Name

Johann David Michaelis

Original name

Main activity

Scholar

Secondary activity

Title

Prof.

Name variations

"

Education place

Halle

Education institution

University of Halle

Activity place

Göttingen

Activity institution

University of Göttingen

Activity start date

1746

Activity end date

1791

Place of birth

Halle

Date of birth

1717

Place of death

Halle

Date of death

1791

Bibliographical references

Christoph Bultmann in NDB;Anna-Ruth Löwenbrück, “Johann David Michaelis’ Verdienst um die philologisch-historische Bibelkritik”, in: Henning Graf Reventlow, Walter Sparn and John Woodbridge (eds.), Historische Kritik und biblischer Kanon in der deutschen Aufklärung (Wiesbaden, 1988), pp. 157-70; Michael C. Legaspi, The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies (Oxford, 2010).

Descriptive card

The son and student of the Halle orientalists and biblical scholar, Christian Benedict Michaelis, Johann David Michaelis was to move beyond the Halle pietist milieu of his early years. He came under the influence of Albert Schultens in Leiden and of Robert Lowth during his studies in England. In 1746 Michaelis was appointed professor at the recently founded university in Göttingen, where he would teach for the rest of his life and dominate biblical studies in Germany in the second half of the eighteenth century. Michaelis is best known today for his monumental study of Mosaic Law (Mosaisches Recht, 1770-5) and for organizing an ill-fated scientific expedition to the Middle East -- the sole survivor of which, Carsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) published an invaluable account of his travels.

Entry author

Asaph Ben Tov