Giovanni Diodati

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Diodati engraving from 1647 by Wenceslaus Hollar .

Giovanni Diodati , also Jean Diodati , (born June 3, 1576 in Geneva ; † October 3, 1649 ibid) was an Evangelical Reformed theologian, Hebrew , diplomat and translator.

Live and act

Giovanni Diodati was a son of Carlo Diodati , a Tuscan nobleman, and his wife Maria Mei. Like Bénédict Turrettini's family later, they fled the Tuscan city of Lucca to Geneva for religious reasons in 1567 . His brothers were Elias Diodati and Theodor Diodati .

Diodati studied theology at the Geneva Academy and was influenced by Isaac Casaubon and Théodore de Bèze . From 1597 to 1606 he was a Hebrew teacher at the same academy and from 1599 to 1645 professor of theology, from 1609 as successor to the late Théodore de Bèze. At the same time he was also active as a preacher and had a major influence on ecclesiastical, secular and political life in Geneva. He wrote an Italian commentary on the Bible in 1607 and 1641; the second and expanded edition was used by the Italian Protestant churches until the 20th century, thanks to its precise language and sober style. The French translation of this work from 1644 was not accepted and opposed by the pastors of Geneva, despite its publishing success.

Diodati was entrusted with delicate diplomatic missions several times, particularly to France in 1611. His Italian ancestry and reformed education led him to Venice in 1608 , where he met the reform-minded monk Paolo Sarpi . A reformation of Venice, however, probably failed because of its caution. Diodati translated Istoria del Concilio tridentino (German: History of the Tridentine Council ) into French in 1621 .

Paolo Sarpi , Istoria del Concilio tridentino , 1935

From 1618 to 1619 he and his colleague from the academy Théodore Tronchin represented the Geneva Church at the Dutch Synod of Dordrecht , where they defended the Calvinist doctrine against the Arminians . In 1619 and 1630 he visited his brother Theodor Diodati in London. During his active life he maintained extensive correspondence with theologians, writers and politicians across Europe.

Diodati is best known for his Italian translation of the Bible , the first edition appeared in 1607 in Geneva, the last in 2014.

Title page of the translation of the Bible from the printer Jean de Turnes (1539–1615), Geneva, 1607.

Private

Diodati married Maddalena Burlamacchi-Calandrini, a daughter of Michele; Gabriel Diodati is a descendant of them.

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Giovanni Diodati, Swiss biblical scholar in Encyclopedia Britannica with a different date of birth June 6, 1576
  2. ^ Emidio Campi: Diodati, Jean. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
personal data
SURNAME Diodati, Giovanni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Reformed theologian, diplomat and Bible translator
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1576
PLACE OF BIRTH Geneva
DATE OF DEATH October 3, 1649
Place of death Geneva