Friedrich Delitzsch
Friedrich Conrad Gerhard Delitzsch (lang; 3 September 1850 – 19 December 1922) was a German Assyriologist. He was the son of Lutheran theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890). Friedrich Delitzsch was born in Erlangen, he studied in Leipzig and Berlin, gaining his habilitation in 1874 as a lecturer of Semitic languages and Assyriology in Leipzig.
Also recorded as Friedrich Conrad Gerhard Delitzsch
Friedrich Delitzsch

Public domain
- Born
- 3 September 1850
- Birthplace
- Erlangen, Kingdom of Bavaria
- Died
- 19 December 1922
- Place of death
- Langenschwalbach, Weimar Republic (now Bad Schwalbach, Germany)
- Education
- University of Leipzig
- Nationality
- Germany and Kingdom of Saxony.
- Occupation
- church historian, theologian, university teacher, assyriologist, orientalist, scholar and writer.
- Fields
- linguistics.
- Teachers
- Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer, Christoph Krehl, Hermann Brockhaus and Georg Curtius.
- Languages
- German.
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Documentary summary
Friedrich Conrad Gerhard Delitzsch (lang; 3 September 1850 – 19 December 1922) was a German Assyriologist. He was the son of Lutheran theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890). Friedrich Delitzsch was born in Erlangen, he studied in Leipzig and Berlin, gaining his habilitation in 1874 as a lecturer of Semitic languages and Assyriology in Leipzig.
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gnd · 1180659872 · wikidata · Q72141 · wikipedia · Friedrich Delitzsch
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 1885, he became a full professor at Leipzig, afterwards serving as a professor at the Universities of Breslau (1893) and Berlin (1899). He was co-founder of the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (German Oriental Society) and director of the Vorderasiatische Abteilung (Near Eastern Department) of the Royal Museums.
Friedrich Delitzsch studied at Leipzig University and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Training under Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer, Christoph Krehl and Hermann Brockhaus is recorded. Arthur Ungnad and Knut Tallqvist are recorded as having studied under Friedrich Delitzsch. The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is linguistics. Employment is recorded with University of Wrocław and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Friedrich Delitzsch (1850–1922), Assyriologist and author of works on Assyrian language, literature, and history.
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Key facts
Key facts
• Born — 3 September 1850 • Birthplace — Erlangen, Kingdom of Bavaria • Died — 19 December 1922 • Place of death — Langenschwalbach, Weimar Republic (now Bad Schwalbach, Germany) • Father — Franz Delitzsch • Education — University of Leipzig • Thesis Title — Studien über Indogermanisch-Semitische Wurzelverwandtschaft • Thesis Url — https: archive.org/details/studien-uber-indogermanisch-semitische-wurzelverwandtschaft • Thesis Year — 'Studies on Indo-European–Semitic Root Relationships', 1873 • Discipline — Assyriology • Workplaces — * University of Leipzig • University of Berlin • University of Breslau • Notable Students — * Paul Haupt • H.V. Hilprecht • Heinrich Zimmern • Carl Bezold • Fritz Hommel
Bible-Babel Controversy
Bible-Babel Controversy
• Illustration — Babel and Bible (1906) Friedrich Delitzsch specialized in the study of ancient Middle Eastern languages, and published numerous works on Assyrian language, history and culture. He is remembered today for his scholarly critique of the Old Testament. In a 1902 controversial lecture titled "Babel and Bible", Delitzsch maintained that many Old Testament writings were borrowed from ancient Babylonian tales, including the Genesis creation narrative and the Genesis flood narrative. During the following years there were several translations and modified versions of the "Babel and Bible". In the early 1920s, Delitzsch published the two-part Die große Täuschung (The Great Deception), which was a critical treatise on the book of Psalms, prophets of the Old Testament, the invasion of Canaan, etc. Delitzsch also stridently questioned the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible and placed great emphasis on its numerous examples of immorality (see also Julius Wellhausen).
Works
Works
* * *
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1850
Friedrich Delitzsch born at Erlangen.
1922
Friedrich Delitzsch died at Bad Schwalbach.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Erlangen.
Birth place
Bad Schwalbach.
Death place
Influence and legacy
Although Delitzsch's proposal to replace the Old Testament with German myths did not extend to this revision, his student Paul Haupt was one of the major advocates of the thesis of the Aryan Jesus. In 1904, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society. Among his students were H.V. Hilprecht, Heinrich Zimmern, Carl Bezold, and Fritz Hommel.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Delitzsch, Friedrich (1850–1922), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2018
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2018
- Delitzsch, Friedrich (1850–1922), Theologische Realenzyklopädie Online
Scholarly · Crossref registry
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q72141: Friedrich Delitzsch
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Friedrich Delitzsch”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1180659872, Friedrich Delitzsch [gestorben].
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Susannah Heschel The Aryan Jesus: Christian theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany
- 2.APS Member History. search.amphilsoc.org.
- 3.Pientka-Hinz, Rosel. Lexicon Grammaticorum: A Bio-Bibliographical Companion to the History of Linguistics. Max Niemeyer Verlag. I: A–K. 365–366. 2009. 978-3-484-73068-7.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- Arnold, Bill T. A Centennial Review of Friedrich Delitzsch's 'Babel und Bibel' Lectures. Journal of Biblical Literature. 121. 3. 441–57. 2002. 10.2307/3268155.
- Arnold, Bill T. Babel und Bibel und Bias: How Anti-Semitism Distorted Friedrich Delitzsch's Scholarship. Bible Review. 18. 1. 32–40, 47. 2002.
- Arnold, Bill T. God's Word for Our World, Volume II: Theological and Cultural Studies in Honor of Simon John De Vries. T & T Clark International. 37–45. 2004.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Verifiedscholarly publication
Verifiedauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1180659872, Friedrich Delitzsch [gestorben].Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q72141: Friedrich DelitzschWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
1- Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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