Rolf Rendtorff

Rolf Rendtorff
Black-and-white image of Rolf Rendtorff around the age of 65, included at the front of the 1990 Festschrift published in his honor.
Rendtorff around the age of 65
Born(1925-05-10)10 May 1925
Died1 April 2014(2014-04-01) (aged 88)
NationalityGerman
OccupationProfessor of Old Testament
Years active1958–1990
ParentHeinrich Rendtorff (Father)
AwardsBuber-Rosenzweig-Medal (2002)
Academic background
Alma mater
Thesis"Die Gesetze in der Priesterschrift: Eine gattungsgeschichtliche Untersuchung" ("The Laws in the Priestly Scripture: A Genre-historical Investigation") (1950)
Doctoral advisorGerhard von Rad
InfluencesGerhard von Rad, Walther Zimmerli, Claus Westermann, Brevard Childs
Academic work
DisciplineBiblical Studies
Sub-discipline
Institutions
Notable worksThe Problem of the Process of Transmission in the Pentateuch (English: 1990; German: 1977)
Canon and Theology: Overtures to an Old Testament Theology (English: 1993; German: 1991)
The Canonical Hebrew Bible: A Theology of the Old Testament (English: 2005; German: 1999–2001)

Rolf Rendtorff (1925–2014) was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg from 1963 to 1990. He was one of the more significant German Old Testament scholars from the latter half of the twentieth-century and published extensively on various topics related to the Hebrew Bible. Rendtorff was especially notable for his contributions to the question of the origins of the Pentateuch, his adoption of a "canonical approach" to Old Testament theology, and his concerns over the relationship between Jews and Christians.