Jan van der Watt

Jan Gabriël Van der Watt (born 5 November 1952) is one of the world's leading New Testament Scholars and a Bible translator who moved to the Netherlands from Pretoria, South Africa in 2009 to take up a chair in New Testament and Source texts of early Christianity at Radboud University in Nijmegen. In 2018 he retired and returned to South Africa. For a quarter of a century previously, he was professor at the University of Pretoria, where he was named as one of the 100 most influential academic thinkers in the 100-year history of the University of Pretoria, South Africa (see www.up.ac.za under Leading Minds). Van der Watt was also rated as international acknowledged researcher that is regarded by some of his international peers as international leader in his field, (see www.nrf.ac.za under rated researchers). Van der Watt is internationally best known for his monographs: Family of the King: Dynamics of Metaphor in the Gosepl According to John (Leiden: Brill, 2000); A Grammar of the ethics of John. Reading John from an Ethical Perspective, Vol 1 (2019), Vol. 2 (2023), (Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck).

Biography

He was born on 5 November 1952 in Germiston, South Africa. He obtained more than eight university degrees, all with distinction. He also represented his university in rugby and athletics and received provincial colours for athletics which enabled him to be selected for the South African national competition.

In 2008 he received the University of Pretoria Commemorative Research Medal – Honoring our Leading Minds (1908–2008). This medal is awarded to a select number of researchers (100) in all fields, called "Our (= Univ. of Pretoria) leading minds (1908–2008)", that have played a significant role in establishing the University of Pretoria as a leading research institution over the past 100 years of the history of this institution.

As from 2002 up to now he has been graded as an internationally established and leading researcher in his field by the National Research Foundation of South Africa – no New Testament scholar in South Africa has a higher grading. This indicates unanimous international recognition as well established researcher with significant recognition as world leader in particular field–this rating is done through international peer reviewing). He has successfully supervised 43 PhDs and 84 masters candidates. He is currently the general editor of the Review of Biblical Literature (2005–), a member of the SNTS and an Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation scholar, was a Mercator International scholar at the University of Bonn https://www.uni-bonn.de/the-university. He was also appointed co-chairperson, responsible for the ‘Johannine literature and general epistles’ of the international 30-volume.

Van der Watt places a high premium on scientifically based popular publications, and is renowned both nationally and internationally as religious speaker and writer. He is in fact one of only six religious writers in South Africa to have sold more than a million copies of his Christian books.

In 1997, and again in 2003, he received the award for best Christian publication for Die Boodskap from the Christian Booksellers of South Africa (CBSA). He was also awarded the sought-after Andrew Murray award in 2000 for Die Bybellenium, and again in 2003 for his role as editor of the impressive Die Bybel A–Z. Another great honour that befell him was being awarded the Totius award by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns in 2006 for his constant outstanding contribution to South African theology.

He lectured for longer periods of time at universities such as the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium (2002, 2004, 2006), the Mercator University of Duisburg (Alexander von Humboldt researcher 1990/1991), the Humboldt University of Berlin (Alexander von Humboldt researcher 2000/2001), and the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelm University in Bonn (Mercator International Professor 2006). He also lectured in the Netherlands at the Catholic University of Utrecht and the University of Utrecht (1999), at the famous Teologische Universiteit Kampen (1995 and 2005). In 2001 he was offered a chair there (an offer that he declined). He appeared as guest professor in South Korea at the Chongshin University in Seoul (2001) and several other Korean universities (2008). He was invited as the Beeson International Scholar to Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky from September to December 2004. In 2008 he was nominated the Alexander von Humboldt professor by the rector of the University of Mainz, Germany. The goal of this professoriate is to help establish excellence and international acclaim in a given area of research.

He has been married to Shireen (née Crous) for three decades, and they have one daughter (Nireen), a medical doctor.

Publications

Books

• ——— (1988). Christ is your hope. The letter to the Colossians – a semantic discourse analysis. UPTS. Vol. 5. Pretoria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• ———; Joubert, S. (1990). Jesus of Nazareth: Proclamation in Context. Pretoria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• ——— (1995). 'It is fulfilled' The re-interpretation of the cross-events in the Gospel of John. Pretoria.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• ——— (2000). Family of the King: Dynamics of metaphor in the Gospel according to John. Biblical Interpretation Series. Vol. 47. Leiden & Boston, MA: Brill. ISBN 9789004116603. OCLC 43555226.
• ——— (2007). An Introduction to the Johannine Gospel and Letters. T&T Clark Approaches to Biblical Studies). London: T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0567030375.

