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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

orientalist,

biblical scholar Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible, with ''Bible'' referring to the books of the canonical Hebrew Bible in mainstream Jewish usage and the Christian Bible including the can ...

and academic

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 ...

. He was a professor at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

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

Life

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

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. In 1817 he was granted the degree of

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

by the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, 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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he studied

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

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 ...

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 (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

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 ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, 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 material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

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 and Anton Dereser. 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 indexed with a continuous Arabic number of up to four digits. Many of the codices have been ...

(Δ) and three fragments of the Gospels 0115 (formerly W^a), 054 (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 of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less frequently, year 1015 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomina ...

299 __NOTOC__ Year 299 ( CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1052 ''Ab urbe condita''). The de ...

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday 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 urbe condita''). The denomination 300 ...

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 ( CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday 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 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominatio ...

and

346 Year 346 ( CCCXLVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 1099 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominati ...

. Other manuscripts he collated in large part: (

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday 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 urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita' ...

270 __NOTOC__ Year 270 ( CCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antiochianus and Orfitus (or, less frequently, year 1023 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominati ...

271 __NOTOC__ Year 271 ( CCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday 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 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 2 ...

, 277,

284 __NOTOC__ Year 284 ( CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday 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 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

285 The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year 1038 ''Ab urbe condita''"). The denomin ...

298 Year 298 ( CCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustus and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 1051 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 298 for thi ...

324 __NOTOC__ Year 324 ( CCCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday in the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crispus and Constantinus (or, less frequently, year 1077 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominati ...

353 __NOTOC__ Year 353 (Roman numerals, CCCLIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magnentius and Decentius (or, less frequently, year 1106 ''Ab urbe condita''). ...

382 Year 382 ( CCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday 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 urbe condita''). The denomination 382 fo ...

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 October 5, 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 ...

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

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press 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 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

(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 19th-century 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 Academic staff of the University of Bonn 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers