Keil and Delitzsch Online

For a downloadable version of this post, go here.

I can picture it in my mind’s eye. The marbled hall is overflowing with students intent on hearing a master expound scripture. In the mingling of young men from a hundred lands, the murmur of a Pentecost of languages fills the air. In full view a full-bearded rabbi-like figure is seated, and begins to give pointers to those gathered at his feet. “For the Old Testament,” he says, “you can do no better than purchase a copy of Keil and Delitzsch. I recommend it highly.”

 The “rabbi” who so spake was Luis Alonso Schökel, Society of Jesus, one of the great scripture scholars of the last century. The location: the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome; the year, 1982. At the time, I was the only non-Roman Catholic studying at the PIB.

 It was striking to hear Alonso invite his students to purchase the classic conservative Protestant commentary on the Old Testament, Keil and Delitzsch. The 10 volume Eerdmans 1980 English edition had just become available. For a bibliography of Alonso’s own voluminous output, much of which is available only in Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, go here.

 Keil and Delitzsch can be purchased in hard copy at a reasonable price through CBD. Together with a larger suite of resources, it is searchable, and hence more valuable, in the electronic edition of the Scholar’s Library of Logos Bible software.

 The German original is also available online, a huge plus for the serious student (Hat tip: Beat Weber). The pdfs alone are usable.The fourth edition is reproduced. This means that the fifth edition of the commentary on the Psalms, unfortunately, is not reproduced. It is always wise to read an author in the language she or he wrote in (except for Kant, as philosophers know). Nuances of various kinds carry over poorly from one language to another.

 The canonical version of Keil and Delitzsch on Isaiah in English is a translation of the third German edition, not the fourth. The reason why the fourth German edition does not form the base text of the English is that Franz Delitzsch crossed a red line of many admirers when he embraced the possibility of multiple authorship of the book of Isaiah in the last edition of his commentary thereto.

 Times have changed a little since. Nowadays most everyone wants to read fine scholarship, whether or not it contains unacceptable views. It is still possible, of course, for someone to lose their job or never be hired for espousing the position Delitzsch took in the 1889 edition of his Isaiah commentary.

 The true greatness of Delitzsch the commentator is rarely appreciated. Delitzsch himself thought that his changed views on authorship were of little significance in the larger scheme of things. In this he did not err.

 Delitzsch carefully distinguished two senses an Old Testament text may have for those who read the Hebrew Bible in light of the life, death, and resurrection of the one they know as Lord and Savior: the historical sense, and its christological sense. He held to both with unwavering conviction. In Delitzsch's exegesis, both contribute to the projection and protection of a specifically Christian understanding of God, self, and the world.

 Alonso Schökel, whose commentary on the Psalms co-authored with Cecilia Carniti is invaluable for its sustained attention to the historical and Christian senses of the text, followed in the path of Delitzsch.

 A translation of the fourth edition of Delitzsch’s Isaiah commentary did appear, with a preface by Samuel Rolles Driver. But as Brevard Childs points out, Driver, who valued Delitzsch primarily for the openness he showed for historical-critical positions Driver espoused, misunderestimated Delitzsch.

 A century later, a Spanish Jesuit did not.

 Keil and Delitzsch Bibliography

 German

 Der Prophet Jesaja, übersetzt und erklärt von D. Moritz Drechsler. Theil 2, Hälfte 2: Capitel Achtundzwanzig bis Neununddreissig aus dem Nachlasse Drechlers hrsg. von Franz Delitzsch und August Hahn. Berlin: Schlawitz, 1854. Theil 3: Die Capitel vierzig bis sechsundsechzig enthaltend nach dem Tode Drechslers fortgeführt und vollendet von Franz Delitzsch und August Hahn. Berlin: Schlawitz, 1857.

 Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Jesaia, von Franz Delitzsch. 1st ed., BCAT 3/1; Leipzig: Dorffling & Franke, 1867.

 Biblischer Commentar über das alte Testament, herausgegeben von Carl Friedrich Keil und Franz Delitzsch. [1. Theil: Biblischer Commentar über die Bücher Mose’s. Bd. 1., Genesis und Exodus, 3. verb. Aufl., 1878 (1861) (partial repr. Neuer Kommentar über die Genesis [introd. Siegfried Wagner; TVG Kommentar; Giessen: Brunnen Verlag, 1999]); Bd. 2., Leviticus, Numeri und Deuteronomium, 2., verb. Aufl., 1870 (1862). 2. Theil: Prophetische Geschichtsbücher. Bd. 1., Josua, Richter, und Ruth, 2., verb. Aufl., 1874; Bd. 2., Die Bücher Samuels, 2., verb. Aufl., 1875; Bd. 3., Die Bücher der Könige, 2., verb. u. verm. Aufl.. 1876 (1865). Theil 3: Prophetische Bücher. Bd. 1., Commentar über das Buch Jesaia, 4., durchaus neubearb. Aufl., 1889 (1867); Bd. 2., Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Jeremia und die Klagelieder, 1872; Bd. 3., Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Ezechiel, 2., verb. u. teilw. umgearb. Aufl.. 1882 (1868); Bd. 4., Biblischer Commentar über die zwölf kleinen Propheten, 3., nachgeb. Aufl., 1888 (1866); Bd. 5., Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Daniel, 1869 (erschienen 1873). Theil 4: Poetische Bücher. Bd. 1., Biblischer Commentar über die Psalmen, 5. überarb. Aufl. nach des Verf. hinterlassenem Druckms. hrsg. von Friedrich Delitzsch, 1894 (1867); repr. Die Psalmen (TVG Kommentar; Giessen: Brunnen Verlag, ⁷2005); Bd. 2., Das Buch Iob, 2., durchaus umgearb. Aufl., 1876 (1864); Bd. 3., Das salomonische Spruchbuch, 1873 (repr. Giessen: Brunnen, 1985); Bd. 4., Hoheslied und Koheleth, 1875; Bd. 5., Biblischer Commentar über die nachexilischen Geschichtsbücher: Chronik, Esra, Nehemia und Esther, 1870.] Leipzig: Dorffling & Franke, 1869-1894 (1861-75).

