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OAVergeefse vrijages. De benoembaarheid van top- en non-kandidaat Berend Gemser (1890-1962) op Nederlandse hoogleraarsposten
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: DNK: Documentatieblad voor de Nederlandse kerkgeschiedenis na 1800, Volume 48, Issue 103, dec. 2025, p. 124 - 148
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- 01 dec. 2025
Samenvatting
Berend Gemser (1890-1962) was a Semitist and Old Testament scholar of Dutch origin. In 1926 he started an academic career at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is considered the founder of Old Testament scholarship and the study of the languages of the Ancient Near East in South Africa. He trained generations of students in biblical studies according to the Ethical Orthodox tradition. For three decades he integrated in South African science and church life. In the meantime, he continued to maintain his network in the Netherlands. Universities here were regularly eager for his expertise. Four times he turned down an appointment. This article analyses his Dutch academic opportunities and shows why he stayed in South Africa. It was only after his retirement in Pretoria that he came to the Netherlands for ‘a late short work’, as he put it.