Johann Georg Herbst

Johann Georg Herbst (born January 13, 1787 in Rottweil ; † July 31, 1836 in Tübingen ) was a Catholic clergyman and professor of oriental languages and exegesis at the University of Tübingen . Here in 1819 he co-founded the traditional theological quarterly .

Education and career

After attending the grammar school in Rottweil, in autumn 1805 he entered the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter in the Black Forest as a novice . He studied philosophy, physics and mathematics in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1806 and 1807 and returned to Rottweil in the spring of 1807 after the abolition of St. Peter. After he had passed the exams in philosophy and theology at the Lyceum, he returned to Freiburg again in 1810, where he studied the oriental languages ​​and biblical studies under the guidance of Leonhard Hug (1765–1846) .

After being ordained a priest in 1811, he was appointed parish administrator in Freiburg-Adelhausen , which enabled him to study languages ​​and exegesis in Freiburg again. In October he already moved to the newly established seminary in Ellwangen, where he held both theological and philological lectures. In 1814 he moved to the Catholic Theological Faculty in Ellwangen , where he took the chair of Prof. Cölestin Spegele (1761–1831) and was appointed full professor the following year. In 1817 he was solemnly named Dr. theol. PhD.

Work in Tübingen

When the Ellwang faculty moved to Tübingen in 1817 , Herbst held the position of full professor for oriental languages , for the introduction to the Old Testament , biblical archeology and Old Testament exegesis. As a substitute, he also gave lectures on church history. During his time in Tübingen, in the fall of 1832, he was appointed senior librarian of the university library , where he made particular contributions to the order of finances and increased the number of books significantly. He held the office of dean five times, and in 1833/34 he was rector of the university.

Researches

He did research in particular on historical topics, church history and the early councils , although he was a full professor of exegesis. Many contributions to the Tübingen Theological Quarterly , which he co-founded, come from his pen. His treatise "De Pentateuchi quatuor librorum posteriorum auctore et editore commentatio" was published in Gmünd.

In the last years of his life he worked on a " historical-critical introduction to the writings of the Old Testament", but could not complete it. His successor Benedict Welte published them with additions from 1840.

In the conflict over the Archdiocese of Freiburg , Herbst was one of Heinrich von Wessenberg's supporters .

literature

• Martin Josef Mack: DJG Herbst. Nekrolog , with a list of the most important writings. In: ThQ 18 (1836), pp. 766-770.
• Stefan Lösch : The beginnings of the Tübingen Theological Quarterly (1819–1831). Commemorative gift for the 100th anniversary of Johann Adam Möhler's death. Rottenburg 1938.
• Tübingen theologians and their theology. Sources and research on the history of the Catholic Theological Faculty of Tübingen . Edited by Rudolf Reinhardt. Tübingen 1977 (Contubernium 16).
• Philipp Wolff :  Autumn, Johann Georg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, p. 50 f.
• Dominik Burkard :  Autumn, Johann Georg. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 14, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-073-5 , Sp. 1086-1090.