On the Term ⟫Historical-Critical⟪

Although the meaning and validity of >> historical-critical << biblical studies are widely debated, the original use and meaning of this term has hardly attracted any attention. In reference to the Hebrew Bible, it originated as a programmatic term most likely with Georg Lorenz Bauer in 1806; it was later popularized by de Wette's Introduction of 1817. Although it is now used primarily in reference to biblical studies, it was widely used in Latin and German in a variety of disciplines beginning in the seventeenth century.