Ludwig Köhler (theologian)

Ludwig Koehler, 1914

Ludwig Köhler (born April 14, 1880 in Neuwied ; † November 25, 1956 in Zurich ) was a Reformed theologian and from 1930 to 1932 rector of the University of Zurich .

Life

Köhler was a son of the German court registrar Heinrich Köhler and his wife Karolina, who came from Bibern SH . From 1899 to 1900 he did military service in Germany. He then studied Protestant theology and Semitic languages at the Theological Faculty of the University of Zurich . After his first exam in 1903, he was naturalized in Zurich and ordained the following year . From 1904 to 1910 he worked as a pastor in Aeugst am Albis and from 1910 to 1916 in Langnau am Albis . In 1908 he received his doctorate based on a study on Jeremiah 1-9 ; in the same year he became an associate professor at the University of Zurich. In 1923 the full professorship for the Old Testament followed . In 1928 he was visiting professor at the Chicago Theological Seminary . 1930 to 1932 he was rector of the University of Zurich; he then also took over the professorship for practical theology . In 1947 he retired.

The focus of Köhler's research was on Hebrew word studies. Together with Walter Baumgartner , he wrote a dictionary that was in use for a long time.

Under the pseudonym "Hugo Ratmich", Köhler wrote reflections for the Sunday edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , which also appeared in two selected editions. Here and also in his pastoral book Note und Pflege des Inner Leben (1945; new edition as True Life , 1954) he showed himself to be supporters of liberal theology .

Honors

• Honorary doctorate from the Universities of Bern (1928) and Debrecen (Hungary)

Fonts (selection)

• The revelation of John and its interpretation today. Schulthess, Zurich 1924.
• Old Testament theology. Mohr (Siebeck), Tübingen 1936; 4th edition 1966.
• Of path and destination. A handout for secret children of God. Zwingli, Zurich 1938 (under the pseudonym "Hugo Ratmich").
• Between earth and sky. Zwingli, Zurich 1944 (under the pseudonym "Hugo Ratmich").
• Little lights. Fifty Bible passages explained (= Zwingli library; 47). Zwingli, Zurich 1945.
• A Swiss becomes Swiss (autobiography), 1946
• The Hebrew man. A sketch. Mohr (Siebeck), Tübingen 1953; Reprint Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1976.
• (with Walter Baumgartner ) Lexicon in veteris testamenti libros . Brill, Leiden 1953.

literature

• Hans Wildberger :  Köhler, Ludwig. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-428-00193-1 , p. 308 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Rudolf Smend : Ludwig Köhler 1880–1956. In: Ders .: Critics and Experts. Portrait sketches on four centuries of Old Testament science. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2017, pp. 634–647.

Web links

• Edgar Kellenberger: Köhler, Ludwig. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Previous rector of the University of Zurich
2. ↑ List of honorary doctorates from the University of Bern ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.