KOPPE, JOHANN BENJAMIN, WM bOrn at Dant zig, Aug. 19, 1750. He received his early tion in the gymnasium of his native city, and distinguished himself there by his rapid progress ln Greek and Hebrew. During the two years 1769-71 he studied at Leipzig, and during the fol lowing two years at Gottingen. In the former university he was aided by Ernesti, and in the latter by Heyne, in the study of the Greek language. In 1774 he was appointed, at the recommendation of Heyne, to the chair of Grcek in the recently formed gymnasium of Mittau. In 1776 he was called to a chair of theology in Gottingen, to which were shortly afterwards added the offices of preacher to the university, and director of the seminary for preachers (Prediger-serninarium). In 1784 he was invited to Gotha, and to the high offices of super intendent-general, counsellor of the superior con sistory, and chief pastor. In r788 he was appointed preacher to the Court, and counsellor of the con sistory at Hanover. He died in his forty-first year, Feb. 12, 1791. Koppe is chiefly known by the edi tion of the N. T., which he projected under the title : Testamentum grerce per.petua annota tione illustration. The first volume, containing the epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, and Thessa lonians, was published in 1778, and was intended to exhibit the plan of the entire work. It contained tt corrected text, the more important various read ings, prolegomena, philological notes, and excursus on those passages and phrases which needed a more lengthened discussion. His purpose, as ex plained in the preface, was to supply the Biblical student with the same kind of assistance towards the determination of the grammatical sense of the writings of the N. T., as was provided for the clas sical student in the bettcr editions of the Greek and Roman authors. Accordingly, he abstained from
all doctrinal discussions, and laboured chiefly to illustrate the phraseology, to explain historical and archxological refcrences, and to exhibit the ordcr of the writer's thoughts. Koppe's early death pre vented the completion of his purpose. A second volume, containing the Epistle to the Romans, ap peared in 1783. This was intended to be the fourth volume, and the formcr the sixth of the entire work, which he purposed to complete in eight volumes. Since the death of Koppe new editions of these two volumes have been published, that on Galatians, Ephesians, and Thessalonians, in 1823, under the editorship of T. C. Tychsen, and that on the Romans in 182.1, by C. F. Am mon. In both cases the additional notes are care fully distinguished. Several other volumes have at different periods been contributed towards the com pletion of thc work by J. II. Heinrichs and D. J. Pott, those edited by the former containing the Acts of the Apostles, Philippians, Colossians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, and the Apocalypse ; those published by the latter con taining Corinthians, chap. i.-x., and the Catholic Epistles. Koppe was also the author of a transla tion, with notes, of Lowth on Isaiah : D. Robeit Lowth's yesais neu iibersetzt ; nebst einer Ehileitung und kritischen, philologischen und erleiuternden An merkungen. flies dem .Engl. mit Zusiitzen tend Annzerkiingen, Leipzig 1779-9o, 3 vols. 8vo ; and of several dissertations and programmata, most of which are contained in tfie Sylloge Commentt. Meal. of Pott and Ruperti.—S. N.