Sixtinus Amama (also Sextinus) (13 October 1593 – 9 November 1629) was a Dutch Reformed theologian and orientalist. Amama was among the first to advocate a thorough knowledge of the original languages of the Bible as indispensable to theologians.

Life

He was born in

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 1 ...

, in the Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of F ...

. He studied oriental languages from 1610 at the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis'' ...

and then at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, attracted there by

John Prideaux John Prideaux (7 September 1578 – 29 July 1650) was an English academic and Bishop of Worcester. Early life The fourth son of John and Agnes Prideaux, he was born at Stowford House in the parish of Harford, near Ivybridge, Devon, England ...

. In 1614 he took up also the study of

Arabic 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; Walte ...

at the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of L ...

where he made the acquaintance of

Thomas Erpenius Thomas van Erpe, also known as Thomas Erpenius (September 11, 1584November 13, 1624), Dutch Orientalist, was born at Gorinchem, in Holland. He was the first European to publish an accurate book of Arabic grammar. After completing his early educa ...

. In 1616 he became professor of literature and oriental languages at Franeker. Subsequently, however, he was suspected of

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

, and underwent an investigation by

Sibrandus Lubbertus Sibrandus Lubbertus (c.1555–1625) (also referred to as Sibrand Lubbert or Sybrandus Lubbertus) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and was a professor of theology at the University of Franeker for forty years from the institute's foundation in 1585 ...

and

Johannes Bogerman 200px, Johann Bogerman Johannes Bogerman (1576 – 11 September 1637) was a Frisian Protestant divine. He was born in Uplewert (Now Ostfriesland, Germany), the son of a preacher. From 1591 onwards, he studied in Franeker, Heidelberg, Genev ...

(1576-1637). Bogerman was a Calvinist theologian who was the Ecclesiastical President of the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was an international Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. The fir ...

(1618-1619). When Erpenius died in 1625, Amama was called to take his place, however the Estates of Friesland refused permission for him to leave, but did increase his remuneration. He died in Franeker.

Works

* ''Dissertatio, qua ostenditur praecipuos Papismi errores ex ignorantia Hebraismis ortum sumsisse'' (Franeker 1618) * ''Censura vulgatae versionis quinque librorum Mosis'' (1620) * ''Bybelsche conferentie, in welke de Nederl. overzetting beproeft wordt'' (Amsterdam 1623) * ''Biblia in ’t Nederduitsch'' (Amsterdam 1625) * ''Antibarbarus biblicus'' (1628) * ''Hebreouwsch Woordenboek'' (1628)

Family

He married Meine van Adelen van Cronenburg; the natural philosopher Nicolaus ab Amama (1628-1656) was their son.

References

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Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amama, Sixtinus 1593 births 1639 deaths Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Dutch orientalists People from Franekeradeel University of Franeker alumni Academic staff of the University of Franeker