Isaac Abendana (–1699) was the younger brother of Jacob Abendana, and became ''

hakam Hakam (''Ḥakam'' ), one of the names of God in Islam Names of God in Islam () are 99 names that each contain Attributes of God in Islam, which are implied by the respective names. These names usually denote his praise, gratitude, commenda ...

'' of the Spanish Portuguese Synagogue in London after his brother died. Abendana moved to England before his brother, in 1662, and taught Hebrew at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He completed an unpublished

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

translation of the ''

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

'' for the university in 1671. While he was at Cambridge, Abendana sold Hebrew books to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and in 1689 he took a teaching position in

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

. In Oxford, he wrote a series of Jewish

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

s for Christians, which he later collected and compiled as the ''Discourses on the Ecclesiastical and Civil Polity of the Jews'' (1706). Like his brother, he maintained an extensive correspondence with leading Christian scholars of his time, most notably with the philosopher

Ralph Cudworth Ralph Cudworth (; 1617 – 26 June 1688) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian Hebraist, classicist, theologian and philosopher, and a leading figure among the Cambridge Platonists who became 11th Regius Professor of Hebrew (Cambr ...

, master of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

References

1640s births 1699 deaths English people of Spanish-Jewish descent Spanish emigrants to the United Kingdom People associated with Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the University of Cambridge 17th-century Jewish theologians {{England-reli-bio-stub