Albrecht Alt (20 September 1883, in Stübach (

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

) – 24 April 1956, in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

), was a leading

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. Eldest son of a Lutheran minister, he completed high school in

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

and studied theology at Friedrich-Alexander-University in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

and the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. From 1907 to 1908 he was a candidate for the office of lecturer at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Predigerseminar (Lutheran preachers seminary). In 1908 he was a scholarship holder of the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology of the Holy Land in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and undertook his first

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

journey. In the same year he became a supervisor of the theological College in

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

. In 1909 he wrote ''Israel und Aegypten'' ("Israel and Egypt") as part of his doctorate at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

. In 1912 he became an associate professor in Greifswald, and in 1914 was named by Bernhard Duhm as a professor at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served as a leader in the cartography department of the German Eastern Army. After the war he was again appointed a professor in Basel, and in 1920 Provost at the Evangelical Redeemer Church in Jerusalem. In 1921 he was appointed to the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, however, he went to Jerusalem during the winter of 1921/22 to serve as head of the German Protestant Institute for Ancient Studies of the Holy Land (DEI) as well as to perform duties at the Redeemer Church. In 1923 he succeeded

Rudolf Kittel Rudolf Kittel (28 March 1853, in Eningen, Württemberg – 20 October 1929, in Leipzig) was a German Old Testament scholar. Kittel studied at University of Tübingen (1871–76). He was a professor of Old Testament studies at the universities of ...

at the University of Leipzig.Alt, Albrecht
Das wissenschaftliche Bibellexikon im Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff. Albrecht Alt Gravestone

Works

*''Die Landnahme der Israeliten in Palästina; Territorialgeschichtliche Studien'', Leipzig: Druckerei der Werkgemeinschaft, 1925 *''Der Gott der Väter: Ein Beitrag zur Vorgeschichte der israelitischen Religion'', Stuttgart:

Kohlhammer Verlag W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart. History Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-la ...

, 1929, (Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament; 48 = Folge 3, H. 12). Translation of the title: 'The God of the fathers. A contribution to the prehistory of Israelite religion'. *''Der Stadtstaat Samaria'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1954, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse; vol. 101,5). Translation of the title: 'The city state of Samaria'. *''Die Herkunft der Hyksos in neuer Sicht'', Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1954, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-historische Klasse; vol. 101,6). Translation of the title: 'A New View on the origin of the Hyksos'. *''Essays on Old Testament history and religion'' leine Schriften zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel. Auswahl in einem Band (besides the first edition of 1959 in 2 vols.), Berlin: Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, 1962; English R.A. Wilson (trl.), Oxford: Blackwell, 1966, 274 pp. *"Origins of Israelite law" [Die Ursprünge des israelitischen Rechts, Leipzig: Hirzel, 1934, (Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Philologisch-Historische Klasse; vol. 86,1); English], in: Albrecht Alt, ''Essays on Old Testament history and religion'', R.A. Wilson (trl.), Oxford: Blackwell, 1966, pp. 101–171. *''Völker und Staaten Syriens im frühen Altertum'', Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1936, (Der alte Orient: gemeinverständliche Darstellungen; vol. 34,4). Translation of the title: 'Peoples and states of Syria in early antiquity'. *''Where Jesus worked: Towns and villages of Galilee studied with the help of local history'' tätten des Wirkens Jesu in Galiläa territorialgeschichtlich betrachtet (1949); English Kenneth Grayston (trl.), London: Epworth Press, c1961.

References

* H. Bardtke: "Albrecht Alt. Life and work"; Article in: ThLZ 81 (1956); P. 513-522. * Matthias Köckert: "God the Father and promises. An argument with Albrecht Alt and his inheritance"; (Research for the religion and literature of the old person and new will 142); Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Goettingen 1988; . * * R. Smend: "German Old Testament over three centuries"; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht: Goettingen 1989; . * Manfred Weippert: "Albrecht Alt"; Article in: TRE 2 (1978), pp. 303-305.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alt, Albrecht 1883 births 1956 deaths Old Testament scholars People from the Kingdom of Bavaria German Lutheran theologians Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Leipzig University alumni 20th-century German writers 20th-century German Protestant theologians 20th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 20th-century Lutherans German expatriates in Mandatory Palestine