Edward Pococke (1604-1691) was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
Contents |
Early life
He was the son of clergyman from Chieveley in Berkshire, and was educated at Lord Williams's School of Thame in Oxfordshire and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford (scholar in 1620, fellow in 1628). Chieveley is a Village and Civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, located approximately to the north of Newbury, close Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school in Thame, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Thame (pronounced "Tame" with a silent "h" is a market town in Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thame between Aylesbury History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The first result of his studies was an edition from a Bodleian Library manuscript of the four New Testament epistles (2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude) which were not in the old Syriac canon, and were not contained in European editions of the Peshito. The Bodleian Library ( the main Research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in England An epistle (pronounced) ( Greek επιστολη epistolē "letter" is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of persons usually a letter See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The name 'Peshitta' The name 'Peshitta' is derived from the Syriac mappaqtâ pšîṭtâ (ܡܦܩܬܐ ܦܫܝܛܬܐ literally meaning 'simple version' This was published at Leiden at the instigation of Gerard Vossius in 1630, and in the same year Pococke sailed for Aleppo as chaplain to the English factor. "Leyden" redirects here For other uses see Leyden (disambiguation. Gerhard Johann Vossius ( Voss) ( 1577 - March 19, 1649) Dutch classical scholar and theologian, was the son of Johannes For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. A factor, from the Latin "he who does" (parallel to agent, from Latin agens) is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual At Aleppo he studied the Arabic language, and collected many valuable manuscripts. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language
At this time William Laud was both Bishop of London and chancellor of the University of Oxford, and Pococke was recognised as one who could help his schemes for enriching the university. Archbishop William Laud (7 October 1573 - 10 January 1645 was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645 The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the Laud founded a Chair of Arabic at Oxford, and invited Pococke to fill it. He entered the post on August 10, 1636; but the next summer he sailed back to Constantinople to prosecute further studies and collect more books, and remained there for about three years. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS
Return to England
When he returned to England Laud was in the Tower of London, but had taken the precaution to make the Arabic chair permanent. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower) is a historic monument in central London Pococke does not seem to have been an extreme churchman or to have been active in politics. His rare scholarship and personal qualities brought him influential friends, foremost among these being John Selden and John Owen. John Selden ( December 16, 1584 &ndash November 30, 1654) was an English Jurist, scholar of England's ancient laws John Owen may refer to John Owen (epigrammatist (1560&ndash1622 John Owen (theologian (1616&ndash1683 John Owen Through their offices he obtained, in 1648, the chair of Hebrew, though he lost the emoluments of the post soon after, and did not recover them till the Restoration. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored
These events hampered Pococke in his studies, or so he complained in the preface to his Eutychius; he resented the attempts to remove him from his parish of Childrey, a college living near Wantage in North Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) which he had accepted in 1643. For the Christian martyr St Eutychius see Saint Placidus (martyr. Childrey is a Village and Civil parish in the English county of Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire) Wantage is a Town and Civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, near the Thames Valley, in the English county of Oxfordshire In 1649 he published the Specimen historiae arabum, a short account of the origin and manners of the Arabs, taken from Bar-Hebraeus (Abulfaragius), with notes from a vast number of manuscript sources which are still valuable. Bar-Hebraeus (1226 near Malatya, Sultanate of Rûm (modern Turkey) – 30 July 1286 in This was followed in 1655 by the Porta Mosis, extracts from the Arabic commentary of Maimonides on the Mishnah, with translation and very learned notes; and in 1656 by the annals of Eutychius in Arabic and Latin. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Moses Maimonides ( March 30 1135 – December 13 1204) also known as the Rambam, was a Rabbi, Physician, and The Mishnah or Mishna (he משנה "repetition" from the verb shanah he שנה or "to study and review" is a major work of Rabbinic Judaism Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. He also gave active assistance to Brian Walton's polyglot bible, and the preface to the various readings of the Arabic Pentateuch is from his hand. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to
Post-Restoration
After the Restoration, Pococke's political and financial troubles ended, but the reception of his magnum opus--a complete edition of the Arabic history of Bar-Hebraeus (Greg. Bar-Hebraeus (1226 near Malatya, Sultanate of Rûm (modern Turkey) – 30 July 1286 in Abulfaragii historia compendiosa dynastiarum), which he dedicated to the king in 1663, showed that the new order of things was not very favourable to scholarship. After this his most important works were a Lexicon heptaglotton (1669) and English commentaries on Micah (1677), Malachi (1677), Hosea (1685) and Joel (1691), which are still worth reading. An Arabic translation of Grotius's De ventate, which appeared in 1660, may also be mentioned as a proof of Pococke's interest in the propagation of Christianity in the East. Hugo Grotius or Huig de Groot, or Hugo de Groot; ( Delft, 10 April 1583 Rostock, 28 August 1645 Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This was an old plan, which he had talked over with Grotius at Paris on his way back from Constantinople. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Pococke married in 1646. One of his sons, Edward (1648-1727), published several contributions from Arabic literature - a fragment of Abd-el-latif's work on Egyptology and the Philosophus Autodidactus of Ibn Tufayl (Abubacer). Arabic literature ( Arabic: الأدب العربي Al-Adab Al-Arabi) is the writing produced both Prose and Poetry, by speakers Abd-al-latif, Abd-el-latif or Abd-ul-Latif (1162 &ndash 1231 also known as al-Baghdadi ( Arabic, عبداللطيف البغدادي Egyptology (from Egypt and Greek grc -λογία -logia. علم المصريات مصر شناسی is a major field of Archaeology Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān ( حي بن يقظان " Alive son of Awake " Philosophus Autodidactus " The Self-Taught Philosopher TemplateInfobox Muslim scholars --> Ibn Tufail (c 1105 Guadix Spain &ndash 1185 (full Arabic name
Both Edward Gibbon and Thomas Carlyle have exposed some pious lies in the missionary work by Grotius and Pococke, which were omitted from the Arabic text but still extant in the Latin one. Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881 was a Scottish essayist satirist and historian whose work was highly influential during the Victorian era.
The theological works of Pococke were collected, in two volumes, in 1740, with a curious account of his life and writings by L Twells.
External links
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone