Was Wellhausen Really an Antisemite?

Description

In his pivotal speech “Higher Bible Criticism - Higher Antisemitism?” (1902), Solomon Schechter articulated his belief that Higher Bible Criticism was not merely a scholarly endeavor but a tool that could fuel antisemitism. The name most associated with Higher Criticism, and particularly targeted by Schechter, is Julius Wellhausen. His famous work Prolegomena to the History of Israel (orig.: Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels, 1905) is indeed laced with supersessionist and openly anti-Jewish remarks. In this paper we will study selected text samples that display this tendency. Was Wellhausen really an antisemite or merely a child of his days as Rudolf Smend posits in his defense? Is the fact that some Jewish scholars (e.g. Abraham Geiger) applauded Wellhausen’s critical approach and his preference for the prophetic books of the Bible proof that he was not? Following my paper I would like to discuss these questions.

Period	24 Jun 2025
Event title	European association of biblical studies
Event type	Conference
Location	Uppsala, SwedenShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International