Samuel Bochart
Encyclopedia
Samuel Bochart was a French Protestant biblical scholar, a student of Thomas Erpenius
and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet
. His two-volume Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan (Caen
1646) exerted a profound influence on seventeenth-century Biblical exegesis
.
Bochart was one of the several generations of antiquaries who expanded upon the basis Renaissance humanists
had laid down, complementing their revolutionary hermeneutics by setting classical texts more firmly within the cultural contexts of Greek and Roman societies, without understanding of which they could never be fully understood. Thus Bochart stands at the beginning of a discipline of the history of ideas
that provides the modern context for all textual studies.
, and also studied in Oxford
, where he was tutor to Wentworth Dillon, later Earl of Roscommon
.
Bochart's Hierozoicon sive bipartitum opus de animalibus sacrae scripturae (2 vols., London 1663), a zoological
treatise on the animals of the Bible was more than a Christianized Pliny's Natural History nor just an expansion of Conrad Gesner's Historiae animalium
. Bochart instanced the Arabic naturalists, like al-Damîrî
and al-Qazwini
, none of whose work had appeared in European print before. His etymologies
follow the fanciful tradition inherited from Classical Antiquity
and passed to medieval culture through Isidore of Seville
.
In 1652 Christina of Sweden
invited him to Stockholm
, where he studied the Arabic
manuscripts in the queen's possession. He was accompanied by Pierre Daniel Huet
, afterwards Bishop of Avranches. On his return to Caen he was received into the academy of that city.
Bochart was a man of profound erudition; he possessed a thorough knowledge of the principal Oriental languages, including Hebrew
, Syriac, Chaldean
and Arabic
; and at an advanced age he wished to learn Ethiopic. Bochart's examples and quotations provided challenges to London typographers
, who created typefaces to reproduce them. He was so absorbed in his favorite study, that he saw Phoenician origins even in Celtic
words, and hence the number of chimerical etymologies
which swarm in his works.
His correspondence on theological subjects, carried on with Cappellus
, Salmasius and Vossius was included in his posthumous collected works, and so achieved a wide distribution.
He died of apoplexy in the academy of Caen
during an impassioned debate with Huet
on the translation of a passage of Origen
related to transubstantiation
.
Thomas van Erpe
Thomas van Erpe [known as Thomas Erpenius] , Dutch Orientalist, was born at Gorinchem, in Holland....
and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet was a French churchman and scholar, editor of the Delphin Classics, founder of the Academie du Physique in Caen and Bishop of Soissons from 1685 to 1689 and afterwards of Avranches.-Life:...
. His two-volume Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan (Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
1646) exerted a profound influence on seventeenth-century Biblical exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
.
Bochart was one of the several generations of antiquaries who expanded upon the basis Renaissance humanists
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
had laid down, complementing their revolutionary hermeneutics by setting classical texts more firmly within the cultural contexts of Greek and Roman societies, without understanding of which they could never be fully understood. Thus Bochart stands at the beginning of a discipline of the history of ideas
History of ideas
The history of ideas is a field of research in history that deals with the expression, preservation, and change of human ideas over time. The history of ideas is a sister-discipline to, or a particular approach within, intellectual history...
that provides the modern context for all textual studies.
Life
He was for many years a pastor of a Protestant church at CaenCaen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, and also studied in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where he was tutor to Wentworth Dillon, later Earl of Roscommon
Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon
Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon , was an English poet.-Background and education:Dillon was born in Ireland about 1630...
.
Bochart's Hierozoicon sive bipartitum opus de animalibus sacrae scripturae (2 vols., London 1663), a zoological
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
treatise on the animals of the Bible was more than a Christianized Pliny's Natural History nor just an expansion of Conrad Gesner's Historiae animalium
Historiae animalium (Gesner)
Historiae animalium published at Zurich in 1551-58 and 1587, is an encyclopedic work of "an inventory of renaissance zoology" by Conrad Gesner, a doctor and professor at the Carolinum, the precursor of the University of Zurich...
. Bochart instanced the Arabic naturalists, like al-Damîrî
Damiri
Al-Damiri , the common name of Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa al-Damiri, was an Egyptian writer on canon law and natural history.-Life:Al-Damiri belonged to one of the two towns called Damira near Damietta and spent his life in Egypt...
and al-Qazwini
Zakariya al-Qazwini
Abu Yahya Zakariya' ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini , was a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer and proto-science fiction writer....
, none of whose work had appeared in European print before. His etymologies
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
follow the fanciful tradition inherited from Classical Antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and passed to medieval culture through Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
.
In 1652 Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
invited him to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where he studied the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
manuscripts in the queen's possession. He was accompanied by Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet was a French churchman and scholar, editor of the Delphin Classics, founder of the Academie du Physique in Caen and Bishop of Soissons from 1685 to 1689 and afterwards of Avranches.-Life:...
, afterwards Bishop of Avranches. On his return to Caen he was received into the academy of that city.
Bochart was a man of profound erudition; he possessed a thorough knowledge of the principal Oriental languages, including Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Syriac, Chaldean
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Chaldean communities worldwide. Most speakers are Chaldean Catholics....
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
; and at an advanced age he wished to learn Ethiopic. Bochart's examples and quotations provided challenges to London typographers
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, who created typefaces to reproduce them. He was so absorbed in his favorite study, that he saw Phoenician origins even in Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
words, and hence the number of chimerical etymologies
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
which swarm in his works.
His correspondence on theological subjects, carried on with Cappellus
Louis Cappel
Louis Cappel was a French Protestant churchman and scholar.-Life:Cappel, a Huguenot, was born at St Elier, near Sedan. He studied theology at the Academy of Sedan and the Academy of Saumur, and Arabic at the University of Oxford, where he spent two years...
, Salmasius and Vossius was included in his posthumous collected works, and so achieved a wide distribution.
He died of apoplexy in the academy of Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
during an impassioned debate with Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet
Pierre Daniel Huet was a French churchman and scholar, editor of the Delphin Classics, founder of the Academie du Physique in Caen and Bishop of Soissons from 1685 to 1689 and afterwards of Avranches.-Life:...
on the translation of a passage of Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
related to transubstantiation
Transubstantiation
In Roman Catholic theology, transubstantiation means the change, in the Eucharist, of the substance of wheat bread and grape wine into the substance of the Body and Blood, respectively, of Jesus, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.The Eastern Orthodox...
.
His major works
- a dictionaryDictionaryA dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of Arabic - Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan (CaenCaenCaen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
1646) - De consiliandis in religionis negotio protestantibus, 1662
- Hierozoïcon, (London 1663)