Solomon Frensdorff (born at
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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, February 24, 1803; died at Hanover, March 23, 1880) was a German Jewish
Hebraist
A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...
.
While pursuing his studies at the Johanneum gymnasium in Hamburg, he was introduced to Hebrew literature by
Isaac Bernays
Isaac Bernays ( , , ; 29 September 1792 – 1 May 1849) was Chief Rabbi in Hamburg.
Life
Bernays was born in Weisenau (now part of Mainz). He was the son of Jacob Gera, a boarding house keeper at Mainz, and an elder brother of Adolphus Bernays. ...
, who exerted considerable influence upon his later attitude toward Judaism, and religion in general. He studied philosophy and Semitic languages at the
University of Bonn
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...
. In that city he became acquainted with
Abraham Geiger
Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Geige ...
, who, in various letters to his friends, repeatedly expressed esteem for Frensdorff's character and learning.
In 1837 Frensdorff became head master of the Jewish religious school at
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, and in 1848 was appointed principal of the new Jewish seminary for teachers in that city, which position he held until his death.
Frensdorff throughout his career devoted himself chiefly to the critical examination and publication of
Masoretic
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
works. His writings on these are:
* ''Fragmente aus der Punktations-und Accentlehre der Hebräischen Sprache'', with the Hebrew text (''Darke ha-Niḳḳud weha-
Neginot''), ascribed to R.
Moses Punctator, Hanover, 1847 (dedicated to Bernays);
* ''
Oklah we-Oklah'', ib. 1864
* ''Die Massora Magna'' part i.
* ''Massoretisches Wörterbuch'', Leipsic and Hanover, 1876
* ''Aus dem Sefer ha-Zikronot des Elias Levita'' in "Monatsschrift," xii. 96 et seq.
References
*
Ludwig Geiger
Ludwig Geiger (born ''Lazarus Abraham Geiger'', also called ''Ludwig Moritz Philipp Geiger''; 5 June 1848 – 9 February 1919) was a German author and historian.
Life
Ludwig Geiger was born at Breslau, Silesia, a son of Abraham Geiger. After st ...
, Abr. Geiger's Leben in Briefen, Index, s.v. Frensdorff, Breslau, 1885
*Allg. Zeit. des Jud. 1873, pp. 245 et seq.;
*ib., March 20, 1903;
*S. Gronemann, Predigt zur Feier des 100. Geburtstages von Prof. Dr. S. Frensdorff, 1903;
*L. Knoller, Worte der Erinnerung an Prof. Dr. S. Frensdorff, 1903.
Bibliography (selection)
*''Okhlah ṿe-okhlah: ṿe-hu ḥibur meha-masorah ha-gedolah … : nimtsa bi-khetav''
dition eines seit dem 10. Jh. bekannten anonymen Kompilats masoretischer Anmerkungen unter dem Titel אָכְלָה וְאָכְלָה Hahn, Hannover 1861, u.a.;
Digitalisat
Frensdorff 1864at
Bavarian State Library
The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...
External links
Source*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frensdorff, Solomon
1803 births
1880 deaths
19th-century German people
19th-century Jewish biblical scholars
German biblical scholars
German Hebraists
German male non-fiction writers
University of Bonn alumni