Alfred Edersheim (7 March 1825 – 16 March 1889) was a Jewish convert to Christianity and a Biblical scholar known especially for his book ''The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah'' (1883).

Early life and education

Edersheim was born in Vienna of Jewish parents of culture and wealth. English was spoken in their home, and he became fluent at an early age. He was educated at a local gymnasium and also in the Talmud and Torah at a

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...

, and in 1841 he entered the University of Vienna. His father suffered illness and financial reversals before Alfred could complete his university education, and he had to support himself.

Conversion and Christian ministry

Edersheim emigrated to Hungary and became a teacher of languages. He converted to Christianity in

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when he came under the influence of John Duncan, a

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chaplain to workmen engaged in constructing a bridge over the Danube. Edersheim accompanied Duncan on his return to Scotland and studied theology at New College, Edinburgh, and at the University of Berlin. In 1846 Alfred was married to Mary Broomfield. They had seven children. In the same year he was ordained to the ministry in the

. He was a missionary to the Jews at Iaşi, Romania, for a year. On his return to Scotland, after preaching for a few months in a Free Church of Scotland congregation at Woodside, Aberdeen, Edersheim was appointed in 1849 to minister in that denomination in Old Aberdeen. In 1861 health problems forced him to resign and the Church of St. Andrew was built for him at Torquay. In 1867/8 he cared for the Rev Prof Robert Lee in his home, for the final months of Lee's life. In 1872 Edersheim's health again obliged him to retire, and for four years he lived quietly at

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. In 1875, he was ordained in the Church of England, and was

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of the Abbey Church,

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, for a year, and from 1876 to 1882 Vicar of Loders, Bridport, Dorset. He was appointed to the post of Warburtonian Lecturer at

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1880-84. In 1882 he resigned and relocated to Oxford. He was

Select Preacher Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...

to the University 1884-85 and Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint 1886-88 and 1888-89. Edersheim was an advocate of gap creationism.McIver, Thomas Allen. (1989)
''Creationism: Intellectual Origins, Cultural Context, and Theoretical Diversity''
University of California, Los Angeles. He died at Menton, France, on 16 March 1889.

Works

* ''History of the Jewish Nation after the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus'' (Edinburgh, 1856) *
The Jubilee Rhythm of St. Bernard, and other Hymns
' (1866) *
The Golden Diary of Heart-Converse with Jesus in the Psalms
' (1874) *

' (London, 1874) * ''Bible History'' (7 vols., 1876–87)
''The World Before the Flood and the History of the Patriarchs''
(1875) *

' (1876) *

' (2 vols.,1883; condensation in one volume, 1890) * ''Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah'' (

Warburton Lectures The Warburton Lectures (until the end of the nineteenth century often called the Warburtonian Lectures) are a series of theology lectures held in Lincoln's Inn, London. They were established in 1768 with money given by William Warburton, and were i ...

for 1880-1884, 1885) * ''Tohu va Bohu, "Without form and Void." A Collection of fragmentary Thoughts and Criticisms. Ed. with a Memoir, by Ella Edersheim'' (1890) * Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (London, 1898)
''Historical Development of Speculative Philosophy, from Kant to Hegel''
- translation (1854) of a philosophical book by

Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus (3 July 1796, in Pfaffroda – 22 September 1862, in Dresden) was a German philosopher best known for his exegetical work on philosophy, such as his characterisation of Hegel's dialectic as a triad of " thesis–antith ...

(1796-1862)

References

Sources

''This article borrows heavily from the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, put forth in the public domain b
CCEL.org
' * David Mishkin, ''The Wisdom of Alfred Edersheim'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008, * Richardson, Marianna (2008). ''Alfred Edersheim: A Jewish Scholar for the Mormon Prophets.'' CedarFort. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edersheim, Alfred 1825 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Austrian Presbyterians British Christian creationists Converts to Calvinism from Judaism University of Vienna alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Austrian Jews Writers from Vienna 19th-century British biblical scholars 19th-century Austrian biblical scholars 19th-century Jewish biblical scholars 19th-century Christian biblical scholars