Johann Gustav Stickel

Johann Gustav Stickel (7 July 1805 – 21 January 1896) was a German theologian, orientalist and numismatist.

Stickel was born in Eisenach in 1805. He went to school in Buttelstedt and in Weimar. In his youth he demonstrated a gift for the Hebrew language. Since 1822 Johann Gustav Stickel studied rationalist Protestant theology of enlightenment which included at that time Oriental languages like Syriac and Arabic at Jena University. His teachers were Andreas Gottlieb Hoffmann (1796–1864), who is known for his Hebrew and Syriac studies, and Johann Traugott Leberecht Danz (1769–1851). In 1826, Stickel's first publication earned him a fame as someone who did exegesis with "precise grammatical-historical interpretation of the Hebrew text". He was much influenced by Johann Gottfried Herder. From 1827 to 1896, Stickel taught in Jena. In 1827 he presented his habilitation on the prophet Habakuk to the minister of state in Weimar responsible for the University, at that time Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Weimar was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

In the winter term 1828–29, Stickel had the opportunity to continue his studies at the school for Oriental studies in Paris, the École speciale des langues orientales, with the financial support of the ducal house and Goethe's recommendation. Stickel's most influential teacher in Paris was Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, but he also studied Sanskrit with Antoine Leonard de Chézy (1773–1832) and Chinese with Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788–1832). Between 1827 and 1832, Stickel remained a frequent visitor in the house of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar.

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