Herbert Danby
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Herbert Danby (20 January 1889 – 29 March 1953) was an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest and writer who played a central role in the change of attitudes toward
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
in the first half of the twentieth century.


Education

Danby was educated at Church Middle Class School,
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
and Keble College, Oxford. He was a Holroyd Musical Scholar, and became a Fellow of the
Royal College of Organists The Royal College of Organists (RCO) is a charity and membership organisation based in the United Kingdom, with members worldwide. Its role is to promote and advance organ playing and choral music, and it offers music education, training and de ...
in 1907. He retained a lifelong passionate interest in music, and also in golf. Danby had a distinguished career at Oxford, winning the Junior
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...
Prize, the Pusey and Ellerton Scholarship, the Houghton
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
Prize and a Senior Kennicott Scholarship. He achieved a first class degree in Oriental Languages, and was awarded an MA in 1914. His studies continued after he started work, and he was made a Doctor of Divinity in 1923, partly for his translation '' Tractate Sanhedrin,
Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and
Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
'', published in 1919.


Early career

Danby became a
Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in 1913, and worked as
Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
of the Parish of
Waddesdon Waddesdon is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, west-north-west of Aylesbury on the A41 road. The village also includes the hamlets of Eythrope and Wormstone, Waddesdon was an agricultural settlement with milling, silk weaving and lace mak ...
, Buckinghamshire. Ordained as a priest in 1914, he became Subwarden of St Deiniol's Library,
Hawarden Hawarden (; cy, Penarlâg) is a village, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home ...
, Flintshire, 1914-9.


Jerusalem

In 1919, Danby moved to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
to become Librarian of St. George's Cathedral. He was Residentiary Canon there, 1921–36. From 1923, he was Dean of the Palestine Board of Higher Studies and
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
Correspondent for Palestine and
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...
. From 1928, he was Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of Jerusalem. He was editor of the Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society from 1920, and President of that Society in 1934. He engaged in the study of
Jewish literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature ...
, and published his English translation of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
in 1933, the first ever complete translation of the Mishnah into English. He also translated a remarkable work by
Joseph Klausner Joseph Gedaliah Klausner ( he, יוסף גדליה קלוזנר; 20 August 1874 – 27 October 1958), was a Lithuanian-born Israeli historian and professor of Hebrew literature. He was the chief redactor of the '' Encyclopedia Hebraica''. He was ...
entitled ''Jesus of Nazareth''.


Oxford

In 1936, he returned to Oxford as Regius Professor of Hebrew and Canon of Christ Church. He was
Grinfield Lecturer Edward William Grinfield (1785–1864) was an English biblical scholar. Life He was the son of Thomas Grinfield and Anna Joanna, daughter of Joseph Foster Barham of Bedford, and brother of Thomas Grinfield. He was a schoolfellow of Thomas de ...
on the Septuagint, 1939–43, Examining Chaplain to the
Bishop of Monmouth The Bishop of Monmouth is the diocesan bishop of the Church in Wales Diocese of Monmouth. The episcopal see covers the historic county of Monmouthshire with the bishop's seat located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Woolos in Newport, whi ...
, 1939–41 and Treasurer of Christ Church Cathedral from 1943. He assisted in the
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
Translation of the
Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...
of
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
. His contributions to the decline of
anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
in intellectual circles in the twentieth century was very significant. He was at work revising his translation of Maimonides' Book of Cleanness when he finally succumbed to his fatal illness. Among his close friends were Professor
Godfrey Rolles Driver Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver (20 August 1892 – 22 April 1975), known as G. R. Driver, was an English Orientalist noted for his studies of Semitic languages and Assyriology.J. A. Emerton, 'Driver, Sir Godfrey Rolles (1892–1975)'. In ''Oxfo ...
of
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and Rabbi Dr.
Isidore Epstein Rabbi Ezekiel Isidore Epstein (יחזקא-ל יצחק אפשטיין ;1894-1962) was an Orthodox rabbi and rabbinical scholar in England. He is best known as Editor of the first complete English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, and for hi ...
of
Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...
, London.


Publications

* The Jew and Christianity, 1927 * The Sixty-three Tractates of the Mishnah, translated with Introduction, etc., published in December,1933 () * English and Modern Hebrew Dictionary, 1939 * The Book of Offerings, Moses Maimonides, Julian Obermann, in December 1950; * The Book of Cleanness, Moses Maimonides, Julian Obermann, was published in December 1954,


Translations from the Hebrew

* Joseph Klausner's Jesus of Nazareth, 1925 * History of Modern Hebrew Literature, 1932 * H. N. Bialik's, And it Came to Pass, Biblical Legends, 1938.
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
web site accessed 08:57
GMT Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...
Wednesday 8 April 2015


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danby, Herbert 1889 births 1953 deaths Alumni of Keble College, Oxford 20th-century English Anglican priests Talmudists Regius Professors of Hebrew (University of Oxford) English Anglican theologians Alumni of Bishops' College, Cheshunt