Klaus Koch

Klaus Koch (October 4, 1926 – March 28, 2019) was an Old Testament scholar.

Koch first studied in the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and later at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. He did his doctoral dissertation at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg under Gerhard von Rad.

Later, Koch became a Pastor in the Lutheran Church in Prießnitz. He began his teaching career as a professor at the University of Kiel. He is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and History of the Ancient near East Religions at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Koch has identified Martin Noth and Gerhard von Rad as the Fathers of Redaction Criticism in Old Testament Studies.

Koch is best known for his assertion that the Old Testament wisdom literature has no concept of divine retribution. In his 1983 article, "Is there a Doctrine of Retribution in the Old Testament?", Koch argued for a "deed-consequences" construct, in which human deeds have "automatic and inescapable consequences", meaning that Yahweh does not need to intervene to punish or reward. He died on March 28, 2019. Provided by Wikipedia