Billerbeck, Paul
BILLERBECK, PAUL
Specialist in the theology of Judaism; b. Bad Schönfliess, Neumark, Province of Brandenburg, April 4, 1853;d. Frankfurt an der Oder, Dec. 23, 1932. After serving as pastor of the Evangelical Church successively in Zielensieg and Heinersdorf, Billerbeck lived in retirement at Frankfurt an der Oder from 1914 to 1932. His lifework, composed entirely by himself, is his Kommentar zum NT aus Talmud und Midrasch (4 v. Munich 1922–28; 2d ed. 1956 with 2 index v. by K. Adolph, 1956–61), a collection of everything that Jewish, particularly rabbinical, literature has to offer for an understanding of the New Testament, with a comprehensive grasp of all the material. With this contribution Billerbeck lastingly influenced and gave a new direction to New Testament studies throughout the world.
Bibliography: j. jeremias, Theologische Blätter 12 (1933) 33–36.
[j. schmid]