Johann Andreas Eisenmenger und Sein Entdecktes Judenthum

Johann Andreas Eisenmenger und sein Entdecktes Judenthum, authored by Johanna Falkenhahn and published in 2024 by Kohlhammer Verlag, represents a modern scholarly investigation into the life and work of the 18th-century Orientalist Johann Andreas Eisenmenger. The book examines the historical impact and the polarizing reception of Eisenmenger’s 1703 polemical work, which attempted to provide an encyclopedic, albeit deeply biased and antisemitic, critique of Judaism. Falkenhahn’s work contextualizes Eisenmenger within the intellectual history of the early Enlightenment and the complexities of German-Jewish relations during that era.

Published as part of Kohlhammer’s academic catalogue, this volume serves as a critical academic study designed for historical and theological inquiry. It builds upon contemporary historiography by dissecting how Eisenmenger’s writings were shaped by his academic training and the theological prejudices of his time. The text is received as a significant contribution to the study of early modern anti-Judaism, providing a rigorous analysis of the source material while maintaining the critical distance required to navigate such sensitive and historically damaging primary texts.