[6] Along with German biblical scholar Martin Noth, Gerhard von Rad applied form criticism, originated by Hermann Gunkel, to the documentary hypothesis.

[9] Disturbed by this, von Rad turned to the study of the Old Testament and gradually started to bring back its message.

On their gravestone is minimalist artwork depicting Jonah emerging from the great fish, an Old Testament symbol of resurrection.

.....a major contributor to Old Testament studies following the literary-critical tradition of Wellhausen and the form-critical and the traditio-historical approach of Hermann Gunkel as developed by Albrecht Alt and Martin Noth.

His major writings include his studies on Deuteronomy; his commentary on Genesis; his two volumes of Theology of the Old Testament and a representative selection of his essays, extending from 1931 through 1964, which were translated and published as The Problem of the Hexateuch and other Essays in 1966, though the bulk of these were written in the late 1940s.Further reading The July 2008 issue of Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology has as its subject "Gerhard von Rad: Theologian of the Church."