DICTIONARIES should naturally follow Grammars, the Use of these being to teach the first Elements of Languages, of the others to understand and explain them. This is the Order observed in learning Greek and Latin; and the same should be pursued in the Study of the Hebrew Tongue.
Alphonsi Zamoræ è Judeo Christiani Lexicon Hebraicum, in Polyglottis Complutensibus, An. 1517. It was afterwards printed separately, at Alcala, 1526, in 4to. under the Title of a Vocabulary. We shall speak of this Author under the Article of Polyglotts, Part III. Art. I.
Joan. Reuchlini, seu Capnionis Lexicon. Hebr. An. 1421. The second Edition, by Sebastian Munster, in 1537, is the best. There are two Authors of this Name, who have published a Dictionary of the Hebrew Tongue: John and Anthony. That of John, revised by Sebastian Munster, is in fol. printed at Basil, 1537. This is the second, and best Edition. That of Anthony was printed likewise at Basil, in 1556, in fol. and in 1569, in 8vo.
Sebastian Munster has published one separately, and of his own framing, ibid. 1564. in 8vo. the sixth Edition, much enlarged. He put out likewise a Rabbinical Dictionary, ibid. 1527. in 4to. and another, in three Languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, ibid. 1562, in fol. the second Edition. We shall speak of him in another Place.
Sanctis Pagnini Thesaurus, in fol. and the Abridgment in 4to. This was printed first of all at Lions, 1529, in fol. afterwards augmented by John le Mercer, Antony Chevalier, and Cornelius Bertrand, at Geneva, 1614. the third Edition. The Abridgment was printed at Paris, in 1548, in 4to. and 8vo. at Antwerp in 1578. and 1616, in 8vo. We shall have an Opportunity of speaking of him in some other Place.
Rapheleng, or Raphelengius, put out the last Edition of his Epitome, with Additions and Emendations.
Joan. Forsteri Lexicon Hebraicum novum An. 1556. fol. His Preface is remarkable for the Confession he there makes that the Study of the Rabbins is unprofitable. There was a second Edition of his Dictionary in 1564, printed at Basil.
Joan. Buxtorfii Lexicon Hebraicum & Chaldaicum, in 8vo. 1676. This Dictionary had already been printed several times by Buxtorf the Father. There was a new Edition of this Work at Basil, 1710. in fol. Besides this, he published Lexicon Hebraicum, Thalmudicum, Chaldaicum & Rabbinicum in fol. ibid. 1639. and an Hebrew and Chaldee Manual, the last Edition whereof is of 1634, in 12mo, printed at Rostoch.
Joan. Coccei Lexicon, & Commentarius Sermonis Hebraici. Ludg. There was another Edit. of it at Frankfort upon the Mein, in 1689. This Lexicon, or Dictionary, of John Cock’s was printed first of all at Amsterdam, in 1669, fol. and last of all at Frankfort, in 1702, with his other Works. We shall often have occasion to speak of him.
David de Pomis, a Jewish Physician, has written an Hebrew Dictionary. It was printed at Venice, 1587, in fol. Herein he explains the Signification of every Word in three Languages, Latin, Italian, and vulgar Hebrew. The Title of this Jew’s Dictionary is, Tzemach David, Germen David.
Philip Aquinas, who taught Hebrew at Paris in the Reign of Lewis XIII. in the seventeenth Century, has written, Dictionarium Hebræo-Chaldæo-Talmudico-Rabbinicum. Printed at Paris, in 1629, in fol. With it we may join that of John Avenar, or Avenarius, otherwise called Haberman, printed at Wittemberg, in 1568, and 1589, with great Additions. He was of Bohemia, Lutheran Professor at Wittemberg, and died in 1590.
Marci Marini Brixiani Arca Noe, seu Thesaurus Linguæ Sanctæ. Venetiis, 1593, in fol. In Hebrew and Latin. The Author was an Italian of Brescia, and Canon-Regular, understood the Oriental Languages, and died in 1594.
Critica Sacra Edvardi Leigh, in vetus & novum Testamentum. It is divided into two Parts; the first containing Philological and Theological Observations upon all the Hebrew Roots of the Old Testament: The second upon the Greek Words of the New, printed in English, at London, two Vols. in 4to. 1641, 1646. and in fol. 1650. with a Supplement in 1662, in fol. It was afterwards translated into Latin by Henry Middock, and printed at Amsterdam, 1678, in fol. and in 1696, at Lipsick, in 4to. the same Year; and at Gotha, in 1701. There is another Edition, with the Addition of an Appendix, in 1707. Ibid. Lastly, Lewis de Wolzogue translated it into French, with this Title; Dictionaire de la Lingue Sainte, concernant les Origines, augmenté de diverses Remarques: at Amsterdam, 1703, in 4to. Lewis de Wolzogue was a Calvinist, Professor of History, and died in 1691. He has also written upon holy Scripture. Leigh was an Englishman, and a Knight; understood the three learned Languages, and died in 1671. His Work is a Summary of what is contained in many Volumes, whereof this English Author has made a judicious choice. It may serve at once both for a Concordance and Dictionary, in the new Form wherein Henry Middock has dressed it. It were to be wished only that the Interpretations of Calvin and Luther, who were not very well versed in Hebrew, had been omitted.
The Thesaurus of William Robinson was printed at London, 1686, in 4to. He published besides a Manipulus of the sacred Language, divided into four Parts; printed at Cambridge, 1683, in 8vo. at London, 1680, in 8vo.
