Luther’s First German Old Testament

German Old Testament.
Das Allte Testament deutsch.
Wittenberg: Melchior Lotter, the Younger, for Lucas Cranach and Christian Döring, 1523–1524. (Prothro B-21/A)

Immediately after the highly successful publication of his German New Testament in 1522, Luther began to translate the Old Testament. Because his knowledge of Hebrew was not masterful, Luther relied on the advice of several Hebrew scholars, including the young Wittenberg reformer Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560), as well as the literal exegesis of the scriptures found in the Postillae of Nicholas of Lyra (ca. 1270–1349). This first edition of Luther’s Old Testament contains full-page woodcut illustrations by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection