Wolfgang Roth

Wolfgang Max Wilhelm Roth (W. M. W. Roth) (1 October 1930 – 24 November 2013) was a Pastor[3] of the United Church of Canada and an Old Testament scholar with major contribution to the growth of Old Testament scholarship for more than half a century from 1959 through 2013. Roth was a scholar in the line of Gerhard von Rad acknowledging the influence[4] of the master-specialist of Old Testament ever since his study days at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Roth's writings drew the attention of the world of Old Testament scholarship through his writings which began appearing in journals like Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vetus Testamentum, theological commentaries and other theological treatises.

Wolfgang Max Wilhelm Roth
(W. M. W. Roth)
Born(1930-10-01)October 1, 1930[1]
Darmstadt,[1] Hesse, Germany
Died(2013-11-24)November 24, 2013[2]
Evanston, Illinois,[1] United States of America
EducationVictoria University, Toronto, Universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Marburg[1]
Parent(s)Kaethe (nee Fiebig) and Ludwig Wilhelm Roth[1]
ChurchMethodist/United Church of Canada
Congregations served
Canada
Offices held
Pastor,[2] Canada (-1959)
Professor, Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur (1959-1967[1])

Professor, Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois (1967-1996[1])

Professor Emeritus, Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois(1996-2013[1])
TitleReverend Doctor

Studies

Germany

Initial graduate studies were undertaken by Roth at the Universities[1] of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Marburg.[1] Roth acknowledges the inspiration of Gerhard von Rad,[4] his Professor at Heidelberg.

Canada

Roth studied for postgraduate and doctoral degrees at Emmanuel College under the Old Testament Professor Robert Dobbie.[4] During Roth's study days in 1953[5] at the college in Toronto, he happened to be a companion of A. B. Masilamani, the Indian lyric writer who was studying at the College in 1952.[6] In their later years, both Roth and Masilamani happened to teach at seminaries in India affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). While Roth began teaching from 1959 onwards at the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, Masilamani was already on the faculty of a seminary located further south at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada.

Professorship

Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, India

From 1959 to 1967 Roth taught Old Testament at the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, which is affiliated with the Senate of Serampore College (University).

Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois

In 1967, Roth moved to the Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois where he began teaching Old Testament. He was the Frederick Carl Eiselen Professor of Old Testament Interpretation from 1981 until his retirement in 1996. The Seminary continued to keep Roth under its teaching faculty and designated him as Professor Emeritus from 1996 onwards. Roth continued to teach at the Seminary until his death in 2013.

Writings

Books authored
  • 1965, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament: A Form-Critical Study[4]
  • 1968, Old Testament Theology.[7]
  • 1988, Hebrew Gospel: Cracking the Code of Mark[8]
  • 1988, Isaiah[9]

Books co-authored/edited
  • 1966 (with H. Burkle), Indian Voices in Today's Theological Debate (republished in 1972)[10]
  • 1967 (with George Johnston), The Church in the Modern World[11]
  • 1974 (with George W. Hoyer), Pentecost 2[12]
  • 1978 (with Rosemary Radford Ruether), The Liberating Bond: Covenants-Biblical and Contemporary[13]

Articles written
  • 1960, NBL,[14]
  • 1962, The Numerical Sequence x/x+l in the Old Testament[15]
  • 1963, Love in the New Testament,[16]
  • 1963 (in German), Hinterhalt und Scheinflucht[17]
  • 1963, The Historical-Critical Method and Its Function in Biblical Interpretation[18]
  • 1964, The Anonymity of the Suffering Servant[19]
  • 1964, An Approach to New Testament Christology[20]
  • 1968, A Study of the Classical Hebrew Verb SKL[21]
  • 1972, The Wooing of Rebekah: a tradition-critical study of Genesis 24[22]
  • 1972, Thought Patterns - Fetters or Opportunities?[23]
  • 1975, For Life, He Appeals to Death (Wis 13:18). A Study of Old Testament Idol Parodies[24]
  • 1975, What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament[25]
  • 1976, The Deuteronomic Rest Theology: A Redaction-Critical Study,[26]
  • 1977, You are the Man! Structural Interaction in 2 Samuel 10–12[27]
  • 1977, The Language of Peace: Shalom and Eirene[28]
  • 1979, The Text is the Medium: An Interpretation of the Jacob Stories in Genesis[29]
  • 1980, On the Gnomic-Discursive Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach,[30]
  • 1981 (in German), Deuteronomistisches Geschichtswerk/Deuteronomistische Schule[31]
  • 1982, The Story of the Prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 22) in Historical-Critical Interpretation[32]
  • 1983, The Secret of the Kingdom[33]
  • 1992, Mark, John and their Old Testament Codes[34]
  • 1999, Rhetorical Criticism, Hebrew Bible[35]

References
Notes
  1. Wolfgang Roth in Chicago Tribune Obituaries, January 10-12, 2014
  2. Two Prominent Figures in the Seminary's History, Roth and Clymer, Now Deceased, News, November 26, 2013. Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary.
  3. 1964 Year Book of the United Church of Canada, Volumes 1-2, United Church of Canada, 1964, p. 198.
  4. W. M. W. Roth, Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament: A Form-Critical Study, E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1965.
  5. The Bulletin - Committee on Archives of the United Church of Canada, issues 5-13, United Church of Canada Committee on Archives, United Church Publishing House, 1952, p. 52. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PTdKAAAAMAAJ&q=wolfgang+roth+emmanuel+college&dq=wolfgang+roth+emmanuel+college
  6. A. B. Masilamani, Hindu Anticipations of the Christian Gospel, Emmanuel College, Canada, 1953.
  7. W. M. W. Roth, Old Testament Theology, Published by the Christian Students Library of the Senate of Serampore College (University) and printed at the Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1968.
  8. W. M. W. Roth, Hebrew Gospel: Cracking the Code of Mark, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, 2009. Previously published in 1988 through Meyer Stone in 1988.
  9. W. M. W. Roth, Isaiah, John Knox Press, Louisville, 1988
  10. W. M. W. Roth, H. Burkle, (Edited), Indian Voices in Today's Theological Debate, Lucknow Publishing House/ISPCK/CLS, Lucknow/New Delhi/Madras, 1972. Cited in Priscilla Pope-Levison, John R. Levison, Jesus in Global Contexts, Westminister/John Knox Press, Louisville, 1992, First Edition, pp. 83 and 204.
  11. W. M. W. Roth, George Johnston (Edited), The Church in the Modern World, Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1967, pp. 1-8. Cited in Annual Report - McGill UniversityMcGill-Queen's University Press, 1966, p. 130.
  12. W. M. W. Roth, George W. Hoyer, Pentecost 2, Fortress Press, Minnesota, 1974.
  13. W. M. W. Roth, Rosemary Radford Ruether, The Liberating Bond: Covenants-Biblical and Contemporary, Friendship Press, New York, 1978.
  14. W. M. W. Roth, NBL, Vetus Testamentum, volume 10, issue 1, 1960, pp. 394-409.
  15. W. M. W. Roth, The Numerical Sequence x/x+l in the Old Testament, Vetus Testamentum, volume 12 (July, 1962), p. 304. Cited in John J. Davis, The Rhetorical Use of Numbers in the Old Testament, Grace Journal 8.2 (Spring 1967), p. 47.
  16. W. M. W. Roth, Love in the New Testament, Religion and Society, volume 10, CISRS, 1963, p. 7.
  17. W. M. W. Roth, Hinterhalt und Scheinflucht, ZAW 75, 1963, pp. 296-303. Cited in Sa-Moon Kang, Divine War in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 1989, pp. 149 and 232.
  18. W. M. W. Roth, The Historical-Critical Method and Its Function in Biblical Interpretation, Indian Journal of Theology, 12.2 (April–June 1963), pp. 51-58.
  19. W. M. W. Roth, The Anonymity of the Suffering Servant, Journal of Biblical Literature, The Society of Biblical Literature. 83.2, (June 1964) pp. 171–179. Cited in 2011 MMUF Undergraduate Journal.
  20. W. M. W. Roth, An Approach to New Testament Christology, Religion and Society, volume 11, 1964, p. 64.
  21. W. M. W. Roth, A Study of the Classical Hebrew Verb SKL, Vetus Testamentum, volume 18 (1968), pp. 69-78. Cited in Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, Heinz-Josef Fabry (Edited), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, volume 10, p. 255.
  22. W. M. W. Roth, The Wooing of Rebekah, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 34, 1972, pp. 177-187. Cited in Biblische Zeitschrift Neue Folge, volumes 17-18, 1973, p. 6.
