Johann Buxtorf the Elder
Johann Buxtorf the Elder (born December 15, 1564 in Kamen , Westphalia , † September 13, 1629 in Basel ) was a German Reformed theologian and founder of Hebrew and Aramaic linguistics in Germany .
Life
Buxtorf was born the son of a pastor of the same name, studied at the High School in Herborn from 1585 and moved to the University of Basel in 1588 . There he took over the chair of Hebrew in 1591, which he held until his death. In 1614/15 he was the rector of the university. He died of the plague at the age of 64 .
Buxtorf wrote numerous books, including a Hebrew grammar (1605) and several dictionaries. His most important work is the Lexicon chaldaicum talmudicum et rabbinicum , which was completed by his son Johann Buxtorf the Younger and which was published in Basel in 1640. His Juden-Schul (1603) described Jewish life and customs and was of great importance for a more objective perception of Judaism in the early modern period. The Bibliotheca rabbinica (1613), the earliest bibliography of Hebrew books , was also widely used . He had an argument with Louis Cappel , who advocated a late dating of the Hebrew vowel signs , which his son continued.
Buxtorf's endeavors were to print a Hebrew Bible with a collection of the most important Jewish Bible commentaries. For this purpose, he obtained permission for two Jews to settle in Basel. He maintained a lively correspondence with Jewish scholars in Germany , Holland and Constantinople . His attitude to Judaism meant, after a long period of extreme oppression, the turn to greater tolerance. Buxtorf left behind a large number of letters which today are extremely instructive for the spiritual life of that time.
literature
- Stephen G. Burnett: Buxtorf, Johannes. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Max Geiger : Buxtorf, Johann the Elder. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 84 ( digitized version ).
- Carl Gustav Adolf Siegfried: Buxtorf, Johannes d. Older ones . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, pp. 668-673.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz : BUXTORF the elder, Johann (I.). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 834-835.
- Stephen G. Burnett: From Christian Hebraism to Jewish studies: Johannes Buxtorf (1564 - 1629) and Hebrew learning in the seventeenth century (Studies in the history of Christian thought 68). Suffering u. a .: Brill 1996. ISBN 90-04-10346-5
- Rudolf Smend : Four Epitaphs - The Basler Hebraist Family Buxtorf (Litterae et Theologia 1). Berlin: de Gruyter 2010. ISBN 978-3-11-022895-3
Web links
- Literature by and about Johann Buxtorf the Elder in the catalog of the German National Library
- Works by and about Johann Buxtorf the Elder in the German Digital Library
- Publications by and about Johann Buxtorf the Elder in VD 17 .
- Digitized prints by Buxtorf in the Post-Reformation Digital Library
- Digital copies of works by Johann Buxtorf (Frankfurt University Library)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Buxtorf, Johann the Elder |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German reformed theologian, linguist and orientalist |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 15, 1564 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Kamen , Westphalia |
DATE OF DEATH | September 13, 1629 |
Place of death | Basel |