Ferdinand Christopher Ewald (14 September 1802 – 9 August 1874) was a Bavarian-born English clergyman and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

. Ewald was born to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents in

Maroldsweisach Maroldsweisach is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Haßberge (district), Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany. Culture and sights * Alte Burg (Altenstein), the "Old Castle" * Altenstein Castle (Lower Franconia), Altenstei ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, and baptized at

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

when about 23 years of age. In 1829 he entered the service of the London Society for Propagating the Gospel Among the Jews, by which he was sent to

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

in 1831. He proselytised assiduously among the Jews in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, Tunis,

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, and other large towns in North Africa until 1841 or 1842, when he accompanied as chaplain Bishop Alexander to Jerusalem. Here he remained till 1849, when ill health compelled him to return to London. He was largely instrumental in founding in 1853 the Wanderers' Home in London, an asylum for "doubting Jews and needy proselytes." In addition to reports on his missionary labors in North Africa and Jerusalem, he published a German translation of ''

Avodah Zarah ''Avodah Zarah'' (Hebrew: , or "foreign worship", meaning " idolatry" or "strange service") is the name of a tractate of the Talmud, located in ''Nezikin'', the fourth Order of the Talmud dealing with damages. The main topic of the tractate is ...

'' (1856). The

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, of which Ewald was a graduate, on the publication of this work, conferred upon him the diploma of a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

, and Archbishop Tait conferred upon him, in 1872, the degree of

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

in consideration "of his uprightness of life, sound doctrine, and purity of morals; of his proficiency in the study of divinity, of Hebrew and Oriental languages and literature; and also of his missionary labors and eminent services in the promotion of Christianity among the Jews."

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewald, Ferdinand Christopher 1802 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Anglican clergy 19th-century Lutheran clergy Anglican missionaries in Palestine (region) Anglican writers Christian missionaries in Tunisia Converts to Protestantism from Judaism English Anglican missionaries German Lutheran missionaries University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni