Theodor Gaster
Encyclopedia
Theodor Herzl Gaster was a British
-born American
Biblical scholar known for work on comparative religion
, mythology
and the history of religions
. He is noted for his books, Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East (1950), The Dead Sea Scriptures, about the Dead Sea Scrolls
as well as his one-volume abridgement of Sir James Frazer's massive 13-volume work The Golden Bough
, to which Gaster contributed updates, corrections and extensive annotations.
, then Chief Rabbi of the English Sephardi community, who was Romania
n by birth and a well-known linguist and scholar of Judaica. He was also a leading Zionist, and named his son after his friend, Theodor Herzl
, who had died in 1904, shortly before the boy's birth. Theodor recalled that the first draft of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was prepared in his father's home. His mother was the daughter of Michael Friedländer
. Visitors to the Gaster home included Churchill, Lenin, and Freud.
Educated at the University of London
, Gaster received an undergraduate degree in classics
in 1928 and a master's degree in Near Eastern archaeology
in 1936. His master's thesis, a preview of his key work, was titled "The Ras Shamra Texts and the Origins of Drama."
In 1939 or 1940 Gaster moved from London to New York and began work on a PhD at Columbia University
. While pursuing his doctorate he continued to publish.
In 1942 he began teaching part time in the graduate school at Columbia, and in 1945 he also began teaching part time at Dropsie College, in Philadelphia. From 1946 to 1950 he was a lecturer on Semitic civilization at New York University
. From the mid-1940s until the mid-1960s, he was a visiting professor at many colleges and universities in the United States and three times at the University of Leeds
.
Gaster's first full-time American post came in 1945, when he served for a year and a half as chief of the Hebraic Section of the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C. In 1951 and 1952, he was a Fulbright Fellow in the history of religions at the University of Rome, and in 1961 he was a Fulbright Fellow in Biblical studies and history of religions at the University of Melbourne
.
Most of the books for which Gaster is best known were published in the 1950s, including his translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls
, widely admired for its felicitousness; Thespis, his application of the Frazerian myth-and-ritual theory to the ancient Near East and beyond; and his abridgment and updating of Frazer's The Golden Bough (The New Golden Bough [1959]), in which he retained the theory but updated the data. This abridgment was of Frazer's twelve-volume third edition of his opus, which Frazer himself had abridged into one volume in 1922. Gaster's final major work, the two-volume tome Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), was similarly an abridgement and updating of Frazer's Folk-lore in the Old Testament. In 1955, he released an album on Folkways Records
, The Hebrew Language: Commentary and Readings by Theodor H. Gaster.
Only in 1966, at the age of sixty, did Gaster secure a permanent full-time academic post, as professor of religion at Barnard College
, the women's undergraduate division of Columbia University. He helped revamp the curriculum and was Head of the Department of Religion from 1968-1972. He continued to lecture widely, and from 1971 to 1981 he was professor of religion and director of ancient Near Eastern studies at Dropsie College, by then renamed Dropsie University.
Upon his retirement from Barnard, he was once again a visiting professor at many American universities. He relocated to Florida to teach for several years at the University of Florida
. He died in Philadelphia, where he had moved in 1988.
Elaine Pagels
, who taught for a time at Barnard College, notes in her book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (2003), that Gaster, her Barnard colleague, was "the 13th son of the Chief Rabbi of London. He knew all the languages of the Bible, and, at one time in 1976, students in one of his classes heard that he knew 32 languages in all. His teaching was full of warm humanity, humor, challenge, encouragement, and wit."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Biblical scholar known for work on comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
, mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and the history of religions
History of religions
The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago in the Near East. The prehistory of religion relates to a study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the...
. He is noted for his books, Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East (1950), The Dead Sea Scriptures, about the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
as well as his one-volume abridgement of Sir James Frazer's massive 13-volume work The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...
, to which Gaster contributed updates, corrections and extensive annotations.
Life
Gaster was born in England, the son of the folklorist Moses GasterMoses Gaster
Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born Jewish-British scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, London, and a Hebrew linguist. He was also the son-in-law of Michael Friedländer, principal of Jews' College. The surname Gaster is taken from Spanish Castro, indicating his Sephardic...
