Gustav Adolf Deissmann (7 November 1866 – 5 April 1937) was a German Protestant theologian, best known for his leading work on the

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

used in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, which he showed was the ''

koine Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-regional form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic ...

'', or commonly used tongue of the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

world of that time.

Life

Deissmann was professor of theology at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (1897–1908), and then at the Friedrich Wilhelms University of Berlin (1908–1935). He was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and held eight honorary doctorates from 6 different countries. In 1904 he founded, together with Albrecht Dieterich, the ''Eranos'' circle in Heidelberg. Members included Ernst Troeltsch,

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

, Eberhard Gothein, Georg Jellinek, Karl Rathgen, and Wilhelm Windelband. In Berlin, Deissmann's academic focus began to shift from Greek philology to the ecumenical movement, church reform and, significantly, international ''Völkerverständigung'' (i.e. peace-promoting mutual understanding between nations and cultures). From 1914 until 1922 he produced a regular semi-political international communiqué, the ''Evangelischer Wochenbrief'' (1914–1921), with its English equivalent ''Protestant Weekly Letters'' (1914–1917). Its target audience was primarily influential German and American Christians, and it provided a forum for the advancement of peace and understanding among nations. In 1925 Deissmann became aware of the disintegration of ancient

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, a historically important archaeological site, partly excavated before World War I under the auspices of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Deissmann campaigned single-handedly for several years, both on a national and international level, to raise awareness of the plight of Ephesus, and managed to organise funding for the archaeological work to recommence in 1926, and continued annually until 1929.A. Gerber, ‘Gustav Adolf Deissmann (1866-1937) and the revival of archaeological excavations at Ephesus after the First World War’, ''Jahresheft des österreichischen archäologischen Institutes'', 75, 2006

007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

pp. 39-46. Deissmann died on 5 April 1937, in Wünsdorf near Berlin, where he is buried in the local cemetery.

Selected works by Deissmann

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

External links

Gustav Adolf Deissmann Protestant Weekly letter, 1914-1916
at Pitts Theology Library,

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

*
On Deissmann's linguistic ideas
by

James Hope Moulton The Reverend James Hope Moulton (11 October 1863 – 9 April 1917) was a British non-conformist divine. He was also a philologist and made a special study of Zoroastrianism. Biography His family had a strong Methodist background. His father was ...

, 1914
Schaff-Herzog article, ''Hellenistic Greek'' by Deissmann
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deissmann, Gustav Adolf 1866 births 1937 deaths People from Rhein-Lahn-Kreis People from Hesse-Nassau 20th-century German Protestant theologians National-Social Association politicians German biblical scholars New Testament scholars Scholars of Koine Greek University of Tübingen alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of Heidelberg University Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German male non-fiction writers German papyrologists Archaeologists from Rhineland-Palatinate

Life

Selected works by Deissmann

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links