James Robertson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1714–1795) was a Scottish orientalist. In 1783 he was a founding Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

Life

Born in the parish of

Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from In ...

, Robertson studied for many years at

Leyden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

under Jan Jacob Schultens then at

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 ...

under Prof Hunt. He was called to his native parish as minister, having been licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh as a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister on 28 November 1744. He did not remain at Cromarty, but, after graduating at Leyden on 20 January 1749, proceeded to Oxford to study under Thomas Hunt. Robertson was offered an post in

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of D ...

Northampton Academy Northampton Academy is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Northampton, Northamptonshire for students aged 11 to 18. Since September 2004, it has been an Academy, part of United Learning, a subsidiary of the United Church Schools Trust ...

; but the town council of Edinburgh, in response to its divinity students, elected him on 26 June 1751 as Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages in the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He received the fees of students only, his predecessor William Dawson retaining the salary for life. Robertson became librarian in 1763, appointing

Duke Gordon Duke Gordon (1739–1800) was a Scottish librarian. Life Gordon was born on 20 May 1739, the son of William Gordon, a weaver in the Potterrow, Edinburgh. His father gave him his baptismal name from a clannish feeling for the Duke of Gordon. He ...

as assistant. His colleagues and students nicknamed him "The Rabbi". Dr

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

visited him in August 1773 and was "much pleased with his conversation".''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott He retired in 1785. Infirm during the last few years of his life, Robertson died at Middlefield,

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to the ...

, on 26 November 1795. He is buried in St Cuthberts Churchyard at the west end of

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

. The grave lies on the main dividing wall immediately north of the church.

Works

Robertson wrote: *
The Resemblance of Jesus to Moses considered
', Edinburgh, 1765. * ''Poems, Consisting of Tales, Fables, Epigrams, &c. &c.'' (as "Nobody") (1770) - subsequent editions under his own name. * ''Clavis Pentateuchi'', Edinburgh, 1770. This is a learned analysis of the ''

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

'', printed in Latin and English. Two dissertations are prefixed: on the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and on the vowel points. A second edition, by

Joseph Kinghorn Joseph Kinghorn (1766–1832) was an English particular Baptist and a life-long minister of St. Mary's Baptist Church in Norwich. Life Kinghorn was born at Gateshead-on-Tyne, County Durham, on 17 January 1766. His father, David Kinghorn (3 Octo ...

, was published at Norwich in 1824. * ''Grammatica Linguæ Hebrææ'', Edinburgh, 1758; Second edition Edinburgh, 1783.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James 1714 births 1795 deaths Scottish orientalists Christian Hebraists People from Ross and Cromarty Leiden University alumni Academics of the University of Edinburgh