- Albert Schultens
Albert Schultens (1686 –
26 January 1750 ) was a Dutchphilologist .He was born at Groningen, where he studied for the church. He went on to the
University of Leiden , applying himself specially to Hebrew and the cognate tongues. His dissertation on "The Use of Arabic in the Interpretation of Scripture" appeared in 1706. After a visit toReland in Utrecht he returned to Groningen (1708); then, having taken his degree intheology (1709), he returned to Leiden, and devoted himself to the study of the manuscript collections there until 1711, when he became pastor at Wassenaer.He disdained parochial work and decided to accept the Hebrew chair at
Franeker in 1713. He held this position until 1729, when he was transferred to Leiden as rector of the "collegium theologicum", or seminary for poor students. From 1732 until his death (atLeiden ) he was professor of Oriental languages at Leiden.Schultens was the chief teacher of the
Arabic language in the whole of theEurope during his lifetime. In some sense, he revived Arabic studies. He differed from J. J. Reiske andSilvestre de Sacy in regarding Arabic as a handmaid to Hebrew. He vindicated the value of comparative study of the Semitic tongues against those who, likeJacques Gousset , regarded Hebrew as a sacred tongue with which comparative philology has nothing to do.His principal works were "Origines Hebraeae" (2 vols., 1724, 1738), a second edition of which, with the "De defectibus linguae Hebraeae" (1731), appeared in 1761; "Job" (1737); "Proverbs" (1748); "Vetus et regia via hebraezandi" (1738); and "Monumenla vetustiora Arabum" (1740).
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