German Bible exegete; born Oct. 20, 1802, at Fröndenberg, Westphalia; died at Berlin May 28, 1869; studied theology and Oriental languages at the University of Bonn.
He was the author of: "Christologie des Alten Testaments," Berlin, 1829-35 (2d ed., 1854-58; English translation by Keith, 1835-39); "Beiträge zur Einleitung ins Alte Testament," ib. 1831-39 (English translation, Edinburgh, 1847-48); "Die Bücher Mosis und Egypten," ib. 1841; commentaries on the Psalms (1847), Canticles (1853), and Ecclesiastes (1859). In the last-named he gives up the theory of the Solomonic authorship of Ḳohelet, as he already had done in the article "Ecclesiastes" in Kitto's "Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature" (1845). These three commentaries have been translated into English. In 1867-68 appeared his commentary on Ezekiel. He wrote also a special work on the relations of the Jews to the Christian Church, "Die Juden und die Christliche Kirche," Berlin, 1857. After his death were published "Geschichte des Reiches Gottes Unter dem Alten Bunde" (2 vols., 1869-71; also translated into English), and a commentary on Job (1870-75).
In all his works Hengstenberg was a firm advocate of the traditional Christian views of the Old Testament and protested strenuously against the higher criticism of his day.