  23. W. M. W. Roth, Thought Patterns - Fetters or Opportunities? in W. M. W. Roth, H. Burkle, (Edited), Indian Voices in Today's Theological Debate, Lucknow Publishing House/ISPCK/CLS, Lucknow/New Delhi/Madras, 1972. pp. 32-46. Cited in Siga Arles, Theological education for the mission of the church in India, 1947-1987: theological education in relation to the identification of the task of mission and the development of ministries in India, 1947-1987, with special reference to the Church of South India, Peter Lang, Frankfurt, 1990, pp. 539 and 543.
  24. W. M. W. Roth, For Life, He Appeals to Death (Wis 13:18). A Study of Old Testament Idol Parodies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 37, 1975, pp. 21-47. Cited in Odil Hannes Steck, Reinhard Gregor Kratz, Ingo Kottsieper (Edited), Das Buch Baruch, Der Brief des Jeremia, Zusätze zu Ester und Daniel, Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1998, p. 71.
  25. W. M. W. Roth, What of Sodom and Gomorrah? Homosexual Acts in the Old Testament, Explor 1, 1975, pp. 7-14. Cited in Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Toward Old Testament Ethics, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1983, p. 196.
  26. W. M. W. Roth, The Deuteronomic Rest Theology: A Redaction-Critical Study, BR 21, 1976, pp. 5-14. Cited in Jeremy M. Hutton, The Transjordanian Palimpsest: The Overwritten Texts of Personal Exile and Transformation in the Deuteronomistic History, De Gruyter, Berlin, 2009, p. 409.
  27. W. M. W. Roth, You are the Man! Structural Interaction in 2 Samuel 10–12, Semeia 8: Literary Critical Studies of Biblical Texts, 1977.
  28. W. M. W. Roth, The Language of Peace: Shalom and Eirene, Explor 3, 1977, p. 71. Cited in James Brady, The Role of Miracle-Working as Authentication of Jesus as "The Son of God" in Churchman, date unkknown, p. 38. [biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/churchman/103-01_032.pdf]
  29. W. M. W. Roth, The Text is the Medium: An Interpretation of the Jacob Stories in Genesis, Cited in Bernhard Stade, Karl Marti (Edited), Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, volume 92, W. de Gruyter, 1980, p. 174.
  30. W. M. W. Roth, On the Gnomic-Discursive Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach, Semeia 17, 1980, pp. 59-79. Cited in James L. Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, Third Edition, Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville, 2010, p. 179.
  31. W. M. W. Roth, Deuteronomistisches Geschichtswerk/Deuteronomistische Schule, TRE 8, 1981, pp. 543-552. Cited in Jeremy M. Hutton, The Transjordanian Palimpsest: The Overwritten Texts of Personal Exile and Transformation in the Deuteronomistic History, De Gruyter, Berlin, 2009, p. 409.
  32. W. M. W. Roth, The Story of the Prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 22) in Historical-Critical Interpretation in R. Polzin and E. Rothman (Edited), The Biblical Mosaic: Changing Perspectives, Fortress/Scholars Press, Philadelphia/Chico, 1982, pp. 105-137. Cited in Burke O. Long, 1 Kings: With an Introduction to Historical Literature, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, 1984, p. 240.
  33. W. M. W. Roth, The Secret of the Kingdom, Christian Century, March 2, 1983. Cited in John Dart, Decoding Mark, Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 2003, p. 33.
  34. W. M. W. Roth, Mark, John and their Old Testament Codes in Adelbert Denaux (Edited), John and the Synoptics, Leuven University Press, Louvain, 1992, pp. 458-465. Cited in Kelli S. O'Brien, The Use of Scripture in the Markan Passion Narrative, T&T Clark International, London, 2010, p. 15.
  35. W. M. W. Roth, Rhetorical Criticism, Hebrew Bible in J. H. Hayes (Edited), Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, volume 2, Abingdon, Nashville, 1999, pp. 396-399. Cited in University of Pretoria Bibliography. , p. 278.
Further reading
  • John Dart (2003). Decoding Mark. Trinity Press International, Harrisburg. ISBN 1-56338-374-8.
  • Roger Norman Whybray (1995). The Book of the Proverbs: A Survey of Modern Study. E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 9004103740.
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