Abstract
Renan's opening lecture caused a scandal. He spoke of the man Jesus, provoking the ire of ecclesiastical circles. But Renan also endeavored to bring the results of critical exegesis of the Hebrew Bible, as practiced in German-speaking countries, to French academia. The presentation will outline Renan's main contributions to a scientific analysis of the Bible, an analysis which was not, however, free from a few ideological preconceptions.