Edited by

• ———; Roberts, J.; Vorster, W.; Vorster, J. N., eds. (1991). Theology in Context. Pretoria: Orion.
• ———; Van Belle, G.; Maritz, P., eds. (2005). Theology and Christology in the Fourth Gospel: Essays by the Members of the SNTS Johannine Writings Seminar: Essays by the Member of the SNTS. Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium. Leuven & Dudley, MA: Peeters. ISBN 9789058674845. OCLC 938471561.
• ———, ed. (2005). Salvation in the New Testament: perspectives on soteriology. Supplements to Novum Testamentum. Vol. 121. Leiden & Boston: Brill. ISBN 9781429452823. OCLC 191936492.
• ———; Frey, Jörg; Zimmermann, Ruben, eds. (2006). Imagery in the Gospel of John: terms, forms, themes, and theology of Johannine figurative language. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Vol. 200. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 9783161491160. OCLC 76809219.
• ———; Malan, François S., eds. (2006). Identity, ethics and ethos in the New Testament. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche. Vol. 141. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110893939. OCLC 811407764.
• ———; Verheyden, Jos; van Belle, Gilbert, eds. (2008). Imagery in Luke and John: Festschrift for Prof Ulrich Busse. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum theologicarum Lovaniensium. Vol. 218. Leuven & Dudley, MA: Peeters. ISBN 9789042921153. OCLC 243855540.
• ———, ed. (2011). Eschatology and the New Testament. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Vol. 2. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 9783161509735. OCLC 775278098.
• ———, ed. (2012). Rethinking the Ethics of John: "implicit ethics" in the Johannine writings. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Vol. 291. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 9783161518300. OCLC 812841385.

Journals edited

• ———, ed. (2005–2009). "Review of Biblical Literature". Atlanta, GA: SBL. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Academic dissertations

• 1978: (A) The use of the term “in Christ” in Colossians. (BD-dissertation–New Testament)

University of Pretoria.

• 1979: (A) A semantic discourse analysis of Colossians (MA-dissertation – Greek) University of Pretoria.
• 1986: (A) Eternal life in the Gospel according to John (DD-thesis- New Testament) University of Pretoria.
• 1999: Dynamics of metaphor in the Gospel according to John (D.Litt.-thesis – Greek), University of Pretoria.

Articles

Through 2009, he has written 52 articles in peer-reviewed journals, and 36 articles in books and collected works. For one of them, the 1999 "Commentary on the Gospel according to John," and "Commentary on Colossians" published in Bybellenium: A one volume commentary, CUM, 1314–1370, 1594–1604" he won the Andrew Murray Prize as well as the South African Booksellers Association prizes for the best Christian publication.

Bible translations

• 2002 Die Boodskap–die Bybel in hedendaagse Afrikaans (The Message–the Bible in everyday Afrikaans) (Not to be confused with ‘The Message’). Responsible for translating half of New Testament from Greek, sections of Psalms from Hebrew, and General Co-Editor. Won the South African Booksellers prize for best Christian publication in 2002.
• 2003 The Gospel according to Mark. in The multi-translation of the Bible. CUM.
• 2003 The Gospel according to John. in The multi-translation of the Bible. CUM.
• 2003 The letter to the Colossians. in The multi-translation of the Bible. CUM.
• 1999 The New Testament for children in language they could understand – translation of the New Testament Carpe Diem, 591 (together with S. Joubert and H. Stander)
• 1999 The Message with Psalms and Proverbs, CUM, 1100 pages. (Not to be confused with ‘The Message’ in English). Over 100,000 in print. Won South African Booksellers Association prize for best Christian publication in 1999.
• 2001 The Multi-reference Bible, CUM (editor of New Testament with F. Janse van Rensburg).
• 2004 The Multi-translation of the Bible. Co-editor for the New Testament.. CUM. 2004.