William Robertson (Hebraist)
Encyclopedia
William Robertson was a Scottish Hebraist. He was educated at Edinburgh University, taught Hebrew in London from 1653–1680, then in 1680 was appointed lecturer in Hebrew at Cambridge University.
as probably the William Robertson who was laureated by Duncan Forester in April 1645. From 1653 to 1680 he lived in the City of London and taught Hebrew. In 1680 he was appointed university teacher of Hebrew at Cambridge at a salary of £20 a year.
Robertson believed Hebrew could be learned by ordinary people with a minimum of linguistic background. In the Interregnum he was supported by patrons such as John Sadler, William Steele and Lady Katherine Ranelagh, and was able to publish freely. In theology he followed David Dickson
and Robert Douglas. After 1660 he had little support, and lost much of his version of the Hebrew New Testament of Elias Hutter
in the Great Fire of London
.
Life
A graduate of Edinburgh, he is identified by Edgar Cardew Marchant in the Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National Biography
The Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
as probably the William Robertson who was laureated by Duncan Forester in April 1645. From 1653 to 1680 he lived in the City of London and taught Hebrew. In 1680 he was appointed university teacher of Hebrew at Cambridge at a salary of £20 a year.
Robertson believed Hebrew could be learned by ordinary people with a minimum of linguistic background. In the Interregnum he was supported by patrons such as John Sadler, William Steele and Lady Katherine Ranelagh, and was able to publish freely. In theology he followed David Dickson
David Dickson (professor)
-Life:He was the only son of John Dick or Dickson, a merchant in the Trongate of Glasgow, whose father was an old feuar of some lands called the Kirk of Muir, in the parish of St. Ninians, Stirlingshire. He was born in Glasgow about 1583, and educated at the university, where he graduated M.A., and...
and Robert Douglas. After 1660 he had little support, and lost much of his version of the Hebrew New Testament of Elias Hutter
Elias Hutter
Elias Hutter was a German Hebraist.He studied in Strassburg, and was professor of Hebrew at Leipzig University...
in the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
.
Works
His works include:- ‘A Gate or Door to the Holy Tongue opened in English,’ London, 1653,; this reappeared with a few changes in 1654, as ‘The First Gate or Outward Door to the Holy Tongue,’ and was followed in 1655 by ‘The Second Gate or the Inner Door.’
- ‘Compendious Hebrew Lexicon,’ London, 1654; this was favourably received, and was edited by Nahum Joseph in 1814.
- ‘An Admonitory Epistle unto Mr. Richard BaxterRichard BaxterRichard Baxter was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymn-writer, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he made his reputation by his ministry at Kidderminster, and at around the same time began a long...
and Mr. Thomas Hotchkiss, about their applications, or misapplications, rather, of several texts of Scripture, tending chiefly to prove that the afflictions of the godly are proper punishments;’ in the second of two appended dissertations he defends William TwisseWilliam TwisseWilliam Twisse was a prominent English clergyman and theologian. He became Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, putting him at the head of the churchmen of the Commonwealth. He was described by a Scottish member, Robert Baillie, as “very good, beloved of all, and highlie esteemed; but merelie...
's definition of pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
. London, 1655. - ‘The Hebrew Text of the Psalms and Lamentations, with text in Roman letters parallel,’ London, 1656; dedicated to John Sadler, his patron.
- ‘Novum Testamentum lingua Hebræa,’ London.
- ‘The Hebrew portion of Gouldman's Copious Dictionary,’ Cambridge, 1674. In the work edited by Francis GouldmanFrancis GouldmanFrancis Gouldman was a Church of England clergyman and lexicographer whose Latin-English dictionary went through several editions. Gouldman was also one of the directors who oversaw the publication of the monumental Critici sacri, a major collection of Biblical criticism.-Life:Gouldman earned his...
. - ‘Schrevelii Lexicon Manuale Græco-Latinum, with many additions,’ Cambridge, 1676. Edition of the lexicon of Cornelis SchrevelCornelis SchrevelCornelis Schrevel was a Dutch physician and scholar. He studied medicine at Leiden University and replaced his father Theodorus Schrevelius as head of the college faculty at Leiden in 1642; published a Latin-Greek lexicon; and edited many classical authors, including an edition of Curtius Rufus...
. - ‘Thesaurus linguæ sanctæ,’ London, 1680; this was used largely by Christian Stock and Johann Friedrich Fischer in their Clavis linguæ sanctæ, Leipzig, 1753.
- ‘Phraseologia generalis: ... A full, large, and general phrase book,’ Cambridge, 1681; re-issued 1693, reprinted 1696; re-edited in 1824.
- ‘Index alphabeticus hebræo-biblicus,’ Cambridge, 1683; Johann LeusdenJohann LeusdenJohannes Leusden was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and orientalist...
translated it into Latin and published it at Utrecht in 1687 as ‘Lexicon novum hebræo-latinum.’ - ‘Manipulus linguæ sanctæ,’ Cambridge, 1683.
- ‘Liber Psalmorum et Threni Jeremiæ,’ in Hebrew, Cambridge, 1685.