Hendrik Bosman

Emeritus Professor in Old Testament, Stellenbosch University.

Hendrik Bosman did his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, where he was awarded the Hons (Philosophy) in 1978 and a DD in Old Testament in 1983. During his academic career, he was initially (1979 to 1990) appointed as lecturer, senior lecturer, associate professor, and professor in Old Testament at UNISA. In 1991, he became a professor in Old Testament at Stellenbosch University. He was head of Old and New Testament from 1998 to 2011 and acting dean for the Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University from 2013 to October 2017.

Hendrik has authored numerous books and journal articles as well as contributed to make theological dictionaries and encyclopaedias. He has twice received the Andrea Murray – Desmond Tutu prize for theological publications. He served as co-editor of Scripture from 2000-2017.

Hendrik’s research interest has been in the field of Old Testament ethics and theology with special attention to the exodus as a narrative concerned with origin and migration and constitutive of religious identity. An additional perennial interest in theological hermeneutics has led to an ongoing reflection on how the interpretation of the Bible is influenced by different modes of theologising and anthropological presuppositions. In 2018, he formed part of a research group of twelve scholars at the Centre for Theological Inquiry (Princeton NJ, USA) concerned with issues related to “Religion and Migration”.

When not attempting to photograph birds, he usually reads topics related to 19th century British and German imperialism and sometimes finds solace in making wine.