Bernardus Dirks Eerdmans

Bernardus Dirks Eerdmans

Bernardus Dirks Eerdmans (born April 24, 1868 in Maasdam , † April 29, 1948 in Leiden ) was a Dutch Protestant theologian and politician.

Life

Bernardus Dirks was born as the son of pastor Dirk Nicolaas Eerdmans (born March 11, 1839 in Harlingen; † May 9, 1871 in Ijsselmuiden) and Johanna Lissia Dieperink (born December 11, 1841 in Ransdorp; † December 1, 1921 in Leiden) . Since his father died early, his mother moved to Kampen , where he attended school and high school. On September 27, 1886 he enrolled at the University of Leiden to study theology. After attending lectures with Willem Hendrik Koster (born October 3, 1843 in Enschede; † December 19, 1897 ibid.), Abraham Kuenen , Cornelis Petrus Tiele and others, he received his doctorate in Leiden on November 20, 1891 with the thesis Melekdienst Vereering van Hemellichamen in Israel's Assyrian period . From 1894 to 1896 he went on study trips that took him to the University of Strasbourg , the University of Leipzig , the University of Heidelberg and the University of Oxford . There he rummaged through the affiliated archives and libraries for his studies of the Old Testament.

After returning to the Netherlands in 1896, he became a pastor in the North Dutch parish of Midwoud and also worked as a private lecturer for Aramaic and Assyrian languages ​​at the Leiden University. On February 22, 1898, he was appointed professor for the history of Israelite worship, Israelite literature and the interpretation of the Old Testament at the University of Leiden, which he combined on May 11, 1898 with the introductory speech Het tussen de beoefening van het Oude Testament en de semietische studiën in het algemeen began. Eerdmans published individual treatises in numerous theological journals and journals of his time. He appeared as an opponent of baptism and rejected the theories for the pure literary analysis of ancient texts of the Old Testament of his teacher Kuenen and those of Julius Wellhausen .

During his professorship, Eerdmans was involved in the Liberal State Party for political issues in his home country. After he had been rector of the Alma Mater in 1912/13 , he switched to politics and was exempted from university service. From March 17, 1914 to September 17, 1918 he became a member of the second chamber of the States General , to which he belonged again from December 1, 1931 to May 9, 1933. From September 4, 1917 to September 6, 1927 he was also a councilor in Leiden. After his political time he returned to his professorship in Leiden, which he held until January 21, 1938. He was a member of the Dutch Protestant Union , an honorary member of the Society for Old Testament Study in Great Britain, an honorary doctorate from Harvard University and co-initiator of the Evangelical Union of the Netherlands. He became a Knight of the Order of Orange Nassau and in 1923 Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion .

family

Eerdmans married on July 19, 1900 in Midwoud Catharina Petronella Elisabeth de Holl (born April 3, 1874 in Oterleek, † June 16, 1944 in Oegstgeest), the daughter of pastor Cornelis de Holl (born December 9, 1838 in Zevenhuizen) and his Mrs. Johanna Jacoba Folpmers married on March 7, 1863 (* July 28, 1831 in Hemelumer Oldeferd). There are three daughters from the marriage:

• Johanna Lissia Eerdmans (born August 27, 1901 in Leiden; † December 29, 1974 in Leiden) married. December 16, 1926 in Leiden with lawyer Huibert Burgersdijk (born April 4, 1901 in Leiden, † April 14, 1989 in Leiden)
• Johanna Jacoba Cornelia Eerdmans (born March 17, 1905 in Leiden), married. on January 3, 1930 in Leiden with Piet Creutzberg (born December 8, 1904 in Buitenzorg) lived 1974 in Maarn
• Catharina Bernarda Elisabeth Eerdmans (born December 14, 1912 in Leiden; lives in Warmond) married. October 11, 1938 in Leiden with GL Krol (* around 1912; † before 1989)

Works (selection)

• Milking service en vereering van hemellichamen in Israël's Assyrian period. Leiden 1891
• Het right der Vrijzinnigen in de Nederlands Hervormde Kerk en de zoo-genaamde Orthodoxy. 1901
• Old Testament Studies. 1908-1912, 4th vol.
• De Godesdienst van Israël. 1930; 2nd vol., English 1947
• Christendom en Ontwapening. Leiden 1930
• Studies in Job. 1939

literature

• C. Houtman: Eerdmans, Bernardus Dirks. In: Biographical Lexicon voor de geschiedenis van het Nederlands protestantisme. Uitgeversmaatschappij JH Kok, Kampen, 1988, vol. 3, p. 101 ff. ( Online )
• Prof. Dr. BD Eerdmans overled. In: Leidsch Dagblad. April 30, 1948, p. 2 ( online )
• Peter Bak: Eerdmans, Bernhardus Dirks. In: De christelijke Encyklopedie. ( Online )

Web links

• Eerdmans at the Parliamentary Documentation Center at Leiden University
• Eerdmans in the digital library of Dutch literature
• Eerdmans in the professorial catalog of the University of Leiden