Bidspirit auction | Tenach. Basel, 1536.

Tenach. Basel, 1536. - Tenach. Basel, 1536. Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim – Münster-Sebastian edition, in a fine and elegant print, with original wooden binding covered in leather and closing clasps. Basel, 1536, printed by Johann Froben, with the printer’s emblem on the title page. 179: 1179,  [ 16] . 23 cm. Complete copy . Title page and first page in fair condition, no text missing. This copy belonged to Philipp Melanchthon, a German reformer, educator, spiritual leader, and the first systematic theologian of the Lutheran Reformation. He worked alongside Martin Luther in founding Lutheranism. Both harshly criticized the inflated mechanisms of the Catholic Church and condemned the rigid rituals of absolution, accompanied by the sale of indulgences, which were facilitated by the clergy. They believed this was manipulation imposed on believers and their consciences, and that such acts could not lead to salvation. Melanchthon distinguished between the demands of God as presented in the Old and New Testaments and the Lutheran Evangelical understanding that views the gospel as a free gift received by grace through faith. For forty years, he introduced innovative educational methods in many schools and institutionalized the reforms that took place in them. For this, he was called “The Teacher of Germany.” Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote in 1516 words of praise about Melanchthon: “What hopes are placed in this man, or more accurately, in this boy — so sharp-minded and visionary, possessing clear and pure language, a scholar and intellectual.”