WHEN a Man has some Knowledge of all the Authors who have written upon Scripture; the second, and most Difficult Step he is to make in this Study, is to learn the Oriental Languages by the Help of Grammars, Dictionaries, and Concordances.
In the last Tome of the Polyglot of Antwerp, there are Grammars and Dictionaries for the Understanding of such Languages as are in that Polyglot.
Edmund Castellus, whose Lexicon Heptaglotton, that is to say, in seven Languages, and printed in two Vols. in fol. is a Sequel as it were of the London Polyglot. He put out an Harmony of the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Samaritan, Ethioptick, Arabic, and Persian Grammars.
Eliæ Levitæ Sepher Dikduk, seu Grammatica Hebraica ex Versione Sebast. Munster. Basil. in 8vo. 1537. Sebastian Munster translated into Latin two sorts of Works written by Elias Levita; viz. his Hebrew Grammar, printed first of all at Basil, in 1518, in 4to. and for the last time in 1549, 8vo. under this Title, Sepher Dik-duk; and an Elementary Institution on the same Language, printed at Paris, in 1537, in 8vo. and at Basil in 1543, being the fifth Edition at that Place.
The same Munster has published, of his own composing, that Part of the Hebrew Grammar which relates to the Conjugations of Verbs, at Basil, 1536, in 8vo. Moreover the Hebrew Words which are Irregular, ibid. The same Year, in 8vo; some general Rules relating to the Comments of the Hebrews, wherein he explains, in Hebrew and Latin, several Hebrew Ways of Speaking, and Hebrew Abbreviations, ibid. 1577. in 8vo. We shall speak of him in the Article of general Commentators, Part III.
Nicolai Abram Soc. Jesu, Epitome Rudimentorum Linguæ Hebraicæ, versibus Latinis comprehensa. Paris. 1645. in 4to. This Abridgment of the Principles of the Hebrew Tongue was printed last at Dijon, 1651, in 4to. We shall say something of this Author in the Article of Catholick Commentators upon the Pentateuch.
Cardinal Bellarmine’s Institutions of the Hebrew Tongue have been printed several times: There was an Edition of this Book at Paris, in 1622. in 8vo. with Notes by Simeon De Muis, and at the End a Grammatical Exercitation on the xxxiiid Psalm. The last Edition is of 1642, printed at Cologn. We shall speak of him hereafter, on the Psalms.
George Mayer put out Institutions likewise of the same Language, which have been printed at different Places; the last, and ninth Edition is of 1693, at Tubingen, in 8vo. They are divided into six Parts: The first treats of the Way of reading and pronouncing Hebrew; the second of Nouns; the third of Verbs; the fourth of Diction; the fifth of Syntax; the sixth of the Hebrew Poetry. At the End there is a Grammatical Exercitation upon the Prophet Jonah, at least in the Lions Edition of 1622 in 8vo. He was a Jesuit, and died in 1623, upon the 25th of August.
Thomas Dufour’s Grammar was printed at Paris, in 1642, in 8vo. He has left an Essay of a Comment upon the Psalms, but did not finish it, he having been prevented by Death. He has also composed a Paraphrase upon the Canticles. There is mention made of him in Vigneul Marville’s Melanges Historiques, Tom. II. p. 286. of the last Edition. His Grammar is drawn up in a very easy Method. He was of Normandy, born at Fecamp in 1613. took a great deal of pains to learn Hebrew; became a Benedictine of the Congregation of St. Maur at Jumieges, in 1636, and died in the flower of his Age, in 1647.
Nicholas Clenard’s Hebrew Grammar was printed at Leyden, 1589, in 8vo. the third Edition. He has also published Hebrew Tables of the Grammar, printed at Paris, in 4to. 1581, the fifth Edition.
William Schickard’s Horologium Hebraicum, being a small Abridgment of the Hebrew Grammar, which was published at Lipsick in 1624, is the same as the Institutions of this Language put out by John Ernest Gerhard at Jene, 1647, in 4to. and printed several times since in different Places: The last Edition is of Lipsick, 1677, in 8vo. Schickard put out likewise a Tree of the Hebrew Declensions, with an Investigation of the Tenses, printed at Ulm, 1647, in 8vo. As also, Rota Hebræa pro facilitate conjugandi, printed at Tubingen 1670, in 8vo. Circulus Conjugationum Orientalium, Harmonicè declinatus clinatus & explicatus, at Strasburg, 1651, in 4to.
John Buxtorf, the Father, put out a Thesaurus Linguæ sanctæ Hebrææ, printed at Basil in 1663, in 8vo. the sixth Edit. The Abridgment of the Hebrew Grammar, printed at Utretcht, 1701. in 8vo. the fifteenth Edit. He put out also Præceptiones Grammaticæ, printed at Basil, in 1605, in 8vo. and De Abbreviaturis Hebraicis Liber novus, printed at Harlem, in 1708, in 8vo. the fourth Edition, much enlarged.
F. Peter Guarin was the Author of a Hebrew Grammar, more perfect than any before published: For most of the Hebrew Grammars are in general very deficient. It came out first in 1724,and will be in three Vols. 4to. in Latin. It is divided into three Books. The first treats of the Etymology or Analogy of Words: The second comprehends the Syntax, both simple and figurative: The third has a regard to diverse Treatises which relate to Grammar and Hebrew Literature: There is besides a very large Lexicon. So that this Work should be considered not so much as an Hebrew Grammar, as a very methodical Collection of every thing most curious which can be found concerning this Language, together with Notes and Enquiries.