 Supplement zu dem biblischen Commentare über das Alte Testament. Commentar über die Bücher der Makkabäer [1-4 Maccabees], von C. F. Keil. Leipzig: Dorffling & Franke, 1875.

 Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Jesaia, von Franz Delitzsch. 3d ed., BCAT 3/1; Leipzig: Dorffling & Franke, 1879. Repr. with introd. by Gerhard Maier,Giessen: Brunnen Verlag, 1984

 Commentar über das Buch Jesaia / von Franz Delitzsch. 4. durchaus neubearb. Aufl. Leipzig: Dörffling & Franke, 1889.

 
English

 Biblical commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah / by Franz Delitzsch. Translated from the German by James Martin.Clark's Foreign Theological Library 14-15. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1867.

 Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament ... By C. F. Keil ... and F. Delitzsch ... Translated from the German. [Those on Genesis-Kings, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Minor Prophets, translated by J. Martin; on Chronicles, by A. Harper, on Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, by >S. Taylor<; on Job, Psalms, by F. Bolton; on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Daniel, by M. G. Easton; and on Jeremiah, by D. Patrick.] Clark’s Foreign Theological Library; ser. 4. vols. 2, 3, 6, 8-11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 29-31, 33-35, 38, 40, 43, 49, 50, 54. Edinburgh:T & T Clark:, 1864-77. Repr. 1886-1891. Reprint of 1886-1891 ed.,Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996. The later German editions of many components of this series were not translated. Keil’s Supplement (1-4 Maccabees) was never translated.

 Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah / by Franz Delitzsch. 2 vols.. Translated by James Kennedy, William Hastie, Thomas A. Bickerton, and John S. Banks. Introduction by Samuel Rolles Driver. Clark’s Foreign Theological Library NS 42, 44; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1890.

 Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah / by Franz Delitzsch. Authorised translation from the third edition of Biblischer Commentar über den Propheten Jesaia, by James Denney. The Foreign Biblical Library. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1891.

 
Additional Bibliography

 Luis Alonso Schökel and Cecilia Carniti, Salmos (2 vols.; Estella: Verbo Divino, 1992-93; It. tr. I salmi [tr. and ed. Antonio Nepi; 2 vols.; ComBib, Rome: Borla, 1991-93]; Port. tr. Salmos [tr. João Rezende Costa; 2 vols.; São Paulo: Paulus, 1996-1998]).

 Brevard Childs, “Franz Delitzsch (1813-90),” in The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004) 272-77.

 Siegfried Wagner, Franz Delitzsch: Leben und Werk (TVG Monografien; Giessen: Brunnen Verlag, 1991 [1978]).

Comments

[D. P.]

I love my Keil & Delitzsch commentary, given to me second-hand as a gift from an older lady in a former church. It's gratifying to know there are people in academia like Schökel who appreciate it as well. Thanks for this post!

[tm]

Logos is a great program, but I also recommend e-Sword, if only because you can download and use a free copy of K&D. You can get your own copy at http://www.e-sword.net/

[David Reimer]

Just to add this resource: a click on this link should get you most of the K&D commentaries in English online. Click through to your commentary of choice and then click the “Flip book” link on the middle-left of the screen. On the next screen, click either on the “book” itself in the direction you want to turn the “pages”, or use the left-right arrows on the right side of the screen. All these books can be searched, btw. Very, very useful. You can also download hi-res PDFs.

There are a number of other valuable resources for biblical studies there. Worth exploring!

[John Hobbins]

Thanks, David. That's a helpful link. I tested it and it worked fine the second time. The images that I viewed were crisp.

[learnfrenchwiththebible]

Keil & Delitzsch is also available for Accordance.
http://www.accordancebible.com/modules/details.php?ID=161
or
http://tinyurl.com/2lllqw

[Frank]

I love the way that the K&D commentaries constantly refer to the Hebrew text and use a nice-looking font. Same thing with, e.g., Perowne on the Psalms. Why don't the much newer books do the same thing? With most of them, you get tranliterations or a terrible looking font, ala Word Biblical Commentaries.

[John Hobbins]

Frank,

It is obvious, I think, that a new K&D is a desideratum, written on the premise that its readers take their biblical languages seriously, and read in them daily.

[Hebrew Scholar]

Even though the Keil and Delitzsch commentary is very old now, it is still a gem and is well worth reading for their often insightful and helpful comments on the Hebrew text. Delitzsch knew Hebrew very well, because he also translated the New Testament into Hebrew around 1880. The Delitzsch Hebrew New Testament is still used today, and still flows extremely well when you know Modern Hebrew.