 ( CCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Syagrius (or, less frequently, year 1135 '' Ab u ...

and 428). Scholz divided all New Testament manuscripts into five families: two African (Alexandrian and Western), one Asiatic, one Byzantine and one Cyprian. He was the first to emphasize the importance of ascertaining the geographical provenance of a witness. That point was elaborated by B. H. Streeter in 1924 ("theory of local texts"). Scholz, after some tentative attempts at classifying manuscripts, rejected this theory and adopted

Johann Albrecht Bengel Johann Albrecht Bengel (24 June 1687 – 2 November 1752), also known as ''Bengelius'', was a Lutheran pietist clergyman and Greek-language scholar known for his edition of the Greek New Testament and his commentaries on it. Life and career B ...

's division into two families, which he called the Alexandrian and the Constantinopolitan. He initially favoured the Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) family of manuscripts, but in 1845 he retracted this preference for the Constantinopolitan .

Bruce M. Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the ...

Bart D. Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including t ...

, "The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration", ''

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

'', 2005, p. 169.

Select publications

''Curae criticae in historiam textus Evangeliorum: commentationibus duabus''
Heidelberg 1820
''Reise in die Gegend zwischen Alexandrien und Parätonium, die libysche Wüste, Siqa, Egypten, Palästina und Syrien''
Leipzig, 1822 (Reprint: Georg Olms Verlag, 2005)
''Biblisch-kritische Reise in Frankreich, der Schweiz, Italien, Palästine und im Archipel in den Jahren 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821: Nebst einer Geschichte des Textes des Neuen Testaments''
Leipzig, 1823 * ''Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments übersetzt, erklärt und in historisch-kritischen Einleitungen zu den einzelnen Büchern erläutert'', Barrentrapp, Frankfurt a. M., 1829. vol. I
''Die vier Evangelien''
Franz Barrentrapp, Frankfurt am Main 1829; vol. II
''Die Apostelgeschichte und die katholischen Briefe''
ebenda 1830; vol. III
''Die vierzehn Briefe des heiligen Apostels Paulus''
ebenda 1830; Bd. IV: ''Die Apokalypse des heiligen Johannes des Apostels und Evangelisten'', ebenda 1828) * ''Die heilige Schrift des alten Testaments.'', Frankfurt, 1830-1837 * ''Novum Testamentum Graece. Textum ad fidem Testium Criticorum recensuit, Lectionum Familias subjecit'', Leipzig, 1830-1836 (2 volumes), a critical edition of the original text, full of erudition but marred by a defective classification of authorities and by numerous critical inaccuracies. * ''De virtutibus et vitiis utriusque Codd. N. T. familiae'' (Leipzig, 1845), a sort of supplement to the preceding work.
''Handbuch der biblischen Archäologie''
Bonn, 1834 * ''Einleitung in die heiligen Schriften des alten und neuen Testaments'', Köln, 1845 *''Biblisch-kritische Reise in Frankreich, der Schweiz, Italien, Palästine und im Archipel in den Jahren 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821: Nebst einer Geschichte des Textes des N uenT staments'' Friedrich Fleischer, Leipzig und Sorau 1823
Digitalisat bei Google Books
*''Handbuch der biblischen Archäologie.'' Adolph Mareus, Bonn 1834
Digitalisat bei Google Books
*''Einleitung in die Schriften des A. u. N. T.'' (Cologne and Leipzig, 1845–1848, 3 vols, treating only of the Old Testament). To these works may be added Scholz's own account of his travels: ''Reise in die Gegend; etc.'' (Leipzig, 1822); ''Biblisch-kritische Reise, etc.'' (Leipzig, 1823); his essays on the Holy Sepulchre (Bonn, 1825); on Jerusalem (Bonn, 1835); ''Curae criticae'', containing a valuable description of Cod. K. ''Cyprius'' (Heidelberg, 1820); ''De fontibus historiae V. Test.'' (Bonn, 1830); and his discourse on the harmony of Divine revelation with science (Bonn 1845).

References

External links

Meyers Konversationslexikon, 4. Auflage, Leipzig und Wien, 1885-1892

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scholz, Johannes Martin Augustinus 1794 births 1852 deaths People from the Province of Silesia German scholars German orientalists 19th-century German Catholic theologians German biblical scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars New Testament scholars University of Breslau alumni University of Freiburg alumni University of Bonn faculty 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers