I just received news that Dr. Martin Hengel, Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism at the University of Tübingen, passed away on July 2, 2009. He was 82.
I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Hengel in July 2005. I had traveled to Tübingen for a meeting of the IBR Jesus Group, and Dr. Darrell Bock arranged for us to have a dinner meeting with him and his wife in their home. What struck me most about him was his graciousness and his scholarly acumen. I had recently been reading in Josephus' book, Jewish War, and I had come across a description of an Essene who prophesied about the death of Antigonus. I took the opportunity to ask Dr. Hengel about this passage, and he responded with a miniature lecture on the Essenes and their prophetic ability!
Dr. Hengel was a tremendous scholar whose research was well supported and documented, whose conclusions were well thought and always sound, and who had a strong conservative bent. If you are studying something and he has written on it, check his work first! I hope that I can emulate his qualities as I continue in my work.
Dr. Michael Burer is Assistant Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the assistant project director for the NET Bible and has contributed various studies to the bible.org site. His first book - A New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, co-authored with Jeff Miller - was published Fall of 2008. 