Joan. Henrici Ottonis Lexicon Talmudicum Rabbinico Philologicum. This is a Talmudical Dictionary, printed at Geneva, 1675, in 8vo. It is different from that of Julius Conrad Otto, who composed Works of the like Nature, as we shall see elsewhere.
Commentarii Linguæ Hebraicæ à Jacobo Gussetio. Amstel. 1702. in fol. These are written in the way of Notes upon Buxtorf’s Manual, printed in fol. at the Place and Time above mentioned. We shall say something of the Author, upon the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Edm. Castelli Lexicon Heptaglotton, may likewise be of use to combine the Terms of the Hebrew Tongue with the other Oriental Languages, which are nearly related to it. This Dictionary, in seven Languages, was printed in two Vols. in fol. at London, 1669. and makes the Sequel of the Polyglot of England.
Lexicon Harmonicum Heptaglotton Joan. Henrici Hottingeri. This Dictionary is much shorter than the foregoing one, and may serve for the same Purpose. For it relates particularly to the Use which should be made of the Oriental Languages in getting a good Understanding of the Holy Scriptures. It was printed at Heidelberg in 4to, 1657. This Author has published other Works likewise of the same nature.
Lexicon Biblicum Sacræ Philosophiæ Candidatis elaboratum. Per Andream Placum: Coloniæ, 1536. fol. There are two other Editions of it in 1543, and 1553. The Author here explains the Greek and Hebrew Words, and those of other Languages, which we meet with in the Holy Scriptures.
Golius’s Arabic Lexicon is much esteemed; but it is of more use for the understanding the Historians and profane Writers, than for the explaining those Authors who have written on Divinity and Ecclesiastical Matters in Arabic. It is in Arabic and Latin, printed at Leyden, 1653, in fol.
The Mare Rabbinicum Capellani was printed at Paris, 1667, in 8vo. Here he examines whether the Talmudists report the Hebrew Text differently from what it is in our Copies. He was Hebrew Professor at Paris, and died there, in 1702.
Lexicon Æthiopico-Latinum Joan. Ludolf. Lond. 1661, in 4to. It was printed likewise at Frankfort, in fol. 1699.
Joan. Leusden, Lexicon Hebræo Latinum, ad modum Lexici Schrivel. Græci. Ultrajecti, in 8vo. 1687.
Lexicon Græco-Latinum in Novum Testam. Georgii Passoris. Lond. 1644. We have besides a Manual and Syllabus of the same Author’s on the New Testament, which are Abridgments of his Lexicon.
Elias Hutter, in 1598; Zachary Rozembach, in 1634, and Christian Schotari, in 1662, have likewise published Greek Lexicons on the Scriptures.
Matthias Flaccus Illyricus, in 1567, and Augustin Marlorat, in 1601, have put out Latin Dictionaries upon the same Subject.
Josias Henry Opitius’s Hebrew Dictionary was printed at Hamburg in 1702, and since, in 1711, in 8vo. The Title he gives it is, Hodegeticum Hebræo-Chaldæum Biblicum; that is to say, An Hebrew and Chaldee Guide, for the understanding of the Holy Bible; wherein the Hebrew and Chaldee Words are distinguished according to the Order of the Books, Chapters, and Verses. It is the same which his Father before put out at Lipsick, 1696.
We have in the fifth Tome of the Bibliotheca Philologica, above mentioned, p. 445, 753, the Preface to the Egyptian and Latin Dictionary of Mathurin Veissiere la Croze, which will be in 4to. and is to contain 686 Pages. He is to publish likewise an Armenian and Latin Dictionary, in two Volumes, of 649 and 622 Pages, without including the Preface, which will take up 99.
Matthew Hiller has put out a Sacred Dictionary in Latin, printed at Tubingen, in 1706, in 4to. It is in two Parts; the first whereof treats of the Original, Analogy, and Meaning of all the Proper Names in the Bible; the second is only a Table of those Names in an alphabetical Order.
This Book seems to be written with great Accuracy, and may contribute to the understanding of many Passages in the Bible.
Dom. Bernard Pez, a Benedictine Monk of Germany, has printed an old Dictionary in his Anecdotes, tom. 1. p. 320. of the first Part, which is written by an anonymous Author, and is entituled Glossarium Latino Theodiscum upon the Holy Scripture.
Christopher Wolfius has put out, in Latin, an History of Hebrew Dictionaries, printed at Wittemberg, 1705, in 12mo. It is not a bare Catalogue of such Authors as have composed Hebrew Dictionaries, and of their Works, but a Critical History of every thing that has been hitherto done and promised in this kind. His Criticisms may be said to be judicious and prudent.
It may be said in general of Hebrew Dictionaries, that they are very convenient for Beginners; but for others, who would engage more deeply in this Study, their best Method is to have recourse to the Hebrew Concordances of Buxtorf or Calasio, and to confront all the Passages wherein the same Term is to be met with; in order to discover, with more Certainty by this Comparison, the Force and true Signification of the Words in the Original.
It is likewise of great Use to compare the Hebrew Words with the old Greek Versions; to which end Kircher’s Greek Concordance may be very servicable, and the Fragments of Origen’s Hexapla, collected by F. Montfaucon, together with the two Lexicons added by him at the End of this Collection. We shall speak of Concordances in the next Article but one.