Hugo Berthold Heinrich Duensing (15 April 1877–28 November 1961) was a German scholar of

early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...

and a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor. He specialized in

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

and

oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

, including documents in

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

; Syriac and Aramaic; and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Biography

Hugo Duensing was born in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, then part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, on 15 April 1877 to his parents Friedrich and Henriette. In Hanover, he attended the . In 1896, he attended 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 ...

, where he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and the

and

languages. He traveled to Berlin and later to the

Georg August University of Göttingen Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg "Spiders Georg" is an Internet meme that began circulating on the mic ...

where he completed his studies under

Julius Wellhausen Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, his research interest moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhau ...

. On August 6, 1906, he acquired a degree in theology from Göttingen. He was ordained a pastor in 1907, and served from 1907 to 1909 in Bad Rehburg; from 1909 to 1926 in -Wellersen; and from 1926 until his retirement in 1947 in

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

at the Market Church St. Cosmas and Damian. In April 1909, he married Anna Schürer, the daughter of the famous historian

Emil Schürer Emil Schürer (2 May 184420 April 1910) was a German Protestant theologian known mainly for his study of the history of the Jews around the time of Jesus' ministry. Biography Schürer was born in Augsburg. After studying at the universities of ...

. The couple would have five children together: Friedrich, Ernst, Reinhard, Hildegard, and Gertrud. Duensing suffered from occasional spates of ill health and exhaustion, and committed himself to a sanitarium for rest in 1905, 1914, 1920, 1928, and 1936. From January to May 1914, Duensing visited

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 ...

(then under control of the Ottoman Empire) and took pictures of manuscripts held by the

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem,, ''Patriarcheîon Hierosolýmōn;'' , also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, is an autocephalous church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Established in th ...

which would be used by the Göttingen Septuagint Company. Some of these photographs would be used to help make

Alfred Rahlfs' edition of the Septuagint Alfred Rahlfs' edition of the Septuagint, sometimes called Rahlfs' Septuagint or Rahlfs' Septuaginta, is a critical edition of the Septuagint published for the first time in 1935 by the German philologist Alfred Rahlfs. This edition is the most ...

. While he never achieved a faculty position, he remained an active scholar, especially in the field of Ethiopian studies. He was given an honorary doctorate by the Theology Faculty of the University of Göttingen in 1951. Duensing died on 28 November 1961.

Selected works

*
Liefert das äthiopische Synaxar Materialien zur Geschichte Abessiniens? Für den zweiten, die Monate Magābīt bis Pāguemēn enthaltenden Teil des Synaxars untersucht
'. Göttingen 1900, . * ''Christlich – palästinisch – aramäische Texte und Fragmente nebst einer Abhandlung über den Wert der palästinischen Septuaginta''. Göttingen 1906, . (Contained documents on the

Codex Sinaiticus Rescriptus Codex Sinaiticus Rescriptus, mostly originating in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, is a collection of nineteen Christian Palestinian Aramaic palimpsest manuscripts containing Old Testament, Gospel and Epistles pericopes of diverse Lectionaries ...

, among others) *
Epistula apostolorum. Nach dem äthiopischen und koptischen Texte
'. Bonn 1925, . (On the

Epistula Apostolorum The Epistle of the Apostles () is a work of New Testament apocrypha. Despite its name, it is more a gospel or an apocalypse than an epistle. The work takes the form of an open letter purportedly from the remaining eleven apostles describing k ...

) * Zwei christlich-palästinisch-aramäische Fragmente aus der Apostelgeschichte, ''Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft'' 37, 1938. (Contained documents on

Codex Climaci Rescriptus Codex Climaci Rescriptus is a collective palimpsest manuscript consisting of several individual manuscripts underneath, Christian Palestinian Aramaic texts of the Old and New Testament as well as two apocryphal texts, including the Dormition of t ...

, among others) * ''Verzeichnis der Personen- und der geographischen Namen in der Mischna. Auf Grund der von Emil Schürer hinterlassenen einschlägigen Materialien''. Stuttgart 1960, . (A work on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

based on old papers from his father-in-law

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duensing, Hugo 1877 births 1961 deaths German orientalists 20th-century German Lutheran clergy University of Göttingen alumni University of Greifswald alumni