COCCEUS (Lat. from Koch), IOHANNES. - Protestant exegetical theologian, b. at Bremen on 9 Aug. 1603, d. at Leiden on 4 Nov. 1669. He began his studies, including Greek, under Metrophanes Critopoulos in his native city. From 1625 in Hamburg and then in Holland, C. deepened his knowledge of Hebrew, especially under the guidance of the Orientalist Sixtinus Amama. From 1630 he taught at the *Gymnasium illustre* in Bremen, whence he moved in 1636 to the Hebrew chair in Franeker, and in 1650 to Leiden.
His theological and biblical works fill 8 volumes in-folio in the Amsterdam edition of 1673–75, 10 volumes in that of 1701–1702, to which were added 2 volumes of *Anecdota theologica et philologica* in 1706. From a theological standpoint, his most important work is *Summa doctrinae de foedere et Testamento Dei* (Franeker 1648), in which C. studies God’s relations with the world, subdividing them into *Foedus operum*, *Foedus gratiae*, and *Foedus iustitiae*; the book is a vast theological and biblical synthesis. In this work, and more especially in his exegetical writings—particularly in *Ad ultima Mosis, hoc est sex postrema capita Deuteronomii, considerationes* (Franeker 1650)—he developed the doctrine that every passage of the Bible has a typical meaning. For this reason, C. was regarded as the founder of the “figurists.” Among his disciples, Campegius Vitringa stood out as an exegete.
C. was an independent character. Hence he had to engage in no small number of disputes, even with Protestant authors. At times he has been regarded as a precursor of Pietism in Protestant theology.