Wolfgang Roth

Pastor,Canada (-1959)
Professor, Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur (1959-1967)
Professor, Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois (1967-1996)

Wolfgang Max Wilhelm Roth (W. M. W. Roth) (1 October 1930 – 24 November 2013) was a Pastor of the United Church of Canada and an Old Testament scholar with major contribution to the growth of Old Testament scholarship for more than half a century from 1959 through 2013. Roth was a scholar in the line of Gerhard von Rad acknowledging the influence of the master-specialist of Old Testament ever since his study days at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Roth's writings drew the attention of the world of Old Testament scholarship through his writings which began appearing in journals like Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vetus Testamentum, theological commentaries and other theological treatises.

Initial graduate studies were undertaken by Roth at the Universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Marburg. Roth acknowledges the inspiration of Gerhard von Rad, his Professor at Heidelberg.

Roth studied for postgraduate and doctoral degrees at Emmanuel College under the Old Testament Professor Robert Dobbie. During Roth's study days in 1953 at the college in Toronto, he happened to be a companion of A. B. Masilamani, the Indian lyric writer who was studying at the College in 1952. In their later years, both Roth and Masilamani happened to teach at seminaries in India affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University). While Roth began teaching from 1959 onwards at the Leonard Theological College, Jabalpur, Masilamani was already on the faculty of a seminary located further south at the Baptist Theological Seminary, Kakinada.