Isaac Orobio de Castro

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Isaak Orobio de Castro (birth name Balthasar Orobio de Castro; * around 1617 in Bragança , † November 7, 1687 in Amsterdam ), from a Marran family, was a Sephardic doctor , philosopher and writer .

Life

Balthasar Orobio de Castro was born around 1617 in Bragança, northern Portugal, into a Marran family. As a child, he emigrated to Andalusia with his family . After studying medicine and philosophy at the University of Alcalá de Henares , he became Professor of Metaphysics in Salamanca and Professor of Medicine in Seville . On the title page of one of his writings, he calls himself catedrático de metafísica y medicina en las universidades de Alcalá y Sevilla, medico de la cámara del Duque de Medina Cely y de la familia de Borgoña del Rey Phelipe quarto, profesor, medico y consejero del rey de Francia, en la insigne universidad de Tolosa . In 1654 he was imprisoned for three years by the Inquisition in Seville because of Judaizing tendencies. After his release, he left Spain and fled to France. In Toulouse he was appointed Professor of Pharmacy .

In 1662 he moved with his family to Amsterdam, where he returned to Judaism and took the name Isaac. Isaac Orobio de Castro became a respected member of the Sephardic community. He practiced as a doctor and also wrote poems and philosophical treatises to defend Judaism and to combat deist tendencies of some fellow believers. Many of his writings circulated as manuscripts in the Jewish community and were only published later. His letters against his former friend Juan de Prado (Epistola Invectiva) and his treatise against Baruch Spinoza (Certamen Philosophicum) are well known. With the Remonstrant preacher Philipp van Limborch he got involved in a religious debate , at which John Locke was also present. The resulting text De veritate religionis Christianae amica collatio cum erudito Iudaeo (Friendly conversation with a learned Jew about the truth of the Christian religion) was published in Gouda in 1687.

Isaac Orobio de Castro died in Amsterdam in 1687 and is buried in the Portuguese-Jewish cemetery Ouderkerk .

Works (selection)

  • Epistola Invectiva Contra Prado. 1663/64
  • Certamen Philosophicum Propugnatae Veritatis Divinae ac Naturalis Adversus J. Bredenburgi Principia. Amsterdam 1684.
  • De Veritate Religionis Christianæ Amica Collatio cum Erudito Judaeo. Amsterdam, 1687.
  • Israel vengé ou Exposition naturelle des Prophéties Hébraïques que les Chrétiens appliquent à Jésus, leur prétendu messie. London 1770.
  • La observancia de la divina Ley de Mosseh. Coimbra 1925.

literature

  • Yosef Kaplan: From Christianity to Judaism. The Life and Work of Isaac Orobio de Castro. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1989, ISBN 0-19-710060-0 .
  • Richard H. Popkin, Yom Tov Assis:  Orobio De Castro, ISAAC. In: Encyclopaedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. Volume 15, Detroit / New York a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865943-5 , pp. 481-482 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Reinhardt: Biblical Commentaries by Spanish Authors (1500–1700). Volume II, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Centro de Estudios Históricos, Madrid 1999, ISBN 84-00-07831-4 , p. 137.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Castro, Isaak Orobio de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Orobio de Castro, Balthasar (birth name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Doctor, philosopher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH around 1617
PLACE OF BIRTH Bragança , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1687
Place of death Amsterdam , Netherlands