Dom. Guerin was born in the Diocese of Rohan in 1678. became a Benedictine Monk of St. Maur in 1696, at eighteen Years of Age, and has ever since applied himself much to the Study of the holy Language. It is to be presumed that he would have enriched the Publick with some new Works; especially after his being appointed Library-Keeper of the celebrated Abby of St. German des Prez, if Death had not robbed us of him on the the 29th of December, 1729.
Grammatica Hebraia de punctis aliisque inventis Masoreticis, libera Paris. 1716, in 8vo. M. Masclef Canon of Amiens, is the Author of this Book, wherein he pretends to prove that any one may not only learn, but may read and understand Hebrew, without the Vowel Points. He lays down Rules for the Reading of this Language in an uniform Manner, without any Mutation of these Points. This gave occasion for the Work of D. Guarin, who undertakes to prove the contrary. M. Masclef had before published an Essay of this Grammar, as appears from the Memoirs of Trevoux for the Months of October and December 1711. wherein we read this Title; Conspectus Novæ Grammaticæ ad Hebraicam & alias Linguas Orientales absque Punctis ediscendas aptissimæ.
Grammatica linguarum Orientalium, Hebraica, Syriaca, & Chaldaica. Authore Lud. de Dieu. Leyden, 1628. in 4to. There is a second Edition of this Grammar, printed at Frankfort, 1686, in 4to. Of the Author we shall say something in the Article of General Protestant Commentators, Part IV.
Christiani Noldii, Concordantiæ Particularum Hebræo-Chaldaicarum. Hasniæ, 1679. in 4to. This Book is of great use to learn the Force of the undeclinable Particles, and to understand many Passages of Scripture.
Solomoniss Glassii Philologia Sacra, l. 5. The last Edition of it was at Amsterdam, 1711, in 4to. Of the five Books contained in it, the Grammar takes up the fourth, and Rhetorick the fifth. This Work is very useful, and contains abundance of good Remarks upon the Scripture.
Genebrard must not be forgotten, who wrote an Hebrew Alphabet, which was printed at Paris, 1564, in 8vo. together with the Decalogue in Hebrew Characters, and the Latin Version: And afterwards, in 1584, at the same Place, in 4to. He was also the Author of a Rabbinical Introduction, in order to read and understand Hebrew without Points, printed at Paris, 1587, in 4to. the second Edition. We shall speak of him upon the Psalms.
Hottinger. Grammatica Linguæ sanctæ, divided into two Books, and printed at Zurick, in 1687, in 8vo. in Latin, the second Edit. With an Alphabet of Greek Roots, and an Abridgment of this Grammar.
A Key to the Sacred Language, by Nicholas Trot, printed at Oxford, 1719, in fol.
A Key to the Hebrew Text of the Bible, by Joachim Langius, printed in Latin, at Hall, 1707, in 4to, We have here an Abridgment of the Hebrew Grammar, a Latin Interpretation of all the Hebrew Words which are in the Manuscript Bible of Berlin, and three very short Lexicons.
Hebrew Institutions by Calignius, printed in Latin, at Paris, 1645, in 12mo.
Bennet Blancuccius put out Institutions of the same Language, together with a Treatise of the Abbreviations made use of by the Rabbins in their Comments, printed at Rome, by Zanetti, 1608. in 4to.
Stephen Guichard, in his Etymological Harmony of Languages, begins with the Hebrew, and goes on with the Chaldee, Syriac, and Greek. It is printed in French, at Paris, 1606, in 8vo. This Work is very useful.
The Institutions of John Cinquarbres, known by the Latin Name of Quinquarboreus, with Notes by Vignatius, and Genebrard’s nebrard’s Syntax, was printed at Paris, in 1609, in 4to. and infinitely more, the Catalogue whereof may be seen in F. Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, the 1165th, and following Pages.
It may be proper likewise to have the Treatise concerning Pointing, and the Hebrew Accents, put out by John Frank and John George Abichtius, printed in Latin, at Lipsick, 1710, in 4to. Here the Original of Points and Hebrew Accents is shewn, their Advantage, and the Necessity of using them.
John Leusden has also put out a Clavis Hebraica, & Philologica Veteris Testament. which is a kind of Grammar, wherein he explains all the difficult Terms of the Hebrew Text in the Old Testament; at Utrecht, 1683, in 4to. He follows the Order of the Books in Scripture, and does not go beyond the Historical Books. At the End of this Edition there is an Essay of a new Hebrew Dictionary of the Bible, after the Model of Schrevelius’s Greek Dictionary.
Father Thomassin, Priest of the Oratory, put out, in French, the Method of studying and teaching Grammar with relation to the Holy Scripture, at Paris, 1690, two Vols. in 8vo. His whole Design in the first Tome is to shew, that all Languages come from the Hebrew; the second contains two Glossaries; one Greek, the other Latin, reduced to the Hebrew.
Some Years since there was printed by Colombat, at Paris, an Hebrew Grammar in French, for the Benefit of those who do not understand Latin. F. Le Lang was concerned in the Impression of this Work, which fell into his Hands while it was yet in Manuscript; for which reason it is believed to have been written by some Father of the Oratory.
See a longer Catalogue of Hebrew Grammars, and Grammarians, in the fifth Tome of the Rabbinical Library, p. 538,—9, 40, 41, &c.
The Authors who have written on the Confusion of Languages, which happened at Babel, and on the first Language, may be here referred to. See what we have remarked on this Subject in our Dissertations upon Genesis.