Berend Gemser

Berend Gemser (17 May 1890 – 15 November 1962) was a Dutch theologian, Old Testament scholar, Semiticist, Hebraist and minister. He served as professor of both Old Testament Studies and Semitic Languages at the University of Pretoria from 1926 until 1955 and subsequently as professor of Old Testament at the University of Groningen. He is regarded as a founder of the scientific study of the Old Testament and the languages and cultures of the ancient Near East in South Africa.

Gemser became internationally known for his work on biblical wisdom literature, particularly the Book of Proverbs, as well as his studies of Hebrew law, religious terminology and the relationship between the Old Testament and the cultures of ancient Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt and Sumer. His Afrikaans grammar of Biblical Hebrew and his publications on biblical translation contributed to the development of biblical scholarship in Afrikaans.

Although he had become closely integrated into Afrikaans academic and church life, Gemser increasingly criticised racial and nationalist interpretations of Christianity. He opposed attempts to subordinate university scholarship to nationalist or confessional ideology, warned against National Socialism, and in 1961 rejected the biblical and theological legitimation of apartheid.

Early life and education

Gemser was born on 17 May 1890 in Broek op Langedijk, North Holland. He was the son of Petrus Gemser, a minister, and Geertje Oosterman. His father died while Gemser was young, leaving the family in difficult financial circumstances. Gemser nevertheless continued his education and attended the gymnasium in Alkmaar.

He studied theology and Semitic languages at the University of Groningen. His teachers included the Old Testament scholar L. H. K. Bleeker and the Assyriologist Frans de Liagre Böhl. Gemser completed his theological examinations in 1917 and was admitted to the ministry of the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk.

His translations were collected in Nieu-Hebreeuse Kortverhale in 1933. He also published an introductory essay on modern Hebrew literature. These publications contributed to literary exchange between Hebrew and Afrikaans at a time when both languages were undergoing institutional and literary development.

Academic freedom and political theology

Gemser supported the development of Afrikaans as a university and scholarly language, and he participated actively in Afrikaans cultural and academic life. He nevertheless warned against treating national identity as an absolute religious value.

In the 1930s and 1940s he opposed efforts to define scholarship at Afrikaans universities according to a prescribed “Christian-national” philosophy. His interventions contributed to a University of Pretoria resolution defending academic freedom and the international character of scientific enquiry.

Later assessments have also emphasised his resistance to the ideological control of scholarship and his eventual rejection of biblical arguments for permanent racial separation. Together with Van Selms and Albert Geyser, he formed part of an early tradition of critical biblical scholarship at Pretoria that challenged the subordination of theology to Afrikaner nationalist politics.

Selected publications

(1924). De beteekenis der persoonsnamen voor onze kennis van het leven en denken der oude Babyloniërs en Assyriërs. Wageningen: H. Veenman & Zonen. (1929). De Spreuken van Salomo I. Groningen: J. B. Wolters. (1931). De Spreuken van Salomo II, Prediker, Hooglied. Groningen: J. B. Wolters. (1933). Nieu-Hebreeuse Kortverhale. Pretoria. (1937). Sprüche Salomos. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr. (1942). Die komende Christus: Oordenkings oor die Christusprofesieë van die Ou Testament. Pretoria: J. H. de Bussy. (1943). “Die Godsgetuienis van Amos.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 1: 9–21. (1945). “Die organiese eenheid van objektiewe Bybelondersoek.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 2: 49–63. (1945). “Beginsels van Bybelvertaling.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 2: 115–128. (1950). De Psalmen III. Groningen: J. B. Wolters. (1953). Hebreeuse Spraakkuns: Vormleer, sinsleer en oefeninge. Pretoria: J. L. van Schaik. (1953). “The Importance of the Motive Clause in Old Testament Law.” Supplements to Vetus Testamentum. 1: 50–66. (1955). “The rîb- or Controversy-Pattern in Hebrew Mentality.” Supplements to Vetus Testamentum. 3: 120–137. (1958). Vragen rondom de patriarchenreligie. Groningen: J. B. Wolters. (1958). Die Bybel met Verklarende Aantekeninge. Co-editor. Cape Town: Verenigde Protestantse Uitgewers. (1961). “‘Mabdiel’ of ‘mekabbeets’ (‘scheidingmaker’ of ‘bijeenbrenger’).” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 16 (4). (1961). “Een beschouwing over de kerk en het politieke apartheidsbeleid in Zuid-Afrika.” (1963). Sprüche Salomos. 2nd revised edition. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr. (1968). Adhuc Loquitur: Collected Essays of Dr. B. Gemser. Edited by A. van Selms and A. S. van der Woude. Leiden: Brill.