Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 11 March 1831 |
| Died | 6 April 1907(aged 76) London,United Kingdom |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Rabbinic literature |
| Institutions | Bodleian Library,Oxford University |
Adolf Neubauer(11 March 1831 inBittse,Hungary– 6 April 1907, London) wassublibrarianat theBodleian LibraryandreaderinRabbinic Hebrewat Oxford University.
Biography
[edit]He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse),Upper Hungary(now Bytča in Slovakia).[1]TheKingdom of Hungarywas then part of theAustrian Empire.He received a thorough education inrabbinical literature.
In 1850 he obtained a position at the Austrian consulate inJerusalem.At this time, he published articles about the situation ofthe city's Jewish population,which aroused the anger of some leaders of that community, with whom he became involved in a prolonged controversy.
In 1857 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies of Judaism and started producing scientific publications.[1]His earliest contributions were made to theAllgemeine Zeitung des Judenthumsand theJournal Asiatique(Dec. 1861).
Works
[edit]In 1865 he published a volume entitledMeleket ha-Shir,a collection of extracts from manuscripts relating to the principles of Hebrew versification. In 1864, Neubauer was entrusted with a mission toSaint Petersburgto examine the numerous, hitherto unpublishedKaraitemanuscripts preserved there.[1]As a result of this investigation he published a report in French, and subsequentlyAus der Petersburger Bibliothek(1866).
The work which established his reputation, however, wasLa Géographie du Talmud(1868), an account of the geographical data scattered throughout theTalmudand early Jewish writings and relating to places in theLand of Israel.
Starting in 1865 he lived in England and in 1868 his services were secured by the University of Oxford for the task of cataloging the Hebrew manuscripts in theBodleian Library.[1][2]The catalog appeared in 1886 after 18 years of preparation. The volume includes more than 2,500 entries, and is accompanied by a portfolio with forty facsimiles.
While engaged in this work Neubauer published other works of considerable importance. He purchased a manuscript of theSamaritanTolidahfor the Bodleian and published its text in 1869. In 1875, he edited the Arabic text of the Hebrew dictionary ofAbu al-Walid(theBook of Hebrew Roots), and in 1876 publishedJewish Interpretations of the Fifty-third Chapter ofIsaiah,which was edited by Neubauer and translated bySamuel Rolles Driverjointly in 1877.
In the same year, he contributedLes Rabbins Français du Commencement du XIVe SiècletoL'Histoire Littéraire de la France,though, according to the rules of theFrench Academy,it appeared under the name ofRenan.
In 1878, Neubauer edited theAramaictext of theBook of Tobit;in 1887, the volume entitledMediæval Jewish Chronicles(vol. ii., 1895); and in 1897, with Cowley,The Original Hebrew of a Portion ofEcclesiasticus.
In 1892 together with Stern, he published a German translation of a medieval chronicle of theFirst Crusade:Hebräische Berichte über die Judenverfolgungen Während der Kreuzzüge.[3]
He was the first to discover a fragment of the Hebrew text ofBen Sira.
In 1884, areadershipin Rabbinic Hebrew was founded at Oxford, and Neubauer was appointed to the post, which he held for 16 years until failing eyesight compelled his resignation in May 1900.[2]Neubauer's chief fame has been won as a librarian, in which capacity he enriched the Bodleian with many priceless treasures, displaying great judgment in their acquisition. Among other things he acquired manuscripts from the Cairogenizaas well asYemenitemanuscripts.
He received the M.A. degree at Oxford in 1873 and was elected an honorary fellow ofExeter Collegein 1890. In the latter year, he received the honorary degree of PhD from theUniversity of Heidelbergand was made an honorary member of theReal Academia de la HistoriaatMadrid.
References
[edit]- ^abcd"Adolf Neubauer".Jewish Virtual Library.Archived fromthe originalon 8 July 2022.Retrieved2 January2023.
- ^abHorowitz, Elliott (2010).""A Jew of the Old Type": Neubauer as Cataloguer, Critic, and Necrologist ".The Jewish Quarterly Review.100(4): 649–656.doi:10.1353/jqr.2010.a404348.JSTOR25781008.S2CID161990062.Retrieved2 January2023.
- ^Quellen zur Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland,ii., Berlin, 1892
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Joseph Jacobs, Goodman Lipkind (1901–1906)."Adolf Neubauer".InSinger, Isidore;et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Further reading
[edit]- Jewish Encyclopediabibliography
- Canon Driver,inJew. Chron.December 1899;
- ibid8 March 1901;
- Jewish Year Book,1899.
External links
[edit]- Jewish Encyclopediaarticle on Adolf Neubauer,byJoseph JacobsandGoodman Lipkind.
- Works by or about Adolf Neubauerat theInternet Archive
