Berleburger Bible

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Berleburger Bible (1726), cover picture and title page

The Berleburger Bible is an extensive biblical work of 8 volumes that was created in Berleburg in the years 1726–1742 (reprint Stuttgart 1856) , which not only offered a new translation of the Bible, but above all an extensive commentary.

Emergence

The theologically leading head of the Berleburg Bibles was the Strasbourg theologian Johann Friedrich Haug (1680–1753). Haug was initially removed from his position as a deacon in Strasbourg because of “pietistic and Donatistic errors” with strong mystical and Philadelphic inclinations and was expelled in 1705. In 1714 he was followed by his brother, the bookseller and publisher Johann Jacob Haug (* 1690, † May 20, 1756), initially to Idstein in Nassau-Usingische , where he also worked as a publisher. Around 1720 the brothers moved to the county of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg , which under the reign of Count Casimir (until 1741) became a stronghold of radical Pietism and, thanks to the Haug brothers, quickly became the German publishing center for the relevant literature.

The initiator of the work seems to have been the Berleburg pastor and later court preacher of Count Casimir Ludwig Christof Schefer (1669–1731), who, despite his proximity to the Philadelphian movement, retained his official church affiliation and had already published the so-called Marburg Bible with Heinrich Horch in 1712 , which of course did not come close to the "Berleburger" in terms of importance and scope.

The translation of the Berleburg Bible, provided by the able orientalist Haug, is (after the Piscator Bible 1602–1604) one of the first German translations independent of the Luther Bible .

aims

According to Jung-Stilling, the purpose of the edition was "a very pure translation of the Bible [...] because all commentaries that were available up to now were written in their language by school scholars, and therefore not accessible to the heart". This task was done by a number of local commentators, such as the aforementioned Schefer, Tobias Eisler , Christoph Seebach (1685–1745), Johann Christian Edelmann (1698–1767), but also Count Casimir himself. In addition, Jung-Stilling points out what probably should also correspond to the facts, to a considerable number of like-minded "correspondents" all over Europe, especially Danish and English.

In addition to the explanation of the literal sense, for which the editors usually resorted to the traditional church interpretation of the Scriptures, there was above all an effort to explain “the inner state of spiritual life or the ways and effects of God in the soul whose purification, enlightenment and union with Him [God] reveals ”, so programmatically already in the title. Here one could now look at the rich treasure trove of mystical writings with different accents ( Johann Arndt , Jakob Böhme , François Fénelon , Antoinette Bourignon de la Porte (1616–1680) and above all Madame Guyon ), but also the English representatives of the Philadelphian movement ( Thomas Bromley (1629-1691), John Pordage (1607-1681), Jane Leade (1624-1704)). The inclusion in the commentary of the apocalyptic- chiliastic horizon of thought peculiar to Pietism as a whole is just as significant as the continuous criticism of the constituted churches. The Berleburger Bible is the most complete summary of the otherwise widely scattered writings of radical Pietism .

The influence of the Berleburg Bible on the broad spectrum of pietistic groups and on the revival movement of the 19th century in Europe and overseas was probably limited by its voluminous size, which set “natural” barriers to an even greater spread. According to Jung-Stilling, the work "indisputably still deserves [1785!] One of the best places in the library of a scholar of God for all the paradoxical sentences."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Until a few years ago, Haug was often incorrectly listed in the literature under the name "Johann Heinrich Haug", a mistake that may be traced back to Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling .
  2. ^ A b Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling: Theobald or the enthusiasts. Complete Writings, Vol. VI, 1838, p. 84.
  3. ↑ Ibid., P. 85.

literature

  • Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling : Theobald or the enthusiasts. All writings, Vol. VI, 1838, pp. 80 ff.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Winckel : "The Berleburger Bible." In: Monthly for the Protestant Church of the Rhine Province and Westphalia [18] (1851), Issue 1, pp. 1–33; Issue 2, pp. 59-68.
  • Martin Hofmann: Theology and Exegesis of the Berleburger Bible (Contributions to the Promotion of Christian Theology, Vol. 39, 2). Gütersloh 1937.
  • Josef Urlinger: The spiritual and linguistic historical significance of the Berleburg Bible. A contribution to the history of the impact of quietism in Germany. Dissertation Saarbrücken 1969.
  • Martin Brecht : “The Berleburger Bible. Notes on their understanding ”. In: Pietismus und Neuzeit 8 (1982), pp. 162-200.
  • Hans-Jürgen Schrader: Literature production and book market of radical Pietism. Johann Henrich Reitz '"History of the re-drilled" and its historical context (Palestra, vol. 283). Goettingen 1989.
  • Eberhard Bauer: "Radical Pietists in Wittgenstein". In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV 85 (1997), Issue 4, pp. 124-135.
  • Johann Georg Hinsberg : History of the Berleburg parish up to the reign of Count Casimir (18th century). Introduced, edited and commented by Johannes Burkardt and Ulf Lückel. Bad Berleburg 1999.
  • Ulf Lückel: “An almost forgotten great Berleburger: Inspector and pastor Ludwig Christof Schefer (1669–1731). A first search for traces ”. In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV 88 (2000), issue 4, pp. 137–159.
  • Daniela Deborah Kreher: La Biblia de Berleburg y el contexto que le dio origen en Alemania en el siglo XVIII. Thesis Istituto Universitario ISEDET, Buenos Aires 2007.
  • Ulf Lückel: "The Berleburger Bible - from Wittgenstein to Africa". In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV 96 (2008), Vol. 72, Issue 2, pp. 34–43.
  • Ulf Lückel: And once again about the Berleburger Bible: A previously unknown planned second edition in the 19th century ". In: Wittgenstein. Blätter des Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV 97 (2009), Vol. 73, Issue 2, pp. 55-61.
  • Ulf Lückel: nobility and piety. The Berleburg Counts and Pietism in their territories. Vorländer Verlag, Siegen 2016.

Web links

  • The fifth part of the Holy Scriptures, or the first part of the New Testament , overlooked anew after the basic text, along with the literal and secret explanation, in which of the God-Man who appeared in the flesh, Christ and his kingdom, according to internal and external household God's acted; Stuttgart 1859, (1190 p.) Digitized at google-books
  • Berlenburger Bible Digital Library Project 2017
  • The Holy Scriptures Old and New Testaments  : After the basic text overlooked and translated again: In addition to some explanations of the literal sense ... of Christ and his kingdom, and at the same time some teachings that are directed to the state of the churches in our last times ; Which is still underlined by an explanation that reveals the inner state of the spiritual life, or the ways and works of God in souls ...; Berleburg 1726-1742. Digitized version of the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt