Le Roux, J.H. (Jurie Hendrik), 1944-2018-07-202018-07-202017Le Roux, J.H. 2017, 'Historical understanding has a history', Scriptura, vol. 116, no. 2, pp. 108-119.0254-1807 (print)2305-445X (online)10.7833/116-2-1324http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65800This article is dedicated to Hendrik Bosman and to a certain extent it is the outcome of our many discussions about the historical understanding of the Old Testament. In this article it is argued that such an understanding comes a long way and that since the times of the Early Church scholars desired to understand texts within a historical context, but they lacked the knowhow. Only since the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, profound thinking about history began to shape Old Testament scholarship decisively. This is illustrated with reference to amongst others Gabler, Wellhausen and Gunkel.enUniversity of Stellenbosch, Department of Old and New TestamentExegesisHistoryHistorical understandingReligionHistory of religionsHistoriographyInterpretation of historyHistory of knowledgeTheology and historyTheology articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationTheology articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsArticle