Campegius Vitringa Sr., or Kempe VitringaEijnatten (2003), p.84 (May 16, 1659 at

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

– March 31, 1722 at

Franeker Franeker (; ) is one of the eleven historical City rights in the Low Countries, cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,0 ...

) was a Dutch Protestant theologian and

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 ...

. His youngest of four children was Campeius Vitringa (1693-1723). Vitringa, a follower of Johannes Cocceius, was a supporter of prophetic theology. He was educated at the universities of

and

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, and became professor of Oriental languages at the former in 1681. When locating prophetic outcomes, he would associate events to the near rather than the far-off future, placing a distinct focus on the period of the

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jews, Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty ...

(2nd Century BC). Like

Joseph Mede Joseph Mede (1586 in Berden – 1639) was an English scholar with a wide range of interests. He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow in 1613. He is now remembered as a biblical scholar. He was also a naturalist ...

(1586-1638), Vitringa believed wholeheartedly that the

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

was yet to come, but did not expect any immediate changes. He relegated the end of the time to a remote future and strongly emphasized the concept of

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...

. His most important student is considered Herman Venema (1697-1787), who was a theology professor at Franeker. Vitringa’s two chief works are his dissertation on the synagogue, ''De Synagoga Vetere Libri Tres'' (Franeker, 1685; 2d ed. 1696); and his ''Commentary on Isaiah'' (Leeuwarden, 1714–20), which was frequently republished in the eighteenth century. The latter was up to the time of Gesenius the most considerable contribution to the

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

. His other works include, ''Sacrarum Observationum Libri Sex'' (Franeker, 1683-1708) and ''Anacrisis Apocalypseos Joannis Apostoli'' (1705).

''Anacrisis Apocalypseos''

Vitringa’s most notable work was ''Anacrisis Apocalypseos Joannis Apostoli'' (1705), which was considered a major event, in the history of prophetic theology at the turn of the 18th century. He drew extensively on the

Clavis Apocalyptica Clavis may refer to: * Glossary, an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms * Handcuffs, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other * Clavis (pu ...

(1627), by

(1586-1638). Vitringa’s work was regarded the first major study to analyze the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

as a structured chronological outline of the history of the Christian church. His interpretation of the Apocalypse was that of a coded description of the history of the New Testament Church. Though Vitringa had integrated the

historical method Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be draw ...

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius ( ; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Hugo de Groot () or Huig de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, statesman, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft an ...

in past work, he rejected the view of Grotius and Bossuet that associated John’s visions exclusively to early

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vitringa, Campeius 1659 births 1722 deaths Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians Christian Hebraists People from Leeuwarden University of Franeker alumni Leiden University alumni Academic staff of the University of Franeker 18th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians