Sigmund Mowinckel
Sigmund Olaf Plytt Mowinckel (4 August 1884 – 4 June 1965) was a Norwegian professor, theologian and biblical scholar. He was noted for his research into the practice of religious worship in ancient Israel. Life. Mowinckel was born at Kjerringøy in 1884 and was educated at the University of Oslo (1908; Th.D. 1916). His early research interests was the study of the Old Testament, and Assyriology. In the years 1911-13 he made study trips to Copenhagen, Marburg and Giessen. At Giessen he came into contact with Hermann Gunkel and was inspired by Gunkels understanding of the Old  Testament as literature, as well as his traditio-historical method. In 1916 he published his doctoral thesis on the prophet Nehemiah, and a companion work on the prophet Ezra. In the years 1921-24 he published "Psalmenstudien", maybe his most influential work. As an Old Testament scholar he was particularly interested in the Psalms and the ancient cult of Israel. According to Clements "Mowinckel continually developed and revised his views, notably on Israelite kingship and Psalmody". In 1956 he published "He That Cometh: The Messiah Concept in the Old Testament and Later Judaism". For most of his professional life Mowinckel  was connected to the University of Oslo and continued to lecture there as an emeritus in the 1960's. Among his students we find the norwegian biblical scholar Arvid Kapelrud. His last book in english, "Religion and Cult", was published in 1981. Academic work and theories. From the 1920s, Mowinckel headed a school of thought concerning the Book of Psalms which sometimes clashed with the Form criticism conclusions of Hermann Gunkel and those who followed in Gunkel's footsteps. In broad terms, Gunkel strongly advocated a view of the Psalms which focused on the two notable names for God occurring  therein: "Yahweh" (JHWH sometimes called tetragrammaton) and "Elohim". The schools of Psalm writing springing therefrom were termed Yahwist and Elohist. Mowinckel's approach to the Psalms differed quite a bit from Gunkel's. Mowinckel explained the Psalms as wholly cultic, both in origin and in intention. He attempted to relate more than 40 psalms to a hypothetical New Year autumn festival. In addition to his work on Psalms, his major monograph on the Old Testament roots of Messianism is of significance in scholarship until this day. Published works (early editions). NOTE [*]: SNVAO signifies the Norwegian publisher/publications Skrifter utgitt av  Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo, II. Hist.-Filos. Klasse NOTE [**] ANVAO signifies the Norwegian publisher/publications Avhandliger utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo. II. Hist. Filos. Klasse.