, then Chief Rabbi of the English Sephardi community, who was Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n by birth and a well-known linguist and scholar of Judaica. He was also a leading Zionist, and named his son after his friend, Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl , born Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl was an Ashkenazi Jew Austro-Hungarian journalist and the father of modern political Zionism and in effect the State of Israel.-Early life:...
, who had died in 1904, shortly before the boy's birth. Theodor recalled that the first draft of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was prepared in his father's home. His mother was the daughter of Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed, which was the most popular such translation until the more recent work of Shlomo Pines, and still remains in print.Friedländer was...
. Visitors to the Gaster home included Churchill, Lenin, and Freud.
Educated at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, Gaster received an undergraduate degree in classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
in 1928 and a master's degree in Near Eastern archaeology
Near Eastern archaeology
Near Eastern Archaeology is a regional branch of the wider, global discipline of Archaeology...
in 1936. His master's thesis, a preview of his key work, was titled "The Ras Shamra Texts and the Origins of Drama."
In 1939 or 1940 Gaster moved from London to New York and began work on a PhD at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. While pursuing his doctorate he continued to publish.
In 1942 he began teaching part time in the graduate school at Columbia, and in 1945 he also began teaching part time at Dropsie College, in Philadelphia. From 1946 to 1950 he was a lecturer on Semitic civilization at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. From the mid-1940s until the mid-1960s, he was a visiting professor at many colleges and universities in the United States and three times at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
.
Gaster's first full-time American post came in 1945, when he served for a year and a half as chief of the Hebraic Section of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in Washington, D.C. In 1951 and 1952, he was a Fulbright Fellow in the history of religions at the University of Rome, and in 1961 he was a Fulbright Fellow in Biblical studies and history of religions at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
.
Most of the books for which Gaster is best known were published in the 1950s, including his translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
, widely admired for its felicitousness; Thespis, his application of the Frazerian myth-and-ritual theory to the ancient Near East and beyond; and his abridgment and updating of Frazer's The Golden Bough (The New Golden Bough [1959]), in which he retained the theory but updated the data. This abridgment was of Frazer's twelve-volume third edition of his opus, which Frazer himself had abridged into one volume in 1922. Gaster's final major work, the two-volume tome Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament (1969), was similarly an abridgement and updating of Frazer's Folk-lore in the Old Testament. In 1955, he released an album on Folkways Records
Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
, The Hebrew Language: Commentary and Readings by Theodor H. Gaster.
Only in 1966, at the age of sixty, did Gaster secure a permanent full-time academic post, as professor of religion at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, the women's undergraduate division of Columbia University. He helped revamp the curriculum and was Head of the Department of Religion from 1968-1972. He continued to lecture widely, and from 1971 to 1981 he was professor of religion and director of ancient Near Eastern studies at Dropsie College, by then renamed Dropsie University.
Upon his retirement from Barnard, he was once again a visiting professor at many American universities. He relocated to Florida to teach for several years at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. He died in Philadelphia, where he had moved in 1988.
Elaine Pagels
Elaine Pagels
Elaine Pagels, née Hiesey , is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she is best known for her studies and writing on the Gnostic Gospels...
, who taught for a time at Barnard College, notes in her book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (2003), that Gaster, her Barnard colleague, was "the 13th son of the Chief Rabbi of London. He knew all the languages of the Bible, and, at one time in 1976, students in one of his classes heard that he knew 32 languages in all. His teaching was full of warm humanity, humor, challenge, encouragement, and wit."
Works
- The Face of Hate (1948)
- Passover, its History and traditions (1949)
- Purim And Hanukkah In Custom and Tradition - Feast of Lots - Feast of Lights (1950)
- Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East (1950)
- Holy and the Profane: Evolution of Jewish Folkways (1955) republished as Customs and Folkways of Jewish life (1955)
- Festivals of the Jewish Year: A Modern Interpretation and Guide (1955)
- New Year: its history, customs, and superstitions (1955)
- The Dead Sea Scriptures (1956; 3d rev. and enlarged ed. 1976) published in the UK as The Scriptures of the Dead Sea Sect (1957)
- The Oldest Stories in the World (1958)
- The New Golden Bough (1959)
- Myth, Legend, and Custom in the Old Testament: A comparative study with chapters from Sir James G. Frazer's Folklore in the Old Testament (1969)