Adolf Bernhard Christoph Hilgenfeld (2 June 1823 – 12 January 1907) was a German Protestant theologian.

He was born at Stappenbeck near Salzwedel in the Province of Saxony.

Fond of emphasizing his independence of Ferdinand Christian Baur, he still, in all important points, followed in the footsteps of his master; his method, which he is wont to contrast as Literarkritik with Baur's Tendenzkritik, "is nevertheless essentially the same as Baur's.

"[1][2] On the whole, however, he modified the positions of the founder of the Tübingen school, going beyond him only in his investigations into the Fourth Gospel.

In 1858 he became editor of the Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie.