Background
He was the son of a wealthy Jewish banker, a friend of the Mendelssohn family.
theologian university professor
He was the son of a wealthy Jewish banker, a friend of the Mendelssohn family.
In 1837 he received his diploma as Lutheran minister, and in 1838 was admitted as privatdozent to the theological faculty of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1841 he was elected professor of theology at the University of Dorpat. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity "honoris causa" from the Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1843.