Alfred Edersheim (7 March 1825 – 16 March 1889) was a

Jew 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""T ...

ish convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and a Biblical scholar known especially for his book ''The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah'' (1883).

Early life and education

Edersheim was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

of Jewish parents of culture and wealth. English was spoken in their home, and he became fluent at an early age. He was educated at a local gymnasium and also in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

and

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 ...

at a Hebrew school, and in 1841 he entered the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

. His father suffered illness and financial reversals before Alfred could complete his university education, and he had to support himself.

Conversion and Christian ministry

Edersheim emigrated to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and became a teacher of languages. He converted to

in Pest when he came under the influence of

John Duncan John Duncan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter * John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician * Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician * John Duncan (harpist) ...

, a Free Church of Scotland chaplain to workmen engaged in constructing a bridge over the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. Edersheim accompanied Duncan on his return to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and studied theology at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

, and at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

. In 1846 Alfred was married to Mary Broomfield. They had seven children. In the same year he was ordained to the ministry in the Free Church of Scotland. He was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a 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.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

to the Jews at Iaşi, Romania, for a year. On his return to Scotland, after preaching for a few months in a Free Church of Scotland congregation at

Woodside, Aberdeen Woodside is part of the city of Aberdeen. It came into existence as a quoad sacra parish within the parish of Old Machar in 1834, under an act of The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland of 31 May ...

, Edersheim was appointed in 1849 to minister in that denomination in

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

. In 1861 health problems forced him to resign and the Church of St. Andrew was built for him at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

. In 1867/8 he cared for the Rev Prof Robert Lee in his home, for the final months of Lee's life. In 1872 Edersheim's health again obliged him to retire, and for four years he lived quietly at Bournemouth. In 1875, he was ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, and was Curate of the Abbey Church,

Christchurch, Hants Christchurch () is a town and civil parish in Dorset on the south coast of England. The town had a population of 31,372 in 2021. For the borough the population was 48,368. It adjoins Bournemouth to the west, with the New Forest to the east. Part ...

, for a year, and from 1876 to 1882

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of Loders,

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. He was appointed to the post of

Warburtonian Lecturer The Warburton Lectures (until the end of the nineteenth century often called the Warburtonian Lectures) are a series of theology lectures held in Lincoln's Inn, London. They were established in 1768 with money given by William Warburton, and were i ...

at Lincoln's Inn 1880-84. In 1882 he resigned and relocated to

Oxford 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 ...

. He was Select Preacher to the

University 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 ...

1884-85 and

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 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 ...

1886-88 and 1888-89. Edersheim was an advocate of

gap creationism Gap creationism (also known as ruin-restoration creationism, restoration creationism, or "the Gap Theory") is a form of old Earth creationism that posits that the six-'' yom'' creation period, as described in the Book of Genesis, involved six li ...

.McIver, Thomas Allen. (1989)
''Creationism: Intellectual Origins, Cultural Context, and Theoretical Diversity''
University of California, Los Angeles. He died at

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, on 16 March 1889.

Works

* ''History of the Jewish Nation after the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus'' (Edinburgh, 1856) *
The Jubilee Rhythm of St. Bernard, and other Hymns
' (1866) *
The Golden Diary of Heart-Converse with Jesus in the Psalms
' (1874) *

' (London, 1874) * ''Bible History'' (7 vols., 1876–87)
''The World Before the Flood and the History of the Patriarchs''
(1875) *

' (1876) *

' (2 vols.,1883; condensation in one volume, 1890) * ''Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah'' ( Warburton Lectures for 1880-1884, 1885) * ''Tohu va Bohu, "Without form and Void." A Collection of fragmentary Thoughts and Criticisms. Ed. with a Memoir, by Ella Edersheim'' (1890) * Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (London, 1898)
''Historical Development of Speculative Philosophy, from Kant to Hegel''
- translation (1854) of a philosophical book by Heinrich Moritz Chalybäus (1796-1862)

References

Sources

''This article borrows heavily from the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, put forth in the public domain b
CCEL.org
' * David Mishkin, ''The Wisdom of Alfred Edersheim'',

Wipf and Stock Publishers Wipf and Stock is a publisher in Eugene, Oregon, publishing works in theology, biblical studies, history and philosophy. History Wipf and Stock was established in 1995 following a joint venture between John Wipf of the Archives Bookshop in Pasade ...

, 2008, * Richardson, Marianna (2008). ''Alfred Edersheim: A Jewish Scholar for the Mormon Prophets.'' CedarFort. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edersheim, Alfred 1825 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Austrian Presbyterians British Christian creationists Converts to Calvinism from Judaism University of Vienna alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Austrian Jews Writers from Vienna 19th-century British biblical scholars 19th-century Austrian biblical scholars 19th-century Jewish biblical scholars 19th-century Christian biblical scholars