Adolf Bernhard Christoph Hilgenfeld (June 2, 1823 - January 12, 1907), German Protestant divine, was born at Stappenbeck near Salzwedel in Prussian Saxony.

He studied at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin and the university of Halle, and in 1890 became professor ordinarius of theology at Jena. He belonged to the Tübingen school. Fond of emphasizing his independence of 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" (Otto Pfleiderer).

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 fur wissenschaftliche Theologie.

His works include:

• Die elementarischen Recognitionen and Homilien (1848)
• Die Evangelien and die Briefe des Johannes nach ihrem Lehrbegriff (1849)
• Das Markusevangelium (1850)
• Die Evangelien nach ihrer Entstehung and geschichtlichen Bedeutung (1854)
• Das L'nchristentum (1835)
• Jüd. Apokalyptik (1857)
• Novum Testamentum extra canonem receptum (4 parts, 1866; 2nd ed., 1876-1884)
• Histor.-kritische Einleitung in das Neue Testament (1875)
• Acta Apostolorum graece et latine secundum antiquissimos testes (1899)
• the first complete edition of the Shepherd of Hermas (1887)
• Ignatii et Polycarpi epistolae (1902).