Julius Wellhausen

Born in 1844 in Hameln, Germany, Julius Wellhausen studied theology and became a professor of Old Testament studies. He is best known for developing and popularizing the documentary hypothesis, a way of understanding the first books of the Hebrew Bible as a compilation of distinct textual traditions rather than the work of a single author.

Wellhausen's 1878 book Prolegomena to the History of Israel had an enormous impact on biblical scholarship. In it, he connected literary analysis of the biblical text with the history of ancient Israelite religion, helping to shape the field known as historical-critical study of the Bible.

He did not limit himself to the Hebrew Bible. Wellhausen also wrote important studies on early Islamic history and on the histories of Israel and Judah. He died in 1918, but his ideas continued to influence generations of scholars, whether they agreed with him or argued against him.