Michael Josephs (; October 8, 1763 – February 9, 1849), also known as Myer Königsberg (), was an English

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

, merchant, and communal leader. He is best known for his English and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

lexicon, ''Midrash Millin''.

Early life and education

Michael Josephs was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, in 1763. He left his hometown at the age of 12 to study at a ''

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

'' in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. While there, he gained the patronage of Chief Rabbi

Hirschel Levin Rabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin (also known as Hart Lyon and Hirshel Löbel; 1721 – 26 August 1800) was Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and of Berlin, and Rabbi of Halberstadt and Mannheim, known as a scholarly Talmudist. Life He was born i ...

, was introduced to

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...

, and became associated with the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...

. He was originally known as Meyer Königsberg, after his birthplace.

Career

In 1781, Josephs relocated to London, where he pursued a career in commerce while maintaining a strong interest in Hebrew literature. Josephs was regarded as one of the foremost

s in England during his time, and his expertise was consulted by prominent rabbis. In 1830, he helped establish the Society for the Cultivation of the Hebrew Language and Literature, which lasted only one year. He contributed to various Hebrew periodicals, with his poetic works published in ''The Hebrew Review'', ''The Voice of Jacob'', and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. Alongside Chief Rabbi

Solomon Hirschell Solomon Hirschell (12 February 1762 – 31 October 1842) was a British rabbi who served as the List of chief rabbis of the United Hebrew Congregations, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1802 to 1842. He is best known for his unsuccessful a ...

and Joshua Van Oven, Josephs was instrumental in founding the

Jews' Free School JFS (formerly known as the Jews' Free School and later Jewish Free School) is a Jewish mixed comprehensive school in Kenton, North London, England, and was founded in 1732. Amongst its early supporters was the writer and philanthropist Char ...

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

in 1817. Josephs took an active role in teaching and examining both students and teachers. He also served as a Life Governor of the Jews' Hospital and Treasurer of the Great Synagogue. In his correspondences, Josephs indicated some support for

religious reform A religious reform (from Latin ''re-'': "back, again", and ''formare'': "to form"; i.e. put together: "to restore, reconstruct, rebuild") aims at the reform of religious teachings. It is not to be confused with an organizational reform of a religi ...

, including the abolition of "small customs which disturbed order" such as noisemakers on

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

Death and legacy

Josephs died in London on February 9, 1849. Upon his death,

Leopold Dukes Leopold Dukes (; 17 January 1810, Pozsony – 3 August 1891, Vienna) was a Hungarian critic of Jewish literature. Biography Dukes spent about 20 years in England, and from his researches in the Bodleian Library and the British Museum (which con ...

composed a Hebrew epitaph in his honour. His son

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

donated several hundred volumes from Joseph's library to

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and teacher training to the wider Jewish community. Many leading figures in Brit ...

in 1861.

Work

Josephs authored several works of poetry and prose in Hebrew, including

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s and anniversary poems for different Jewish associations. For many years he composed the Hebrew odes recited at the anniversary banquets of the Jews' Free School. His major work was an English-Hebrew dictionary titled ''Midrash Millin'' ('Interpretation of Words'), published in 1834 and dedicated to

Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It has been c ...

, a prominent patron of Hebrew studies. The English entries were based on

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

's '' Dictionary of the English Language'', while their Hebrew translations were sourced from vocabulary found in both the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...

. He also compiled an unpublished Rabbinical Hebrew-English dictionary of scientific and philosophical terms.

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephs, Michael 1763 births 1849 deaths 19th-century British lexicographers 19th-century English Jews British Hebraists Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia to the United Kingdom Hebrew-language poets Jewish lexicographers Lexicographers of Hebrew People from Königsberg People of the Haskalah